Jan. 22, 2026

#23 - Hamse Warfa

Show Notes

Hamse Warfa is the CEO of World Savvy, a non-profit organization that equips educators and students with the skills, perspectives, and global awareness needed to thrive in an interconnected world and drive positive change. In 2022, he became the first Somali-American presidential appointee in U.S. history, as a Senior Advisor in the U.S. State Department's Office of the Undersecretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights. Prior to that, he was the highest-ranking African immigrant official in the Minnesota State Government, appointed by Governor Tim Walz as the Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development. In 2016, he co-founded Ban-Qu, a blockchain-powered software company. He is also the founder of Tayo Consulting Group.

He was born in Mogadishu, Somalia. After the outbreak of civil war there, he and his family fled to Kenya, where they lived in a series of refugee camps. Though he did not receive regular formal education until he enrolled in high school in the United States, he now holds a B.A. from San Diego State University, a Masters from Springfield College, a Ph.D. from Hamline University, and he also studied at Harvard. He is the author of two books: America, Here I Come: A Somali Refugee's Quest for Hope and The Transformational Leader: 12 Practices for Driving Lasting Change.

To learn more, visit his website HERE.