Meet Tanzila Salahuddin, Director of Development

Born and raised in Bangladesh, Tanzila saw firsthand how Professor Muhammad Yunus' work with Grameen Bank and microfinance made a positive impact on surrounding communities. In 2006, Tanzila moved to New York to complete her Business Degree at Elmira College. While in New York, Tanzila came across a woman whose family had received a loan from Grameen Bank back in Bangladesh. “I couldn’t believe that this woman, whose mother had started a small business with a Grameen Bank loan in a village in Bangladesh, now lived in New York City and worked for a big corporation." Curious to see how microfinance would work in New York City, Tanzila applied for a position at this start-up nonprofit. When Tanzila first came to Grameen America there were only 4 employees in the office. The young company was so small that Tanzila worked in all departments. In 2012 Tanzila returned to Bangladesh for a year where she worked for Swisscontact, a poverty alleviation nonprofit that promotes economic and social development in selected developing countries. In February of 2013 Tanzila returned to Grameen America.  “I was amazed that so much had been accomplished in only one year. I returned to a full-grown organization with established teams. The number of borrowers Grameen America served had grown from 400 to 15,000 and I got to see our Charlotte branch open, which was rewarding since I had worked on that project from the beginning.” Tanzila has been with Grameen America since the very beginning and she is a very important member of our team. We are so lucky to have her with us!