Lydia Bassaly

Lydia Bassaly is the Head of Translation Services and Recruitment at NaTakallam.

Lydia was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt and moved to Atlanta, Georgia with her family at the age of 11. In 2014, she attained her bachelor’s degree in Public Policy from Georgia State University, concentrating her studies on Nonprofit Leadership and becoming a Certified Nonprofit Professional. During her undergraduate studies, Lydia spent a semester at the American University in Cairo in 2011, coincidentally around the same time as the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. Since then, Lydia has dedicated herself both personally and professionally to human rights and social justice. After graduating, Lydia moved to Egypt where she filmed a documentary on societal issued faced by Egyptians, and worked with a few NGOs as well.

In 2015, Lydia returned to the U.S. for her master’s degree in International Affairs at Columbia University, where she also interned at Human Rights Watch under their Middle East and North Africa division.

Lydia joined NaTakallam in August 2017 and has since participated as a speaker at a few conferences, most recently giving a TEDx talk in Istanbul titled “Identity Transcends Borders.” Her work at NaTakallam has included expanding the translation client base from two to three clients to over 60 and hiring 100+ freelance refugee translators who gain an income through translation work provided by NaTakallam.