My Story | My YPAL – Ahmed Farah

By Molly Jett Heim, YPAL Director of Communications

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Oct. 19, 2025) — Meet the YPAL member who’s leveraging their Emerging Leaders Program experience to fuel a clear, ambitious vision for positive change throughout Kentuckiana.

Originally from Somalia, Ahmed Farah, is the founder and executive director of a local nonprofit, a social worker, and a proud immigrant and refugee advocate.

“Louisville is the first place I called home, where I felt like I belonged,” Farah said.

About three years ago, Farah joined YPAL.

“I was nervous,” Farah said. “I found out about it from my colleagues.”

But, he didn’t hold anything back; he gave every event his best shot.

“There’s all of these amazing people, whether they’re in nursing, engineering, or whatever it may be,” Farah said. “And, they all considered possible collaborations.”

It was during his growing involvement with YPAL that a friend casually mentioned a chance to take the next step: the Emerging Leaders Program (ELP). He learned that over the course of nine weeks, participants in the comprehensive leadership training use structured exercises and assessments to develop improved awareness about themselves and others.

“At first, I struggled with the cost of it, but there were scholarships that were available, and that helped me a lot. It was also partially paid for by my employer,” Farah said. “However, if I could go back and I didn’t have the scholarship, I would still pay for it, because I see the return on investment that I received; and I’ve talked about how far I’ve come because of that program.”

Some might say he caught the YPAL bug and started drinking the “YPAL Kool-Aid.”

“So many other doors that opened up for me. Prior to ELP, I was not interested in leadership, but then as I’ve done more work in the community, I’ve realized that the more leadership I have, the more change I can make within that community,” Farah said. “And so ELP was the beginning. ELP was the program that made me believe in myself, made me believe I could do all of the amazing things that I’m doing today.”

It’s because of his ELP Program experience, he had the courage to launch a nonprofit in 2023, ASILI Center. ASILI Center focuses on increasing opportunities for immigrant and refugee communities through youth-led and identified programs and action. ASILI is a Swahili word with multiple meanings, including origin, essence, and the fundamental principle of a culture.

“I have a lot of gratitude for YPAL. My professional trajectory was to just be a social worker, a one-on-one thing. But today, the ideas I have and the things I want to do, they’re a little crazy. They’re outside of what I thought I could do, but it’s because I know I can do it,” Farah said. “And that came from YPAL — the belief to be able to have goals, started with the Emerging Leaders Program; and so there’s always going to be a great level of gratitude for YPAL.”

Farah continues to invest time in the community to help expand ASILI Center’s reach.

“I’ve attended some events, and those connections are connections that I’m using today,” Farah said. “We’re out there for each other. If I’m working on a project and I know somebody who works there, like, ‘Hey, can you connect me with this person in this department,’ so we can have some work to do, but they also did the same for me, and it’s also nice to know that there are people within my age range who are doing some amazing work, and I’m able to go back and forth with them if I have an issue that I’m dealing with.”

Farah is a father of two, a board member for South Louisville Community Ministries, and a 2024 MOSAIC Award recipient. He earned his undergraduate and graduate social worker degrees from the University of Louisville.

He says if you’re considering YPAL, don’t hesitate.

“There is YP Day at the Capitol and I haven’t done that yet. That is one event that I’m really excited about doing,” Farah said.

To learn more about YPAL’s Emerging Leaders Program, click here.