Meet Ahmen
Mohan Sivaloganathan – aka Ahmen – is the Batman of Social Impact as a nonprofit leader by day and hip-hop artist by night, while never losing sight of his most important roles as father, husband, son, brother, and friend. He has built a reputation as a Troublemaker for the status quo, orchestrating sustainable transformation and systems change for education, social, and racial justice.
Ahmen advances transformative change by:
- Leveraging the power of identity, culture, and social innovation to move people, money, resources, and policies in pursuit of justice. Ahmen draws on his family heritage as a first-generation American and son of Asian immigrants coupled with contemporary politics, audience experiences, and shared social struggles to inspire and influence lasting positive change.
- Cultivating a journey with teammates that is marked by wellbeing, growth, and fulfillment. He engages and empowers people to create and innovate with a keen focus on both compassion and excellence.
- Shaping culture through music and presentations that activate voices and action to advance equitable opportunities for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.
As Batman, Ahmen uses the power of music and public speaking to spark changemaking. He has performed and delivered keynote talks in partnership with the World Economic Forum, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Net Impact, NYU, Penn State, the University of San Diego, Independent Sector, Fordham, Synergos Institute, Centre for Social Innovation, Defy Ventures, and the World in Conversation Project, among many others. Ahmen’s footprint has impacted thousands of students, young professionals, philanthropists, and corporate leaders worldwide. His music has been featured on ESPN and HipHopDX, and his most recent album was in the College Radio Top 20 for eight consecutive weeks.
In his Bruce Wayne world, Ahmen serves as the CEO of Our Turn, the nation’s leading movement of students fighting for education justice. He strategically rebranded the organization, transforming it into the nation’s largest and most effective youth-led movement for education justice. Ahmen provides the strategic direction and leadership to advance equitable solutions that champion and enable systems change through grassroots and institutional capability building, as well as campaigning and messaging to influence policy at the highest levels. Since 2019, Our Turn has trained and activated young people as changemakers in 35 states; secured the endorsement of 20+ social justice institutions and influencers; and been featured in Teen Vogue, HuffPost, Fast Company, The 74, and more.
Building on his leadership at Our Turn, Ahmen’s track record includes:
- In commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, received a Proclamation from the New York City Council to recognize a program that reduced gun violence by 90%.
- Recruited more than 10,000 applicants over three years to teach in the country’s under-resourced towns and cities.
- Expanded some of NYC’s most highly regarded mental health, summer jobs, afterschool, and justice reform programs for marginalized youth.
- Led a veteran’s service movement in eight cities, serving more than 4,000 veterans and garnering 5 city-wide awards in New York City, Pittsburgh, Orlando, and Miami.
Awarded as a “40 Under 40 Rising Star” by New York Nonprofit Media and a “Next Generation Leader” by the Human Services Council, Ahmen was featured in Good is the New Cool, an Amazon Philanthropy and Charity #1 new release. He sits on the Board of Directors of Net Impact / Good Institute and previously served as a Communications / PR and Field Organizer for Obama for America. Ahmen holds an MBA from Penn State University’s Smeal Business School and a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering also from Penn State.
“We believe Ahmen is at the forefront of a global awakening to the collective responsibility we have as citizens, businesses, and institutions to use our voices and resources to address the urgent issues and injustices threatening our world … Ahmen has proven to be an exemplary model for the type of world-changer we need right now.”
– Bobby Jones and Afdhel Aziz
co-authors of Good is the New Cool