Akbar Hossain

Akbar Hossain is currently the Secretary of Policy and Planning for the State of Pennsylvania after having served as the Executive Director of Pennsylvania Governor- Elect Transition and the Policy Director for Shapiro for Pennsylvania. Akbar was previously an attorney, working on white collar government investigations at Morgan Lewis and a federal law clerk at the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In his pro bono practice, Akbar represents immigrants seeking asylum in the United States and low-income tenants in eviction proceedings. Akbar has previously interned for the White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs, the Department of Homeland Security, and served as a Truman-Albright Fellow at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Akbar has been appointed by the Norristown Municipal Council to serve on its Planning Commission and is also involved with several local non-profit organizations in Philadelphia. While at law school, Akbar helped found the First Generation Professionals group, an organization for students who are from a working class or lower-income background that seeks to foster community, mentoring, and networking opportunities. He has been recognized nationally as a Harry S. Truman Scholar and as a recipient of the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship. Akbar’s work has been featured on CNN, NPR, Huffington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, WHYY News, and many other media outlets. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Franklin and Marshall College and Juris Doctor from University of Pennsylvania Law School. Akbar is a Fellow of the inaugural class of the Civil Society Fellowship, A Partnership of ADL and The Aspen Institute, and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.