Leadership Team

"Humanity is strongest when every culture has a name, every story has value, and every person has a seat at the table."

Sattie Persaud is the Founder of the World Heritage Cultural Center (WHCC) and the Human Intelligence Advisory Group, a global cultural leader working at the intersection of heritage, humanity, education, resilience, and human-centered AI.

Of eighth-generation Indian descent, Sattie was born in Guyana, raised in Suriname, and came to the United States at a very young age through an arranged marriage that became an abusive environment. With very little support, she found what she believes was a way out by the grace of the universe — and she has spent her life turning that second chance into service.

Her journey began far from boardrooms and global stages. As a child, Sattie sold candy and cigarettes as early as age six to help put food on the table. She came from a world where many girls were expected to marry before age 13 and become grandmothers by their mid-twenties. Sattie defied that path. Through sheer will, faith, and fate, she found her voice in America and used it to build something larger than herself.

For more than 21 years, Sattie built WHCC while balancing a demanding 25-year corporate career in finance, treasury, foreign exchange, and global systems — including roles at IBM, UBS, Lehman Brothers, United Technologies, and Otis Elevator Worldwide Corporation — along with deep family responsibilities. Her corporate career helped put food on the table. Her family came next. WHCC was built from what remained — her paycheck, weekends, nights, heart, and soul.

She created WHCC as her thank you to the universe for giving her a way out — a way to give back to the world by creating a platform where cultures could be seen, respected, preserved, and celebrated with dignity. Today, WHCC is connected to more than 850 cultural groups, sharing music, dance, food, storytelling, education, and cultural heritage with communities across the United States and beyond.

Sattie is also the Founder of the Human Intelligence Advisory Group, powered by WHCC, which supports organizations, institutions, and communities in keeping humanity, cultural intelligence, dignity, consent, and sacred knowledge at the center of the age of AI.

In 2025, after her corporate career came to an end and family obligations naturally shifted, Sattie began dedicating 100% of her time to WHCC, the Human Intelligence Advisory Group, and the long-held vision of building a permanent home for humanity.