Syed Mahmud Raza Rizvi

About Syed Mahmud Raza Rizvi

Syed Rizvi is an associate at Vinson & Elkins LLP, the world’s leading energy law firm, where he counsels investors on their financing of green and renewable power sources. Last spring, he graduated from Harvard Law School, where he was honored by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts for his pro bono work, and was recognized as a Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow, Jacobus tenBroek Fellow, Lighthouse Guild Scholar, Charles and Melva T. Owen Scholar, Rudolph Dillman Scholar, Team See Possibility Scholar, and received the Meg Robertson Award from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for his leadership. Prior to law school, Syed was a SEO Law Fellow with the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. Syed grew up in Longmeadow Massachusetts, later earning his BA from UT Austin, where he was honored with the university’s highest award as the Dean’s Distinguished Graduate and named a NFB Oracle Scholar.

As an advisor to Diversity Lab’s CEO, Syed participated in the development of the first ever nationwide Law Firm Disability Inclusion Commitments, which have been adopted by the country’s largest firms and in-house legal departments. He has been appointed to the State Bar of Texas Disability Rights and Issues Committee to serve during its’ 2024 – 2025 term. Syed is the founding Vice President of the TAD Foundation, the first ever organization to establish a pipeline of blind students into corporate America. He serves as an advisor to the Law School Admissions Council and as an advisor to the AI powered assistive technology company Aira. Syed is a leader in the National Federation of the Blind and on the board of directors for the SAAVI School for the blind. For five years, Syed served as the Vice President of the National Association of Blind Students, the largest and most influential organization advocating for equal access to education and employment for blind students.

Syed Rizvi was born to Pakistani American immigrants, who were fleeing sectarian persecution and seeking greater educational opportunities for their children. As a toddler, Syed was diagnosed with Stargardts disease, which would render him blind. As Syed's life progressed, he lacked the proper resources and guidance to overcome his disability, and he struggled immensely. At 19, Syed was contacted by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), a revolutionary group of blind people, transforming the blind narrative. After graduating from their intensive training program in Louisiana, where he was equipped with the best blindness skills and an alternative philosophy on blindness, he combined his parents' passions for education and humanitarian work to study the systems in place that limit individuals, such as himself, and began working to reform those systems.