AMERICAN MUSLIM ADVISORY COUNCIL

Sabeen Sadiq is a New York-based stand-up comic, actor, and writer known for her honest and whimsical comedy, touching on her Muslim upbringing and family dynamics. Sabeen has opened for notable comedians like Hasan Minhaj and Kumail Nanjiani, and has performed at major festivals such as San Francisco Sketchfest. Her comedy album, Perfect Daughter, is available now. Additionally, she co-produces Bitches Brew in Brooklyn and regularly performs at New York Comedy Club, contributing to fundraising tours for various organizations.

Vetnah Monessar believes that when women have access and opportunity, whole communities change. For nearly twenty years, she has helped immigrant, Muslim, Arab, and Asian American families organize, speak up, and look after one another. A New York native, she was a founding team member of Emgage in Florida, where she built the state’s first statewide Muslim civic engagement network and helped raise voter participation by 22 percent across thirty counties. She founded the MASA Fund Foundation, supporting families in Central Florida through affordable housing, financial literacy, and youth programs. Her service has been recognized in the Congressional Record and by the U.S. Department of State, and she has raised more than 25 million dollars for humanitarian and community causes. Today, as Head of U.S. Fund Development at Human Appeal USA, she connects families across America with orphans and communities in crisis around the world. She is committed to engaging, partnering with, and supporting women so they stand at the forefront of social change, and she is building initiatives led by women because she believes in women as givers, decision makers, and leaders. Vetnah lives in the Washington, DC area and is a proud mother of boys.

Zulfat Suara was elected as an At-Large Council Member to the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, in September 2019, garnering over 34,000 votes from a diverse electorate. Her election marked several firsts: she became the first Muslim, the first immigrant in an At-Large position, and she is the first Muslim woman elected in the State of Tennessee. Furthermore, she is the first Nigerian woman to be elected to any office in the United States. She is running for vice mayor in Nashville in 2027 elections. On August 3rd, 2023, Zulfat won her re-election bid. Among 20 candidates, she was the only one to win outright, avoiding a run-off. This victory also made her the first person of color, male or female, in the Metro’s 60-year history to win the chamber’s 1st chair (the individual with the most votes in the 40-member council). As a council member, Suara has been a tenacious advocate for human rights, serving as Chair of the Affordable Housing Committee, Chair of the Education Committee, Vice-Chair of the Budget Committee, and a member of the Audit, and Personnel/Public Information committees. During her first term, she has sponsored or co-sponsored several significant bills, including legislation to allocate 50% of future Oracle taxes to affordable housing. She championed an eviction right-to-counsel PILOT program, offering education, outreach, and legal representation for Nashvillians facing evictions, ensuring that residents don’t lose their homes due to a lack of resources to defend their rights. Suara has supported budget amendments increasing salaries for teachers, bus drivers, and support staff. A highlight of her tenure was the council’s decision to add advocacy centers in all elementary schools to foster social-emotional learning for children. She is also a staunch supporter of small businesses, sponsoring bills to ease audit requirements for doing business with Metro and mandating that 20% of Barnes funds be allocated to small businesses. Following the death of Representative John Robert Lewis, Suara spearheaded efforts to commemorate the late congressman and acknowledge Nashville’s role in the civil rights movement. She successfully sponsored an ordinance to rename Fifth Avenue from Jefferson Street to I-40 as Rep. John Lewis Way. She was also part of the community group that suggested the naming of the proposed North Nashville transit center after Dr. Ernest ‘Rip’ Patton, honoring civil rights icons and inspiring future generations. Zulfat is one of the citizens that sued the state to protect minority representation on the council and stood by the TN three to preserve our democracy. She testified before the House Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, discussing discrimination against Muslim, Arab, and South Asian American communities. Her testimonies underscored discrimination at local, state, and federal levels. Her TEDx talk, “Building Power Where You Seemingly Do Not Belong,” was ranked as the 10th most-watched TEDx talk globally in October 2021. Zulfat is a Certified Public Accountant. She has been married to her wonderful husband for 33 years and is a proud mother of five amazing children.

Sabriyya Shaw is an Islamic studies teacher at Pleasant View School, and a community servant who is passionate about youth development and education, developing prophetic community, and bringing people closer to Allah. She is a graduate of Tayseer Seminary and Bayan Islamic Graduate School. She is blessed to serve in many Islamic educational initiatives such as ALIM program and Rabata/Ribat University. She hopes to bring a love of the Quran and the Prophet ﷺ to her students and the community.

Remziya Suleyman is the Director of Policy and Program at the American Muslim Advisory Council (AMAC), where she leads statewide policy, civic engagement, and advocacy initiatives. With nearly 20 years of experience in diplomacy, government relations, public policy, community organizing, and nonprofit leadership, she has dedicated her career to advancing equitable policies and strengthening civic participation for immigrant, refugee, and underserved communities. Prior to AMAC, Remziya worked in international diplomacy, building partnerships and engaging policymakers on governance, human rights, and international cooperation. She holds a Master of Public Administration from Tennessee State University and is recognized nationally for her leadership in coalition building and civic engagement. Originally from a Kurdish refugee family, Remziya and her husband are the proud parents of two daughters. She remains committed to fostering inclusive communities and developing the next generation of civic leaders.

Charlane Oliver is an award-winning nonprofit founder, political strategist, communications expert, and public servant with 20 years of experience in nonprofit executive leadership, public sector governance, strategic communications, and grassroots community organizing. Called into social justice activism after Trayvon Martin’s death, she co-founded The Equity Alliance in 2016 to unapologetically build Black political and economic power. Under her visionary leadership, she transformed TEA with $250 of her own money into a $2.5 million powerhouse in just five years, earning the prestigious recognition as The Tennessean’s 2020 People of the Year - a designation bestowed upon only a few notable Tennesseans such as Dolly Parton, Taylor Swift, and Vice President Al Gore - and numerous other accolades. A nationally recognized voting rights advocate and speaker, Charlane was named by Reckon South among “8 Black women fighting for voting rights in the South” after the election of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. In 2022, Charlane was elected to the Tennessee State Senate, winning the toughest primary in the state that cycle in 100 days as the only woman in a five-way open race. Now serving in her first term as “The People’s Senator” for the 19th Senatorial District, Charlane is the lone progressive voice in the Tennessee Senate, where she champions a bold legislative agenda that uplifts working-class families, centers racial justice, challenges corporate power, protects marginalized communities, supports women and survivors, and strengthens democracy. She leads the Senate Democratic Caucus as Vice-Chairwoman and the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators as Vice-Chair. Senator Oliver is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc, and serves on the national board of Women in Government. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Charlane is married to her husband of 20 years and they have three children together

Miriam R. Nemeth serves as the Executive Director for the ACLU of Tennessee, bringing a distinguished career as a civil rights attorney and proven nonprofit leader. She is dedicated to protecting fundamental freedoms and fighting for justice on behalf of all Tennesseans. Miriam, who lives in metro Nashville with her rescue dog Isabel, comes to ACLU-TN from her most recent role as the Deputy Litigation Director and Chief Counsel at Rights Behind Bars, a legal advocacy organization focused on challenging inhumane conditions of confinement. Throughout her career, she has held roles at prominent organizations, including the Advancement Project, and she has litigated cases involving police misconduct, government abuse of power, and prisoners’ rights. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, she served as a federal law clerk for Judge Ronald Lee Gilman on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Memphis, Tennessee, and Judge David M. Lawson on the District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. She also worked as an associate in the Civil Rights and Employment Group at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, PLLC and an associate at Goodman & Hurwitz, P.C. Miriam has served on the Boards of Directors for the Public Justice Center in Baltimore and First Shift Justice Project in Washington, DC.

Zara Ali is a Senior Organizer at MPower Change, a national Muslim civic engagement and advocacy organization, where she manages programs focused on civil rights, voter participation, and policy issues impacting Muslim communities. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Public Policy from the University of California, San Diego. With experience as an intern with the U.S. House Democratic Committee on Oversight and Accountability, a Campus Coordinator for MSA West during the encampment movement across the West Coast, and leadership roles on the MSA West Board of Trustees and Board of Directors, Zara has dedicated her career to the intersection of public service and community work.

Asiye Taskin has been part of civil society work for most of her life. She began volunteering with a women's and children's rights association as a high school student and stayed with it for many years, gradually moving from volunteer work to organizational responsibilities. Growing up inside nonprofit work gave her a practical understanding of how community organizations are built and sustained: how volunteers are brought together, how programs are run, and how the needs of women, children and families are carried into public life. She studied Political Science and Public Administration, and after moving to the United States she continued her education with a Master of Science in Computer Science. Drawing on this experience, she co-founded the Kurdish Culture and Music Association (KCMA) in Nashville, Tennessee, together with friends, and serves as its President. KCMA is a nonprofit that offers free cultural, music and language programs, guided by the belief that access to education and the arts should be equal for everyone. Together with her fellow founders and volunteers, she has helped develop community programs open to people of all backgrounds and build partnerships with local institutions and city leaders to strengthen the place of Kurdish culture in Nashville's civic and cultural life.

Sabina Mohyuddin is a Bangladeshi American Muslim born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. She graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1993 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. She is an active member of the Muslim community participating in interfaith and youth programs. Sabina has published a number of articles in The Tennessean and was an outspoken critic of the 2011 anti-sharia bill in the Tennessee state legislature. She is a founding board member of the American Muslim Advisory Council (AMAC) and now serves as the Executive Director of AMAC, which empowers the Tennessee Muslim community through civic engagement, community building and media relations. In 2020, Sabina was inducted into the YWCA’s Academy for Women of Achievement and in 2022 she received the Trailblazer Award from Metro Nashville Council’s Minority Caucus. She is an alumni of the American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute, Muslim Power Building Project, and Leadership Nashville.