Suaad Abdul Khabeer

Executive Director, Arab American Association of New York

Twitter:

@lsarsour

Activist
Key Topics: Immigrant rights and immigration reform, Police reform and accountability in the context of ending racial and religious profiling, Arab-American and Arab immigrant experience, Coalition building, Utilizing social media to amplify advocacy campaigns.

Bio:
Linda Sarsour is a working woman, community activist, and mother of three. Ambitious, outspoken and independent, Linda shatters stereotypes of Muslim women while also treasuring her religious and ethnic heritage. She is a Palestinian Muslim American and a self-proclaimed “pure New Yorker, born and raised in Brooklyn!”

Sarsour is the former executive director of the Arab American Association of New York and co-chair of the Women’s March on Washington, which advocated for just legislation and policies regarding human rights and other issues in the largest single-day demonstration in U.S. history. Linda is most notably recognized for her focus on intersectional movement building.

Linda has been at the forefront of the debate around the New York Police Department's unwarranted surveillance of the American Muslim community. She continues to work with city officials and allies to push legislation and policies that respect the dignity and civil rights of New York residents while maintaining safety and order. Linda was recently named American Muslim of the Year by the largest Muslim civil rights organization in the United

States, honored by the White House in 2011 as a “Champion of Change”, and received the 2010 Brooklyn Do-Gooder Award from the Brooklyn Community Foundation. Linda is also a board member of the New York Immigration Coalition, a coalition of over 200 nonprofit agencies serving the diverse immigrant communities of New York State and the Network of Arab American Professionals-NY Chapter. She has been profiled by PBS, Yahoo News, NY1’s One on One With Budd Mishkin, and the Guardian. She has been featured in local, national, and international media speaking on topics ranging from women’s issues, Islam, domestic policy, and political discussions on the Middle East conflict. Linda’s strengths are in the areas of civil rights in the context of national security, community organizing, civic engagement, and immigrants’ rights advocacy.