News from ISB Atlanta

The ISBA has more than 20 trained, certified volunteer speakers who represent various professional, ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. Our Speaker Spotlight section is meant to provide some insight into the backgrounds and thoughts of our speakers.

This month, we are speaking with Jelena Naim. Jelena was born and raised in Chicago where she attended the University of Illinois, pursuing a bachelor's degree in French and a master's in Teaching English as a Second Language. Jelena has over 20 years of experience as an educator and currently serves as director of curriculum and instruction at an area school. She is married to Dr. S. Rashid Naim, a fellow member of the ISBA. They have four children, two of whom have already started college.

Speaker Spotlight: Jelena, it's a pleasure to talk to you. You are one of the ISBA's original members. What initially inspired you to join the organization?

Jelena: I knew Soumaya [Khalifa] personally and was inspired by both her professionalism and passion. I realized that joining the ISBA would be a fabulous opportunity to get to know the wider Atlanta community and build bridges.

Speaker Spotlight: Tell us about those first years, when the ISBA was just getting started. You made some great contributions to to the organization's growth.

Jelena: As the ISBA became more of a familiar name in Atlanta, I volunteered to serve as the school coordinator. This was a great opportunity to get to know everyone who wanted to use ISBA services. I also assisted with the formulation of many of our administrative policies and procedures, which has helped standardize our process for taking in speaking requests. Another area in which I was able to serve was marketing, which involved identifying community partners and providing them with ISBA literature.

Speaker Spotlight: In the six years since the ISBA was established, what have you observed? Did you anticipate that we'd receive such a tremendous response?

Jelena: I am amazed at the number of volunteer speakers and the phenomenal growth of the organization. However, what I really didn't anticipate was the variety of activities in which we would be engaged--activities which require a certain amount of background information on Islam. I am impressed with the new and exciting formats we're using, such as the Prince Among Slaves film premiere we had in August. Also, the kinds of organizations that are attracted to ISBA services are so diverse: schools, civic organizations, police departments, hospitals, corporations...the response has been amazing.

Speaker Spotlight: What was your most memorable presentation?

Jelena: I did a presentation at a local high school with another member of the ISBA. Rather than a more intimate classroom setting, we presented to hundreds of students in a huge auditorium. I was concerned that in such an impersonal setting I wouldn't be able to answer the students' questions effectively. Yet, at the end of the presentation, many students came up to me to thank me. I was overwhelmed at their gratitude. They had researched the topic and were very happy about the way I had presented the information. This made such a positive difference in what was a challenging setting.