ISB Atlanta News
Women's History Month
March 2014

Every March, we look forward to honoring and celebrating the achievements of women throughout our nation's history. In this special edition newsletter, the ISB recognizes leading Muslim women in the Atlanta community.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has," said cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead. We are excited to share a few committed citizens below that are indeed changing the world.

In celebration of women's history month, we will be showcasing two special edition newsletters in which we will be highlighting diverse Atlanta Muslim women leaders. To see which leaders we featured last year, please click here.

Sincerely,

Soumaya Khalifa

Executive Director

ISB Atlanta

Roohi Abubaker

Dr. Roohi Abubaker received her medical education in Pakistan, and came to the US in 1994 with her husband. She held off her residency until 2004 during which which time she was studying for her board and raising her family. She finished her residency from the Morehouse School of Medicine where she received the Vanessa Tatum M.D. Resident Research Award. Currently, she works at Atlanta VA Medical Center as a staff Psychiatrist and teaches the Morehouse residents who rotate there. Elected as a president of GA-APPNA (Georgia chapter of Association of Physicians of Pakistani descent) in 2011, she went on to receive the Leadership award by GA-APPNA in 2012. She is the founder of the Saad Abubaker Foundation (SAF), a charity organization working for children with special needs. Having witnessed first hand the hardships that one may encounter when having a child with special needs, Roohi and her husband founded this organization in memory of their son, Saad Abubaker, in an effort to keep his memory alive, and do good works in his name for families in similar situations.

Hajja Ayisha Jefferies Cisse

Hajja Ayisha Jefferies Cisse serves as Vice President of Global Affairs and Senior Policy Advisor on Gender Equity to the President of the African American Islamic Institute (AAII), a non-governmental international organization based in Senegal, West Africa. She promotes Muslim World Outreach in the US and Europe. She has developed over thirty-five global collaborations that have resulted in a billion dollars in medicines and supplies which are distributed quarterly throughout Senegal. She works with a number of civic organizations and social enterprises including WISE (Women's Islam Initiative in Spirituality and Equality). She is a proud wife and mother. Hajja Ayisha Jefferies Cisse attended North Carolina A&T State University for Economics, obtained a Masters from The Milano School of International Affairs for Management and Urban Policy, and went to Harvard University for Professional Development and Leadership.

Maria Ebrahimji

Maria Ebrahimji is a journalist, strategist, and speaker. She spent 15 years at CNN Worldwide, most recently serving as Executive Editorial Producer. She also played an instrumental role on CNN's Diversity Council, serving as its Vice Chair for several years and shaping diversity strategy in the areas of marketplace, content, workplace, and workforce. In 2011, she co-edited and published, I Speak for Myself: American Women on Being Muslim (White Cloud Press), a collection of essays written by 40 American-born Muslim women under 40. Since then, she co-founded I Speak for Myself, Inc., a book and multimedia enterprise that focuses on publishing self-narrative collections on interfaith and intercultural issues. Maria holds a B.A. degree in Mass Communications from Brenau Women's College and a Master's of Arts degree in International Affairs from Georgia State University.

Amani Elghoroury

"Never Let an Opportunity to Do Something Good Pass You By" is Amani Elghoroury's motto. Following her passion for helping those in need, Amani attended Meridia School of Nursing in Cleveland, Ohio to become a nurse and works in the ICU at Piedmont Fayette Hospital. As a child growing up in Egypt, she remembers how her parents provided countless meals to the needy, especially during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. As a mother, she passes the lesson of altruism to her two sons and leads by example. Amani leads the Islamic Speakers Bureau in community service and encourages ISB members to get involved by actively building bridges in the community. Her activism includes participation in the Fayette County Summer Lunch program, Thanksgiving Dinner Program, Police and Fire Department Appreciation Baskets, leading the Muslim Community Food Drive, Day of Dignity, and the Atlanta Community Food Bank Hunger Walk/Run.

Azadeh Shahshahani

Azadeh Shahshahani was born in Iran and moved to the United States at age sixteen. Azadeh is the Director of the National Security/Immigrants' Rights Project at the ACLU of Georgia. The project is aimed at bringing Georgia and its localities into compliance with international human rights and constitutional standards in treatment of refugee and immigrant communities, including immigrant detainees. She previously served as Chair of Refugee Women's Network and is also one of the Founders of Human Rights Atlanta. Azadeh is a 2004 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School. While in law school, she also completed a fellowship with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Washington, DC and a research fellowship with a women's rights organization in Iran. Azadeh also has a Master's in Modern Middle Eastern and North African Studies from the University of Michigan.

Salma Stoman

Salma Stoman is the current Director of MIST (The Muslim Inter-Scholastic Tournament) Atlanta, an educational, interactive program of competitions geared towards bringing high school students together from around the nation to develop leadership while gaining a deeper understanding of Islam and Muslims. Salma received her Bachelors in chemistry from Agnes Scott College and her Masters in Microbiology from Georgia State University and taught high school science for two years before starting pharmacy school at Mercer University. She has been actively involved in the planning of youth activities, particularly MIST Atlanta, for nearly ten years. In addition, Salma is an active ISB speaker and earned the ISB 2012 Speaker of the Year Award.

The Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, apolitical educational organization that provides certified Muslim speakers to promote awareness about Islam and Muslims. The ISB is a local affiliate of the Islamic Networks Group (ING).

ISB Atlanta, P.O. Box 2608, Peachtree City, Georgia 30269. Telephone: 404-377-8380