2010
Michael Williamson
Law Clerk – Fall '10
Michael Williamson is a Civil Rights Law Clerk at CAIR-Chicago. He is currently a second-year law student at the University of Chicago. Michael is a member of the Human Rights Law Society and the Black Law Students Association. Prior to attending law school, he worked as a project analyst for a financial services company, and as a legal assistant for a private-practice attorney. Michael graduated magna cum laude with honors from The Ohio State University with a BSBA degree in Marketing.
Naveen Shirazi
Law Clerk – Fall '10
Naveen is a Civil Rights Law Clerk at CAIR-Chicago. She graduated with honors from the University of Chicago where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Law, Letters and Society along with a minor in South Asian Languages & Civilizations. Naveen is currently pursuing a law degree from DePaul University College of Law. Her professional interests include immigration, civil/human rights, and international adoption. Having lived in the South Pacific for most of her life, she enjoys almost everything related to warm weather and traveling. Naveen will be researching and working on civil rights discrimination cases represented by CAIR-Chicago’s Civil Rights Department.
Shamiq Hussain
Law Clerk – Fall '10
Shamiq is a law clerk at CAIR-Chicago. He is a student at the University of Washington School of Law and his primary interest is in United States foreign policy toward South Asia as well as the interdisciplinary study of law in Pakistan. Shamiq believes that legal advice should be seen as a social service that achieves its greatest impact when combined with other types of social services (personal and financial counseling, community development efforts etc). He has been active in Muslim organizations since high school and is excited to have the opportunity to work with CAIR-Chicago to help individuals and organizations in need. Shamiq’s personal interests include an eclectic taste in music and literature. He also has an inordinate amount of dislike for the Boston Celtics as well as a corresponding level of enthusiasm for the Los Angeles Lakers and the Pakistan Cricket Team.
Momena Billah
Outreach Intern – Fall '10
Momena is a Government Affairs Intern at CAIR-Chicago. Momena is a junior at DePaul, majoring in political science, and hopes to eventually attend law school. She has been an active member of her local mosque and volunteers there on a weekly basis. Throughout college, she has been on the Dean’s List and has participated in Muslim student organizations, and the debate team. She recently completed the Chicago LegalTrek program at Northwestern which has further cultivated her interest in law school. Momena strongly believes in defending marginalized groups within our society by protecting their human rights. CAIR’s activism in the areas of civil rights and engagement with Muslim and non-Muslim communities is what drew her to intern here. Her personal interests include Persian calligraphy, poetry, and music. Momena is fluent in Dari and Pashto, and works to maintain constant immersion in each language.
Maha Shams
Outreach Intern – Fall '10
Maha is a Community Relations Intern at CAIR-Chicago. Maha is a political science graduate from the American University in Cairo, Egypt. She moved to Chicago shortly after graduating and pursued a certificate program from Northwestern University in Business Administration. Since then, she volunteered in a couple of organizations to get acquainted with the cultural and political dynamics in Chicago. Maha was part of an international non governmental organization CISV where she served as the national junior representative for two years, there she got a lot of exposure to many cultures and mindsets. She is a strong believer in human rights and acceptance of all cultures, religions and races. During Maha’s internship in community relations she plans to gain knowledge about Chicago’s dynamics as well as share her experience and spread awareness about the importance of acceptance and peaceful co-existence. Maha has a passion for travelling and loves music.
Tamer Mansour
Law Clerk – Fall '10
Tamer is a Civil Rights Law Clerk at CAIR-Chicago. He is a student at the John Marshall Law School; he serves on the Government Law Committee at the American Bar Association as Vice-Chair and on the Middle Eastern Law Society as a Liaison for the evening student section. He is a member of the Chicago Bar Association, and Phi Alpha Delta legal fraternity. Tamer graduated from DePaul University in 2007 with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Management. His professional interests include international affairs, civil rights, and prosecution. In his free time, he enjoys sports, religion, reading and traveling. He is devoted to shedding light on the legal issues that Muslims face in today’s society and is excited to be working with CAIR toward these goals this fall and in the future.
Asad Jaleel
Law Clerk – Fall '10
Asad is a Civil Rights Law Clerk at CAIR-Chicago. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in biology. He went on to study education at Benedictine University. Asad taught science in both public and private schools including Curie Metro High and Islamic Foundation School. He is currently pursuing a law degree from DePaul University. Asad hopes to practice immigration law after he graduates. He is a member of Al Maghrib, the Chicago Bar Association, and MENSA. He lives in Naperville with his mother and father.
Ariana Kasa
Law Clerk – Fall '10
Ariana Kasa attended Law School at DePaul University and is currently a Law Clerk for CAIR-Chicago. She is a member of the Justinian Society, the Phi Alpha Delta fraternity, the International Law Society, the Latinos Law Student Association, and the International Human Rights Law Institute. She has performed research in the areas of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, and specializes in Islamic Law. She has worked for the UNHCR in Geneva, research institutes in Italy and in Senegal, in addition to her work in the United States. She is fluent in Italian and French and is in the process of learning Arabic. She received her B.A. in Italian and Political Science with a minor in French from Arizona State University. As an Arizona native, she loves the cold weather Chicago has to offer and enjoys the city life. Her passions are traveling, languages, meeting new people, discovering new cultures, and learning about global affairs.
Erica Gelfand
Law Clerk – Fall '10
Erica is a Law Clerk at CAIR-Chicago. She is currently a third year student at DePaul College of Law in Chicago, IL. At DePaul, she is a clinic extern at the Center for Justice in Capital Cases, the citations editor for the Journal for Social Justice, a volunteer for the International Human Rights Institute, and a member of the International Law Society. She has worked as a Coles Fellow at the Illinois Human Rights Commission assisting administrative law judges with cases involving human rights violations This past summer she was the policy intern at the National Immigrant Justice Center, where she researched the U.S. immigrant detention system and provided recommendations for improvements. Erica graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Russian Studies. Erica enjoys traveling and experiencing other cultures and she hopes to pursue a career in Immigration Law or International Law.
Evan Fazio
Communications Intern – Fall '10
Evan Fazio is a communications intern at CAIR-Chicago this fall. He has spent the last two years studying at Loyola University, Chicago where he majors in Advertising and Public Relations, Philosophy, and Music. Evan has come to take a holistic body, mind, and soul approach to his studies at Loyola. He hopes that Advertising and Public relations will put food on his table and a roof above his future family's head. Evan hopes philosophy will be his path to intellectual discovery and a way to keep his critical thinking and reasons skills sharp. Music provides sustenance for his soul as something that he does purely for himself. Evan’s goal is to make his career matter by using his education, training, and experience to affect real, lasting, and positive change in society by the time he retires.
Cassandra Roos
Communications Intern – Summer '10
Cassandra is currently working towards a M.A. in Political Science with a focus on International Relations at Loyola University Chicago. She is primarily interested in doing research on Middle Eastern affairs, especially Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Cassandra graduated from Emerson College in 2006.