Jamilah Shami

Project Manager, Farouk Systems Inc.

Jamilah Shami is a Palestinian-American organizer dedicated to civil and human rights. She served as a board member of several organizations, including the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination (ADC), the largest Arab-American Grassroots Organization. She also served as an ADC National Board Member and as Chapter President of the Washington D.C. Area Chapter where she worked closely with the local Board of Directors to address the needs of the community through coordination and support of social, cultural and political initiatives. She mentored college and university students as they explored activism on and off campus. She is strongly rooted in the grassroots base and enjoys working directly with the community to increase communication and coordination with other marginalized communities.

Shami worked as an Education Program Manager at International Business Machines (IBM) and at the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA).  She served as a Consultant for the United Nation’s Development Program (UNDP) through their TOKTEN Program in Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s office and as Deputy Campaign Manager on the Farouk for Governor Campaign. She currently handles special projects at Farouk Systems, Inc.

She is inspired by her parents, Dr. Jamil and Kamelah Shami, and by her late grandfather, Sheikh Mohammed Shami. As educators, they taught her the importance of education. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from George Mason University and a Master’s in Human Resource Management from Marymount University. As leaders, they taught her to treat others with respect, humanity and dignity, to lead by example and to try to make the world a better place.

She is married to Maher Husseini, CEO of Jaguar Security and Investigations, and they have two beautiful boys, Amin and Jamil. She enjoys sharing her love of music and nature with them, and spending time with family and friends.