Washington, DC | www.adc.org | June 15, 2022| The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) announces our next panel at its 2022 National Convention in Washington, DC., “Unique Economics: Challenges and Opportunities in a New Economy.”Arab Americans play a vital role in the US economy and do so without protections afforded to other minority groups. They also are not immune to the economic pressures faced by the country as a whole. This panel will focus on the health of the economy, what obstacles exist for business owners and entrepreneurs, and will feature testimony from business owners who experience firsthand the obstacles that Arab Americans face. Moderated by ADC Legal Director Abed Ayoub, this discussion will be underpinned by a discussion of ADC’s Minority Business Development Project.
Meet the Panelists:
Zaid Nagi is the Vice President, and a founding member, of the Yemeni American Merchants Association, which seeks to educate and elevate Yemeni-American merchants and their families through education, civil rights advocacy, business and social service support. At the same time, he owns and operates a series of wireless and bodega shops in New York City. He has organized and contributed to dozens of demonstrations, activities, and public events empowering Arab Americans, including being a key organizer in the highly successful Yemeni American Bodega Strike in 2017.
In 1994 at the age of 13, Zaid immigrated to the United States, and has over 15 years of experience in sales, new business creation, community mobilization and networking. He is currently continuing his education at Westchester Community College.
Rita Stephan is a Research Fellow at The Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies at North Carolina State University and the Director of the Middle East Partnership Initiative at the U.S. Department of State. She is the co-editor of In Line with the Divine: The Struggle for Gender Equality in Lebanon and the author of several publications on Lebanese women’s movement, social movements, social networks, and Arab-Americans.
Khuram Zaman is the CEO of Fifth Tribe, a leading product and software development firm serving the Washington DC Metropolitan Area and an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University where he co-teaches “Launching Entrepreneurial Ventures”. In his professional capacity, he has provided consulting services to clients as diverse as Silatech, Kaiser Permanente, Oxfam America, the Department of Defense, Ernst and Young, and The Hult Prize. His writing has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur.com, and Business2Community.
In his free time, Khuram has mentored entrepreneurs in the US, Italy, Denmark, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, and Pakistan through programs like the Peace Tech Accelerator, the Halycon Incubator, Georgetown University’s Summer Launch, Legacy International, and TechCamp.
Abed Ayoub currently serves as the National Legal & Policy Director of the American-Arab Anti- Discrimination Committee (ADC), the country’s largest Arab American civil rights organization, based in Washington, D.C. Throughout his career Ayoub has worked to address issues impacting Arabs and Muslims in the United States, including matters related to discrimination, immigration, hate crimes, surveillance and profiling. Under his leadership the ADC Legal Department has successfully assisted and provide pro bono support to thousands of impacted community members across the country. Ayoub regularly advocates on behalf of the community with lawmakers and government agencies, and also works to enhance the community’s economic empowerment, and access to education. Ayoub is also a reputable source in the growing field of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. He is a regular commentator on national and international media and has developed a strong reputation for his commitment to social justice and access to justice for all. Ayoub was born in the Dearborn, Michigan, and graduated from University of Detroit Mercy School of Law in 2005.
Stay tuned for more details! We hope you can join us at the Convention and Gala. See you then!
When:
June 17 & June 18
Where:
HYATT REGENCY WASHINGTON ON CAPITOL HILL
400 NEW JERSEY AVE NW
?WASHINGTON, DC, 20001