Zulfat Suara is the first Muslim woman elected in the State of Tennessee and the first Nigerian woman elected to any office in the United States.
16 Facts About Zulfat Suara
2.
Zulfat Suara was a head prefect of her high school and was Amira for the college and state chapters of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria.
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Zulfat Suara graduated with a Higher National Diploma in Accountancy with High Honors from The Polytechnic, Ibadan.
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Zulfat Suara came to the US in 1993 when her husband was offered a fellowship at Vanderbilt University.
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Between 2009 and 2011, Zulfat Suara served two terms as the State President of Business and Professional Women's Foundation.
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Zulfat Suara is a board member of the Women's Fund of the Community Foundation of Middle TN, a 2020 board member of Women Business Collaborative, and an annual speaker at the Tennessee Women's March.
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In 2004, Zulfat Suara started the Hardeman County, Tennessee Chapter of Junior Achievement to improve educational opportunities and outcomes in rural Tennessee.
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Zulfat Suara serves as a board member of the PENCIL foundation in Nashville, TN.
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Zulfat Suara is a recipient of the National Education Association's Mary Hatwood Futrell Human Rights Award.
10.
Zulfat Suara first ran for office in 2014 as a candidate for the Hardeman County School Board.
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Zulfat Suara's campaign designated her as the first Muslim woman to run for any office in the state of Tennessee.
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Zulfat Suara serves as Treasurer of the National Women's Political Caucus.
13.
Zulfat Suara served as the Treasurer and Vice President of Political Planning for the organization at the state level.
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In 2020, Zulfat Suara was a member of the DNC Platform Committee, where she submitted an amendment regarding the treatment of international students that became part of the party's national platform.
15.
Zulfat Suara served as the Tennessee State co-chair of Bernie Sanders' Presidential Campaign in 2020.
16.
Zulfat Suara's written and oral testimonies highlighted the many incidences of discrimination in the Muslim community at the local, state, and federal levels.