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2024 CAIR-Chicago Interns

 
 
 

Lina Jaber

Junior Intern Winter/Spring 2024

Lina is an outreach intern for Spring 2024. She attends High School at Maine South. Originally from Iraq and raised in Chicago, her career aspirations are to practice immigration law. She chose to become a member of Cair Chicago because it offers her a fantastic opportunity to broaden her educational background and hone her social abilities, such as promoting understanding and fighting for civil rights. It's an opportunity to learn about advocacy and the law, obtain practical experience, and improve her community. Her interests include learning new things, helping others, and watching soccer.

 

 
 

Manal Amjad

Operations Intern - Winter/Spring 2024

Manal Amjad is a fourth-year student at University of Illinois  at Chicago (UIC) studying Applied Psychology. She is passionate about promoting justice and empowering American Muslims. Therefore, she is excited to join CAIR-Chicago and assist in advocating for marginalized groups who need a voice to speak for them. Manal is hoping to get her Masters’ in Applied Behavior Analysis and work with individuals with special needs. During the summer, she loves to work as a Daycare Teacher’s Assistant and teach children about the wonders of life. As someone who is bilingual, fluent in Urdu and English, she hopes to connect her culture with this passion to amplify underrepresented vocies and address systemic injustices. In her free time, Manal loves to go to the beach in the summer and have picnics with her family on her hot summer days.

 

 
 

Addison Haywood

Junior Intern - Winter/Spring 2024

Addison is currently a junior at Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School. She aspires to attend a 4-year university, with a major in political science, and successively pursue law school where she will strive to become a Civil Rights attorney. Addison is interested in advocacy and policy being extended to the youth. She is a part of the Mayor’s Youth Commission of Chicago, where she is a member of the Education and Youth Engagement committee, working to extend equitable and adequate education to all. During her free time, she enjoys binge-watching TV and hanging out with friends. 

 

 
 

Jenna Phillips

Government Affairs - Winter/Spring 2024

Jenna is a third-year undergraduate student at Loyola University Chicago studying economics and political science. She grew up in Rhode Island and came to Chicago because she had always wanted to go to school in a big city. In high school, she helped organize a service club and was active in community service. This guided her passion for social justice, which she has continued to develop in college. While she doesn't have a specific career path in mind, she loves to devote at least some of her time to public service. Whether that be as an activist, policymaker, or socially-conscious professional, she would love to work for the common good and promote justice, equity, and peace. At one point, she had seriously considered going to law school, and may still attend in the future. Her desire to be involved with an organization like CAIR specifically stems from her recent trip to Palestine. While there, she learned many things, most importantly recognizing how little she truly knew. She applied for this internship to become more educated on the social justice climate that surrounds these issues and to make a positive impact on her community in Chicago. When not working or in class, Jenna loves exploring Chicago with her friends, reading classics, and spending time with her cat Daysy. 

 

 
 

Aleena Ahmed

Civil Rights Law Clerk - Winter/Spring 2024

Aleena is currently a 2L at DePaul University College of Law School, where she is receiving her certificate in Intellectual Property law. In addition to her coursework, Aleena also serves as the Chair of Community Outreach for the Muslim Law Students Association. Aleena graduated from Loyola University of Chicago in 2021 with a Bachelor's degree in both Political Science and Global/International Studies and received a minor in Arabic Culture and Civilization. Aleena joined CAIR because its purpose and values spoke to her dreams as a future lawyer- to give those who may not be heard a voice. Eager to continue her work in civil rights law, Aleena aspires to contribute to transformative cases that address systemic issues and make a lasting societal impact.

 

 
 

Shagufta Syeda

Civil Rights Law Clerk - Winter/Spring 2024

Shagufta is a recent graduate from UCLA School of Law. She completed her LL.M. and specialized in Human Rights Law with a Pro Bono Distinction. She aspires to become a civil rights and human rights law attorney after clearing the Bar Exam. Her aim is to contribute to the advocacy for challenging oppressive and discriminatory practices, increased access to legal aid, and the fair and just representation of people from different communities facing institutional discrimination and systemic oppression. She also wishes to work towards integrating intersectionality into the field of legal advocacy. Shagufta’s hobbies include organizing and managing programs and events, participating in and organizing conferences on international law/human rights/civil rights, travelling, volunteering, doing charity work, and exploring new cultures and cuisines. Apart from civil rights and human rights, she takes keen interest in the advancement of Sexual and Reproductive Rights of women and children.

 

 
 

Kehkashan Hussaini

Civil Rights Law Clerk - Winter/Spring 2024

Kehkashan Hussaini is a 3rd-year Pre-Law student at the Illinois Institute of Technology where she is majoring in Global Studies and minoring in Architecture. As part of Illinois Tech’s Honors Law Program, she will pursue her law degree at Kent College of Law. She joined CAIR because its mission resonated with her aspirations as a future lawyer: to give underrepresented groups a platform to ignite change. Her goal is to unite Muslim communities under the mission of advocating for each other, regardless of background and identity. She is a freelance Photographer and Graphic Designer, the Vice President of Finances for Illinois Tech’s Camras Scholar Program and was a Law Intern at the Kankakee Courthouse this past summer. She looks forward to learning and improving under CAIR Chicago’s guidance.

 

 
 

Omar Shalabi 

Operations Intern - Winter/Spring 2024

Passionate Pre-Law senior at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), majoring in Finance, with a profound commitment to justice and service. Excited about the prospect of joining CAIR and dedicated to a future in law, I also bring a wealth of experience from my active engagement with local masjids (mosques) in my community. Having spent considerable time managing youth programs, I have played a vital role in partaking, creating, and overseeing initiatives that foster the holistic development of young Muslims. This includes educational programs, values-based teaching, and organizing camps that provide enriching experiences for personal and social growth. In addition to youth program management and teaching, my involvement extends to fundraising efforts for the community. I have actively contributed to organizing events and campaigns, understanding the importance of financial support for sustaining and enhancing the programs that make a positive impact. Fluent in both English and Arabic, my cultural insights are further enriched by a decade of living in the Middle East. This diverse background, combined with my academic pursuits and community involvement, shapes my identity and fuels my passion for contributing to a more just and connected world.

 

 
 

Evelyn Ronan

Junior Intern - Winter/Spring 2024

Evelyn is a high school senior at Jones College Prep in the South Loop area. She hopes to attend a 4-year university and graduate with a BA in comparative religion and theology. She is passionate about helping others learn about the scriptural cannons and tenets of each religion and does so through blogging and posting interviews with religious officials from around the city. She also enjoys visiting different religious sites like churches and temples and photographing them. Evelyn is currently helping conduct religious and sociology-based research at a local university and hopes to continue doing something similar in college. In her free time, she enjoys watching movies and rating movie soundtracks. 

 

 
 

Kanyshai Saiakbaeva

Outreach Intern - Winter/Spring 2024

Kanyshai Saiakbaeva is a Ph.D. student in Community Psychology at National Louis University. Her research focuses on understanding Islamophobia and anti-Muslim sentiments in the United States for her dissertation. Currently, she works as a research assistant, focusing on resistance to equity in public safety policies. Excited about her internship with CAIR, Kanyshai looks forward to aligning her research interests and commitment to combating discrimination with the organization's mission.

Kanyshai earned her Bachelor’s in Psychological Counseling and Guidance from Istanbul University in Turkey and later pursued a Master's in Applied Psychology at the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. In her free time, Kanyshai enjoys exploring new destinations, being in nature, and spending time with loved ones.

 

 
 

Laila Qureishi

Communications Intern - Winter/Spring 2024

Laila Qureishi is a 3rd year undergraduate student at DePaul University, studying Film and Television Production with a concentration in Directing, and a minor in Business.  She hopes to create content that will inspire change and challenge stereotypes. Currently, Laila is a film director and screenwriter, but she also loves doing props/production design and anything related to the art department. In the future, she plans to start and run her own production company, with a focus on independent storytelling as well as community documentary journalism. Her dream is to one day become a travel documentarian and to tell the stories of the underrepresented. In her free time, she plays guitar, writes music, and does freelance photography as well. She also likes to read and write essays about topics that interest her and that are important to her. She looks forward to being able to apply her filmmaking skills as a communications intern, and become a better activist.

 

 
 

Rasheedah Na’Allah

Government Affairs Intern - Winter/Spring 2024

Rasheedah Na’Allah is a sophomore at the University of Illinois Chicago. There, she studies sociology with a minor in entrepreneurship while being in the honors program. She has had a passion for minority group advocacy since a young age, forming research reports on racial disparities in the education system, speaking at her high school, and planning city-wide forums on the topic that means the most to her---Equity. She is the youngest member of Peoria, Illinois’s Racial Justice and Equity Steering Committee. She also serves on UIC’s Dean of LAS advisory board where she influences administrative changes at school by shedding light on the student experience. She has held an admiration for CAIR since high school when they helped her MSA receive the tools they needed to be allowed to pray at school. She is ecstatic to now be on their team as a government affairs intern where she will be helping the Muslim community receive the resources they need to be engaged public citizens as well as conducting legislative research and analysis. She enjoys freelance writing, yoga, and cooking in her free time and she hopes to one day be an owner of a health and wellness center geared towards the Muslimah community.

 

 
 

Mary Kenah 

Outreach Intern - Winter/Spring 2024 

Mary is a 4th-year undergraduate student at Loyola University Chicago where she is majoring in Global Studies and minoring in Anthropology and Spanish. A proud Chicago native, Mary is guided in her passion for social justice through her experiences growing up and living in the city’s southwest side. She is excited to join CAIR-Chicago in supporting advocacy, education, and the defense of civil rights for Muslims in the U.S. She is looking forward to exploring her interests of interfaith education, youth leadership development, and social justice during her time with CAIR. In her free time, Mary enjoys hanging out with her sisters and friends and exploring different cultures through Chicago’s diverse food and art scene.

 

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