Ameenah Karim-Capers

Ameenah Karim-Capers received her Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering in 1998 from Howard University and her Juris Doctor of Law in 2001 from Howard University School of Law, both in Washington, DC. Ameenah is currently working as the Deputy General Counsel and Bid Manager for Banneker Ventures, LLC. She is a strong advocate for the community and serves as Treasurer for Soulful Muslims, a non-profit organization serving the Muslim Community primarily in Maryland and the District of Columbia. Ameenah is also interested in starting a school for Muslim children in the Prince Georges County Maryland area. Her professional interest focuses on contract law, employment law, litigation and family law and she is currently a member of the New York State Bar, District of Columbia Bar and the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ameenah is the mother of two children, Jalil and Linah.

Amirah S. Salaam, Esq.
Vice President, Government Relations and Public Policy
Virginia Union University

Formerly, Lobbyist and Program Director, National School Boards Association; Senior Director of Public Policy, NAFSA: Association of International Educators; Director of Outreach and Advocacy for Government Relations, American Dental Education Association; Senior Advisor and Communications Director, Office of the late Congressman Donald M. Payne, Sr.; Legislative Counsel, Office of Congressman Andre Carson; Congressional Liaison, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation/Office of Congressman Kendrick Meek; Judicial Law Clerk, Judge Thurman H. Rhodes, District Court of Maryland (District 6), and Analyst, U.S. Department of State (top secret clearance).

Ms. Salaam brings close to two decades of combined federal legislative, executive branch and trade association experience to her current position, which is Vice President, Government Affairs & Public Policy at Virginia Union University (VUU). Prior to joining VUU, she served as a Federal Lobbyist and Program Director, National Advocacy Programs for the National School Boards Association (NSBA). At NSBA, she was responsible for managing the organization’s 501 (c) (4), National School Boards Action Center (NSBAC), and representing the organization on Capitol Hill. Prior to joining NSBA, Ms. Salaam was Senior Director of Public Policy for NAFSA – Association of International Educators, where she developed a federal advocacy agenda to advance immigration and higher education priorities on Capitol Hill and at the White House.

In Washington, D.C., Ms. Salaam is known to be a highly motivated, multi-faceted senior government relations professional with a demonstrated track record of working effectively with Republican and Democratic Members of Congress and their staff. As a former Capitol Hill senior staffer and lobbyist, she has managed all aspects of federal relations activities, including supervision of policy staff and policy development. Recognized as a strong communicator with high- level relationships, Ms. Salaam possess a keen understanding of the intersection between policy, effective message development, and strategic engagement. From policymaking to crisis communications, online advocacy, and coalition building to grassroots engagement, she understands how to create winning solutions to garner champions at the national level to influence policy outcomes.

Ms. Salaam is a former Congressional Representative to the European Union and Middle East. She served as a Representative to the Republican and Democratic National Conventions and the U.S. Presidential Inauguration Committee for Barack Obama. She is a recipient of the Bill Gates Millennium Scholarship, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and NAACP “Black Excellence” Awards, and is currently a member of the Zeta Chi Omega Chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

Education: Ms. Salaam holds a law degree from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, Bachelor of Arts from George Mason University, and an Honors Designation from New College, Oxford University, United Kingdom. Ms. Salaam recently earned a certificate in Nonprofit Executive Management from Georgetown University, 2017, and completed the prestigious Yale University Women’s Campaign School program this summer.

Hon. Hajj Hassan A. El-Amin (Ret.)

Hassan Ali El-Amin was born in 1949 and raised “Vernon S. Jones” in Charleston, WV. In 1972, After graduating from Yale University with his junior year spent in France, he joined the Nation of Islam. While transitioning to Al-Islam under the leadership of the late Imam W.D. Mohammed, he received his law degree from the University of Maryland in 1983; and in 1986 left his career with the Federal government for the private practice of law in MD and DC. In July of 2000, after handling almost 2,000 separate cases, he was appointed Associate Judge of the District Court of Maryland for Prince George’s County. In 2006 he proudly introduced Imam W.D. Mohammed to the entire Maryland Judiciary at its Annual Judicial Conference in Cambridge, MD. He was elevated to the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County (7th Judicial Circuit) in 2011 and in 2012 was elected to a 15-year term. He is the recipient of numerous professional, civic and competitive awards. Upon retiring from the Bench in June 2018, he made the Hajj to Mecca with his wife of 46 years, Martha (Perry) El-Amin. He and Martha have seven children, ten grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Most recently, he is the author of the book, The Amazing 99 Names of Allah, and is the composer and executive producer of 2 CD’s and a musical video by that name.

Judge David Shaheed

Judge David Shaheed serves as Midwest Coordinator for American Coalition for Good Government. Judge Shaheed has a rich legal career spanning more than 30 years, including 20 years as a judge in both criminal and civil courts. In 2005, Judge Shaheed launched Marion County’s Re-entry Court, only the second re-entry court in the State of Indiana. Shaheed was named “Judge of the Year”in 2007 by The Indiana Correctional Association for his work with ex-offenders and defendants seeking recovery from substance abuse.

Shaheed is familiar with cases involving police and young black men. Shaheed spent eight years as co-counsel in the wrongful case of the Estate of Michael Taylor v. The City of Indianapolis, ultimately winning a $3.5 million-dollar verdict in 1996 for the mother of a sixteen-year-old African-American youth found dead while hand-cuffed in police custody. Although the police department claimed Taylor committed suicide by shooting himself in the head while in the back seat of the patrol car, Shaheed and legendary civil rights attorney, John Moss, convinced an all-white jury to award damages for the wrongful death of the teenager. 

Shaheed is an associate professor at Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) in Indianapolis. He is also a member of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Lawyers Assistance Programs (CoLAP).

Judge Fatima A. El-Amin

Judge Fatima A. El-Amin is a native of Atlanta, Georgia. She attended the Mohammed Schools of Atlanta from Pre-K through Twelfth Grade and graduated as Co-Valedictorian of her class. Judge El-Amin completed her collegiate studies at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and graduated cum laude with a dual B.A. degree in Psychology and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. Her senior honors thesis titled, “The Hijab: Investigating the Relationship between Traditional Islamic Dress and Self-Esteem among African-American Muslim Women,” received Magna Cum Laude distinction at Harvard. Judge El-Amin returned to Atlanta, Georgia, and received her J.D. degree from Emory University School of Law in 2000. She was the recipient of the Emory Law School Dean’s Public Service Award.

Judge El-Amin’s legal career began as an Assistant District Attorney in DeKalb County. She prosecuted adult and juvenile offenders in the Superior Court and Juvenile Court divisions of the District Attorney’s Office. She also worked in the Condemnations and White Collar Crime divisions of the office. As an appellate attorney in the District Attorney’s office, Judge El-Amin tendered briefs and oral arguments before both the Georgia Supreme Court and the Georgia Court of Appeals.

In 2004, Judge El-Amin joined a private real estate practice in East Point, Georgia, and represented clients in commercial property disputes. A year later, Judge El-Amin returned to public interest law as a Senior Attorney in the DeKalb County Child Advocacy Center. She was soon promoted to Supervising Attorney, and was responsible for overseeing litigation and advocacy efforts on behalf of abused and neglected child-clients. In April 2014, Judge El-Amin was appointed as a full Juvenile Court Judge by the Superior Court Judges of DeKalb County. Judge El-Amin presides over dependency, delinquent, and traffic cases in Juvenile Court. She also sits, by designation, in DeKalb County Superior Court.

Judge El-Amin is a member of the Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam and is active in several civic and philanthropic causes. She is a past board member of the Mohammed Schools of Atlanta. Judge El-Amin was formerly Associate Legal Producer for a nationally-syndicated court television program, and a former co-host of “The Circle”, a local cable television program highlighting the perspectives and contributions of leading women in Atlanta. She is a member of the Gate City Bar Association, the DeKalb Bar Association, the Council for Juvenile Court Judges, Leadership DeKalb, and GABWA (the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys). Judge El-Amin lives in DeKalb County with her husband and son.

Rahmah A. Abdulaleem

Rahmah A. Abdulaleem is the Executive Director of KARAMAH: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights where she works to create a global network of advocates knowledgeable about the gender-equitable principles of Islam and are able to advance the cause of Muslim women’s rights in legal and social environments.  As KARAMAH’s Executive Director, she works with scholars to empower advocates about the rights Islamic law grants to women and to educate Muslim women in Islamic jurisprudence, leadership, and conflict resolution so that they may become the leading agents of change within their communities.

Ms. Abdulaleem serves on the board of the Capital Area Muslim Bar Association.  She was a Board Member on the Mohammed Schools of Atlanta Consultative Board from 2005 to 2014 serving as Board Chair from 2009 to 2011. She was also a Board Member of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys Foundation from 2011 to 2017. Ms. Abdulaleem is a frequent presenter at continuing legal education programs. She graduated from Duke University with a double major in Religion and Sociology and obtained her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.

Attorney Imam Raouf M. Abdullah

Positions Held:

• Imam of the Islamic Society of the Capital Region, Chartered; Jan 2010 to Present

• Imam of the Ali Khan Islamic Center; April 2009 to Present

• Imam of the New Madinah Society; January 1990 to 2005

• Founding member and Trustee of Masjid As Shura, Washington, DC; 1988 - 1990

• Member of Masjid Muhammad, Washington; DC 1983 - Present

• Member New Africa Islamic Community Center; 2009 - Present

• Secretary for the Mid-Atlantic Section of the Muslim American Community of Imam WDM 1999 - Present

• Member of Masjid Al Quran, Boston, MA; 1975 - Present

• Al Hajj: 1977, 1995, 2003

• Legal Representative of the Washington Area Masajid under the leadership of IWDM

• Radio Show Co-Host: A Conversation with a Purpose; 2010 - 2012

Experience:

• President of Raouf M. Abdullah & Associates; LLC 2003 - Present

• Senior Attorney at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission; 1983 - 2003

• Assistant States Attorney for Prince George’s County, Maryland; 2002 - 2003 Assistant Corporation Counsel for the District of Columbia; 2001 - 2002

• Special Assistant United State’s Attorney; 1998 - 2001

• Photo-Journalist, Bay State Banner Newspaper 1977 - 1980

• Member of the Federal Court Bar for the District of Columbia Member of the Federal Court Bar for the District of Maryland

• Member of the State Court Bar for the District of Columbia

• Member of the State Court Bar for Maryland Member of the State Court Bar for Massachusetts

• Member of the Trial Lawyers of America

• Member of the National Bar Association

• Member of the American Bar Association

• Member of the Franklin Bourne Bar Association

• Member of the Prince George’s County Bar Association

Education:

• Suffolk University Law School, Boston, MA, Juris Doctor, June 1983

Honors:

• Best Brief Jessup International Moot Court Competition, Northeast Region 1983

• Jessup International Moot Court Team

• Winner of Justice Clark Oral Advocacy Competition

• Finalist in Justice McLaughlin Moot Court Competition

Dean's List:

• Columbia University, New York, NY, A.B., History & Economics, May 1974