Selaedin Maksut
Nina Rossi, ESQ.
Nina brings a wealth of employment discrimination legal experience to her position as a civil rights attorney for CAIR New Jersey.
AYAH ZAKI, ESQ.
Ayah is part of the growing legal team at CAIR-NJ, where she focuses on civil rights casework and legal initiatives, including representing clients and affected communities in advocacy and litigation. She also engages elected officials and other key stakeholders to advance the organization’s overall mission and address the concerns of clients and the New Jersey Muslim community at large.
Prior to joining CAIR-NJ, Ayah served on the Deportation Defense Initiative Team at the American Friends and Service Committee. She represented clients in removal proceedings, most of whom were held in immigration detention facilities. She also represented non citizens in removal proceedings and clients detained in Guantanamo Bay at the City University of New York Law Clinic. Ayah obtained her Juris Doctor Degree from CUNY Law and her Bachelor’s of Arts from Columbia University.
Dyaa terpstra, MpA
Dyaa Terpstra, MPA is an alum of the Rutgers Newark School of Public Affairs and Administration; he earned an MPA with a concentration in Public Budgeting and Finance. During his undergraduate years, he was an accelerated MPA student and studied Public and Nonprofit Administration, and Political Science. Dyaa served as the Vice President of the Students for Justice in Palestine Chapter and in numerous other campus leadership roles, ultimately undergraduate student body President. He focused on tangible impacts for the student community and was the 2021 recipient of the Paul Robeson Award — the highest honor a student leader can receive. He was appointed to the Jefferson Township Board of Education in 2021 and won reelection for a 3-year term in November, 2021. Dyaa previously interned with the district office of Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr., worked on the 2020 Census, and worked on political campaigns where he was most recently campaign manager for State Assembly candidates. In his role at CAIR-NJ, Dyaa focuses on the operational, financial, and administrative functions of the organization.
LAMIA RASHID
madina P. ouedraogo, MPA-PNP
Madina P. Ouedraogo, MPA-PNP is a Burkinabé-American from Newark, New Jersey. She is an alumna of the New York University Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, where she earned her Master of Public Administration in Public and Nonprofit Management & Policy (MPA-PNP)’ 20 with a specialization in Advocacy and Political Action. She is also a graduate of The College of New Jersey School of Humanities and Social Sciences (TCNJ HSS) ‘18, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa and earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Sociology with a specialization in Non-Profit and Community Development and double minors in Women’s and Gender Studies and African American Studies. Her professional experiences include: the Office of Governor Philip D. Murphy within the State of New Jersey, the League of Women Voters of New Jersey, the NAACP New Jersey State Conference, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey and the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. As the Government Affairs Manager she handles CAIR-New Jersey’s advocacy, legislative, and public policy portfolio. Through her role she engages lawmakers, advocates for public policy changes on the local. state and federal levels, partakes in coalition building and educates community members on the importance of civic engagement. Madina is an avid reader and enjoys traveling.
DINA SAYEDAHMED
Dina Sayedahmed comes from a wealth of experiences having worked at CBS News, Al Jazeera English, and The Intercept, where she produced news analysis videos presented by Marc Lamont Hill and Mehdi Hasan, respectively. Her work largely covers the Middle East and North Africa, state surveillance, and the various forms of American and European imperialism. The object of Dina’s work has always been to hold the powerful to account, and through her role as Communications Manager at CAIR-NJ, she hopes to work toward tangible improvements in the lives of American Muslims and minority groups. Dina graduated from Rutgers University – Newark with a degree in Political Science and Journalism.
During her free time, Dina enjoys gardening and practicing Arabic calligraphy.
