ADC Staff
SARA NAJJAR-WILSON, ADC's President, is an experienced attorney with more than 30 years of service in the Federal government, having served as a Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division, and as a Senior Attorney in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Office of the General Counsel. Among other leadership positions, she has served as Chairperson of the Federal Litigation Section of the Federal Bar Association (FBA) and as the Program Chairperson of the Washington Foreign Law Society. Ms. Najjar-Wilson represented NASA in several “high profile” activities, including the interests of the families of the late Challenger astronauts, and the launch of the Cassini Spacecraft. Among many honors and awards, Sara received the NASA Exceptional Service Medal.
NABIL MOHAMAD is the Vice President of ADC. For over twenty years Mohamad has served the Arab-American community in Washington D.C. and across the country through his involvement in ADC and a variety of other Arab American organizations. He works on maintaining and expanding ADC’s base across the nation, forming multiple new chapters. From 1987-1997 Mohamad was the Executive Director of Roots, a Palestinian-American youth organization. He also worked with the non-profit organization Save Lebanon between 1984 and 1986. Mohamad served on the Steering Committee of Washington Interfaith Alliance for Middle East Peace (WIAMP) and currently he is a member of the Advisory Board of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation.
IMAD HAMAD is the Regional Director and Senior National Advisor for Public Affairs of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the premier civil rights organization in the nation on behalf of Arab Americans. He is a long time community advocate, who has fought for the cause of civil rights and justice. Mr. Hamad came to the United States as a student in 1980. He served the Arab American community in Michigan as a bilingual counselor, social worker and job developer until 1997, when he assumed his position as the Regional Director of ADC. Throughout the years, he has earned his community’s respect and has become one of its rising leaders.
ABED A. AYOUB, Esq., is ADC's Legal Director. Ayoub is admitted to the Michigan State Bar, and a member of the American Bar Association. Ayoub was born and raised in Dearborn, Michigan, home of the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the U.S. He is a graduate of the University of Detroit-Mercy School of Law, where he received recognition for his public interest work and dedication to the legal community. He joined ADC in 2002, as the Membership and Development Coordinator for the ADC-Michigan Office. In 2003, he was elected as Chapter President of ADC-Detroit, a position he held for two terms. Ayoub went on to serve on the ADC-Michigan Advisory Board, and contributed to the growing success of the ADC Michigan Network. Before joining the ADC National Office in 2007, Ayoub was in private practice in Michigan, specializing in immigration and criminal law. Ayoub attended the University of Michigan where he received a BA in Corporate Communications and Public Relations. Outside of ADC, he worked with a number of organizations on interfaith projects and has participated in numerous diversity training programs throughout the State of Michigan.
FAHED AL-RAWAF, J.D., is an ADC Legal Advisor. He interned twice in the National Office, in 2005 as Government Relations Intern and in 2006 as Legal Associate. Al-Rawaf received his BS in International Business with an emphasis in Finance from the University of Arkansas in, Fayetteville, and his JD from the University Of Tulsa- College Of Law in Oklahoma. Prior to law school, Al-Rawaf interned as New Business Development Associate at Citizens Network for Foreign Affairs (CNFA) in Washington, DC. At CNFA, he assisted in tracking opportunities for new program development with major donor organizations and lending agencies that disburse grants and issue contracts and loans for international development projects in Afghanistan, Bolivia and Iraq. In law school, he served as Articles Editor for the ‘Tulsa Journal of Comparative and International Law,’ and as Opinion Writer and Editor for ‘Dicta,’ the law school’s newspaper. Al-Rawaf was also instrumental in resurrecting the Hispanic Law Student Association, and he clerked at the Immigrants Rights Project at the Boesche Legal Clinic in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he successfully represented an asylum case from Eritrea. He speaks Arabic, French and English fluently.
MELISSA BEJJANI earned her degree in Government and International Politics with a concentration in International and Comparative Politics at George Mason University. Melissa is of Lebanese origin, but grew up in the Sultanate of Oman. During her college years, Bejjani was Vice President and Acting President of Pi Sigma Alpha’s Honor Society. She works in multiple capacities in the Finance, Government Affairs and Organizing Departments. Her responsibilities include managing accounts, budgeting, and compiling detailed expense reports at ADC Headquarters as well as managing memberships. Melissa works closely with ADC's President and Vice president assisting in day to day tasks and assists with general office correspondences. Bejjani, who is fluent in English and Arabic, interned at the ADC National Office as a Government Affairs associate during summer 2009.
LAILA MOKHIBER consulted ADC for three months before joining the staff July 2010 as ADC's Membership Outreach Coordinator. She is an Arab American of Lebanese and Palestinian descent born and raised in Northern Virginia. Mokhiber received her Bachelor's Degree in Global Affairs (with a concentration in the Middle East and North Africa) and a minor in Music from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. Mokhiber also serves on the board of the ADC-DC Area Chapter as chair of the Special Events Committee and teaches private piano lessons in Northern Virginia.
DELIA HABHAB has served as ADC Michigan's Accounts Administrator since November 2006. Ms. Habhab’s responsibilities include managing the accounts, budgeting, and compiling detailed expense reports. She also administers scholarship information, manages memberships, assists with program planning, and works closely with the organization’s sponsors. Ms. Habhab is also responsible for compiling and editing “News and Views”, ADC Michigan’s weekly electronic newsletter, and assists with general office correspondences. Ms. Habhab is a graduate with High Distinction from the University of Michigan, with a degree in English. She is currently pursuing her Masters Degree in Journalism at Wayne State University. Ms. Habhab also works as a contributing writer for the Arab American News, where she covers an extensive variety of issues and ideas.
MARVIN WINGFIELD is ADC's Educational Associate. Wingfield began working with ADC in 1981. He has served as Director of Education and Outreach, working with churches, peace, human rights, and minority organizations and coalitions to build support for ADC campaigns. In 1992, he developed the program" Reaching the Teachers," which is designed to improve the quality of education about the Arab world in schools throughout the country. The program operates through a grassroots network of caring members, parents, and chapters working to establish constructive relationships with school officials, teachers, and administrators. Wingfield has also been working on collating and organizing ADC's archives.
MARY ANIS FANTAYE (Jundi) is ADC’s Administrative Services Assistant. Fantaye was born in Atbara, Sudan, to a Sudanese-Egyptian father and an Eritrean mother. After finishing high school she worked as a secretary at the United Nations in Khartoum, Sudan. Fantaye then went on to study languages at the Haile Selassie University College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for two years; during this time she worked as a flight attendant for Ethiopian Airlines. She also worked at the Ethiopian Naval Base as a secretary to the base captain. Fantaye later worked at the American Embassy in Sanaa, North Yemen, and also worked at the Ministry of Agriculture as a translator. Additionally, she worked as a volunteer in Athens, Greece, at the United Nation’s Refugee Camp as a translator before her and her family immigrated to the U.S. in July 1981. She joined ADC in January 2003, as a part time receptionist and in July 2004, she started working full time as an Administrative Services Assistant. She lives in DC and loves cooking all kinds of ethnic food.
