Lori Saroya is co-founder and executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the state’s only Muslim civil rights advocacy organization. Under Lori’s leadership, CAIR-MN has had incredible success. It was named a 2010 “Difference Maker” by the St. Cloud Times and received the 2011 MN Council of Nonprofits Mission and Excellence Anti-Racism Award. Last year, CAIR-MN assisted over 400 individuals and was quoted in the media more than 115 times. Last month, CAIR-MN created an interfaith coalition and led the effort to remove an “anti-Sharia,” discriminatory bill introduced in the Minnesota Senate.
Lori is a board member of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and previously served on the Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights Task Force, the Office of Justice Programs Conference Committee, and the Minnesota Alliance on Crime board of directors. Lori was recognized as a Facing Race Ambassador by the St. Paul Foundation, named to the Islamic Networks Group “Contemporary American Muslim Women” list and selected for MinnPost’s YPN5Q, which spotlights the state’s top young leaders. She received the Islamic Resource Group Community Leadership Award, the St. Catherine University Alumni Award, and the Hawkinson Peace and Justice Award. In her spare time, she teaches ESL to adult immigrants and volunteers with the Muslim Youth of Minnesota. Lori lives in Blaine with her husband and son.
CAIR-MN’s Lori Saroya
http://www.minnpost.com/ypn/2012/04/ypn5q-cairs-minnesota-president-lori-saroya
CAIR-MN Receives Major Anti-Racism Award
