Salima Suswell

Salima Suswell is an American political strategist, activist and community mobilizer. She has won numerous awards for her work, particularly for the Black Muslim community.
Suswell is the founder of Black Muslim Leadership Council, Black Muslim Leadership Council Fund, Evolve Solutions, the Philadelphia Ramadan & Eid Fund, and Halal Resources Group, Inc.
==Early life and education==
Suswell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a family of Black American Muslims. Her father, Imam Asim Abdur-Rashid, was a prominent imam in the city; she often cites him as an inspiration for her activism.
Suswell studied Business Administration at Drexel University and Organizational Development & Leadership at Saint Joseph's University.
==Career==
===Black Muslim Leadership Council===
In 2024, Suswell founded Black Muslim Leadership Council (BMLC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to policy advocacy for urban communities, voter turnout, civic education, and leadership development.
BMLC is the first Black American Muslim-led organization of its kind in the nation.
===Black Muslim Leadership Council Fund===
In 2024, Suswell founded Black Muslim Leadership Council Fund (BMLC Fund), the 501(c)(4) advocacy wing of BMLC. BMLC Fund advocates for policies for urban communities, as well as endorses candidates who support the morals, values, and needs of the communities it serves.
In August 2024, BMLC Fund announced its endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris for president of the United States.
===Evolve Solutions===
Suswell founded Evolve Solutions in 2010 and has served as President & CEO since its inception. Evolve Solutions is a government relations and community engagement consulting firm founded in 2010 to address the racial and socio-economic disparities within urban communities.
===Litigation Specialist===
From 2008 to 2010, Suswell served as a Senior Litigation Specialist in the U.S. Attorney's Office (Eastern District of Pennsylvania). In the role, she provided investigatory litigation support to the Health Care Fraud Department.
===Other===
Suswell served as Pennsylvania Deputy Senior Advisor for the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign|Biden-Harris 2020 campaign.
==Political Appointments==
In 2017, Suswell became as the first Muslim woman appointed to the Pennsylvania Commission for Women. She was appointed by Governor Tom Wolf.
Since 2020, Suswell has served as Commissioner for the Mayor's Commission for Faith-Based and Interfaith Affairs in Philadelphia. She was appointed by Mayor Jim Kenney.
In 2023, Suswell was reappointed to the Pennsylvania Commission for Women by Governor Josh Shapiro.
In 2023-2024, Suswell served on Mayor Cherelle Parker’s transition team as Vice Chair of the Immigrant & Multicultural Affairs Committee.
==Activism==
Suswell is known for her community organizing and voter mobilization efforts. She has experience in coalition building and working with mosques and other community organizations nationwide on civic engagement efforts. Her work focuses on Muslims, Black Muslims, women, and urban communities, primarily in Pennsylvania.
In April 2024, Suswell met with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and other senior members of the Biden Administration to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, safe return of all hostages, and for the resumption of humanitarian aid to Palestine. She also emphasized the longstanding solidarity between Black Muslims and Palestinians. She also discussed domestic policy concerns with President Biden, including gun violence in urban communities, Black maternal health, affordable housing, economic opportunity, and environmental justice.
In July 2024, Suswell attended an interfaith roundtable with Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. The roundtable included discussions about how to combat hate crimes and religious-based discrimination.
Suswell regularly gives interviews and writes op-eds about the importance of civic engagement and voting, as well as about civil and human rights. She has been interviewed by the Philadelphia Inquirer, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Al-Jazeera, NBC News, the Philadelphia Sunday Sun, ABC6 Action News, and more. She also has written op-eds on the importance of voting and representation. Her op-eds have been published in the Religion News Service, the Philadelphia Tribune, MSNBC, and more.
She also regularly gives speeches, including at Mayor Cherelle Parker's electoral victory reception and at the 2017 Women's March on Philadelphia, which had over 60,000 attendees.
==Volunteer Work==
Suswell is the founder of Philadelphia Ramadan & Eid Fund (PREF), a nonprofit that hosts the annual City Hall Ramadan Iftar Dinner, Eid holiday celebrations, community food distributions, educational programming for youth and families, and advocacy for Muslim students. PREF's Philadelphia Eid Coalition led a successful campaign to obtain the recognition of the two Islamic (Eid) Holidays on the academic calendar for Philadelphia Public Schools. In 2019 PREF presented its inaugural Philly Eid in the Park Festival, which attended by over 15,000 community members.
Suswell serves on the Leadership Council for the United Negro College Fund, Philadelphia Chapter, as well as on the host committee for the annual United Negro College Fund Mayor's Masked Ball, which raises nearly one million dollars annually to support historically Black college and university education.
Suswell served as Vice President and Organizer for the Women's March on Philadelphia in 2018, which drew over 60,000 attendees, and in 2019, and 2020.
Suswell served as Chair of the Muslim American Host Committee for the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
==Awards and recognition==
Suswell has won a wide variety of awards in recognition of her community leadership efforts; these awards include:
* City & State Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Impact Award, December 2023
* UNCF Keeper of the Flame Award, May 2023
* Recognized by Center for American Progress, as 2022 Faith Leader to Watch
* Philadelphia City Council Citation honoring leadership of Please Touch Museum's groundbreaking exhibition, America To Zanzibar: Muslim Cultures Near and Far, January 2019
Category:American political journalists
Category:American people
Category:Activists
Category:Community mobilization