Dr. Sarah Sayeed, a prominent example of a Muslim woman in democratic practice, is a senior advisor in the Community Affairs Unit of the New York City government. She was appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio in June 2015 to expand outreach to Muslim communities across the five boroughs. Prior to attaining this position, Sayeed was a trailblazer in interfaith work and activism. Her interfaith work included running the Rabbi Marshall T. Meyer Retreats for Social Justice at the Interfaith Center of New York and being a board member of Women in Islam Inc. Sayeed has been instrumental in uniting religious leaders from diverse backgrounds in NYC, helping them to cooperate on solving prescient social problems. She also previously worked as a professor in public affairs at Baruch College in New York City.
