Bio
Areej Qadeer (she/her) is a 2024-26 ACLU Pauli Murray Fellow working within the national headquarter’s Development department. She calls the Bay Area, CA home and grew up in Bridgewater, NJ. Areej earned her bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies and Public Health from Barnard College, Columbia University in 2023.
Areej comes to the ACLU with a strong background and keen interest in the non-profit sector. Previously, she worked on advocacy campaigns for labor trafficking survivors at Damayan Migrant Workers Association and supported data collection for the COVID-19 Food Assistance Project at Hunger Free America. Most recently, Areej served as Civil Rights Coordinator for the legal team at the Council on American-Islamic Relations, San Francisco Bay Area. At CAIR-SFBA, Areej worked to safeguard the civil liberties of American Muslims and combat anti-Muslim hate through supporting civil rights casework and leading strategic advocacy initiatives/community education campaigns.
Fueled by a desire to combat the chilling effects of state-sponsored Islamophobia on her community, Areej has been an outspoken advocate for American Muslims since 2015. In 2022, Areej received the Millicent McIntosh Student Leader of the Year Award for her leadership as President of Columbia University’s Muslim Students Association. While an undergraduate, she was also a Research Assistant at the Stanford University Muslim Mental Health Lab and promoted justice and equity for American Muslims through community-based participatory research.
Areej is excited to leverage her advocacy background and experience in the non-profit space to meaningfully contribute to the ACLU’s mission as a Pauli Murray Fellow.