Building Bridges
to Equity and a Better Nashville for All At-Large Council Member Zulfat Suara, CPA
C
ouncil member Zulfat Suara is a trailblazing servant leader making power moves as the first Muslim elected to the Metropolitan Government of Nashville/Davidson County and the first immigrant elected to an at-large position. Zulfat is the first Muslim woman elected in the State of Tennessee and the first Nigerian woman elected to any office in the country. The at-large council member ran and won on a three-tiered platform focusing on fully funding Metro Nashville’s education system; advocating for community-based budgeting, which involves citizen input, and livable wages for all Nashvillians. Zulfat ran for office because she wanted to give back to the community from which she has received much. She ran because she is the mother of five children educated in Metropolitan Nashville public schools who has witnessed inequalities within the local educational system. Because she believes so strongly in the importance of education, Zulfat also is a proponent of better compensation for teachers, current text books and more computers in all schools, regardless of the zip code in which they are located. Council member Suara is committed to working toward a Metro budget which seeks the input of its citizens and is reflective of their needs. Zulfat says, “As a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and auditor, I bring more than 30 years’ experience as an accountant to the conversation. Community-based budgeting must be fiscally sound and it must be a moral document.” 20
Women Who Rock Nashville
By Patricia M. Hammock, M.Ed./AET Zulfat believes in a Nashville for all, where everyone is vested and everyone thrives. She says, “Some people are being left out of Nashville’s growth. There are citizens making the same wage now as they did ten years ago and they cannot afford to live in the city they helped to build.” Always active in her community, she started the Hardeman County Chapter of Junior Achievement in 2004 and continues to advocate for children and young people as a board member of the PENCIL Foundation. Zulfat has served in a number of leadership positions,
including the chair of the American Muslim Advisory Council. She has supported women, serving two terms as State President of the Business and Professional Women, a century-old organization promoting equity for all women in the workplace, from 2009-2011. She is active politically as treasurer of the National Women’s Political Caucus and chair of Day on the Hill, a joint legislative day for several women’s organizations on
issues affecting Tennessee women and children. She has also been a speaker at the Nashville Women’s March each year since 2017. Council member Suara’s work in the community has been prolific and selfless. In recognition, Zulfat has been recognized with the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award and featured in the Jackson Sun’s Twenty Most Influential Women in West Tennessee. She was named the 2018 Muslim Policy Advocate of the Year by Islamic Society of North America; the Tennessee Economic Council on Women inducted her into its Tennessee Womens’ Hall of Fame in 2015. She recently received an award for Outstanding Service to Human Rights from the Tennessee Human Rights Commission and currently serves as a board member of the Nashville Metro Action Commission. A grassroots activist, who never anticipated a role in politics, Zulfat credits her upbringing and personality for her ascent to the Council. “I grew up in a family with 21 children, including myself. Service is something I grew up with. With 21 children, some are quiet, some timid, some loud. I learned from a young age that I am a loud-mouth and I would speak up for my siblings. I grew up with a father who was always giving, so it was ingrained in me. If you have two dollars and somebody has none, you give them a dollar – that is just what you are supposed to do.” “Because I was so outspoken and vocal, I was always in leadership positions; even in school, I was the president of the school body. In college, I represented my institution at the state-level. I hope to use these
