February 26, 2014

Hailing from Gaithersburg, MD, Salimatu Jalloh is MPAC's new policy and legislative intern in the Washington, DC office. Graduating from the University of Maryland with a degree in government and politics, Jalloh became interested in advocacy and civic engagement her senior year in college when she established the Muslim Monologues, a speaking program intent on sharing community stories. The program grew to be featured at other institutions in the DC area, such as DC MIST and George Washington University.

This then led to more campus work when she joined Terps for Change, a campus service organization that focuses on addressing poverty, homelessness and education inequalities.

"MPAC will help me solidify my passions of being involved with my community while helping them become more aware of the policies that affects them," she said. "I want to help them speak out and share their stories. American Muslims need to raise their volume and engage, if we are truly to make a lasting positive effect on society."

Jalloh currently teaches at an afterschool program that specializes in literacy development in Ward 7 with District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). She also has worked with Words, Beats, & Life Academy, a nonprofit that focuses on afterschool hip-hop education and advocacy for DC students. Through both of these programs, she has found that her passion for education was sustained through helping different students learn through narrative -- whether they were reading "If You Give A Mouse a Cookie" or employing the emcee stylings of Biggie Smalls.

With MPAC, Jalloh said she hopes to combine her love of education, advocacy and narrative to contribute to programs such as "I Am Change," as well as bringing humanity to policy and advocacy work. She said she also wants to learn more about creating and drafting policy, making it accessible to the public and challenging the "behind the screen" advocacy mentality.