Ilhan Omar

Ilhan Omar

Biography

Originally from Somalia, Ilhan Omar and her family fled the country’s civil war and lived in a refugee camp in Kenya before immigrating to the United States. She was elected the as the Minnesota House of Representative for District 60B, placing her as the highest-elected female Muslim Somali-American public official in the United States. She is currently the Assistant Minority Leader. Her policy accomplishments include supporting working families by winning paid parental leave for city employees, improving the environment by banning environmentally harmful containers and restricting the use of pollinator-harming pesticides, and expanding restorative justice by passing Indigenous Peoples Day resolution and forming a task force to examine the disproportionate impact pollution has on communities of color. In addition to her role in the legislature, she is the Director of Policy Initiatives at Women Organizing Women, which empowers East African women to take civic leadership roles in their communities.   Photo Credit: http://www.startribune.com/soon-to-be-state-rep-omar-details-most-hateful-ethnic-incident-with-d-c-cabbie/405291786/