Zahra Billoo

Zahra Billoo is a civil rights attorney and executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations San Francisco Bay Area, the oldest CAIR chapter office in the United States. Since joining the organization, Billoo has overseen significant growth, establishing it as one of the largest CAIR offices nationwide. Under her leadership, the office has filed lawsuits against the United States Department of Justice, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Southwest Airlines on behalf of American Muslims facing discrimination. Her team provides legal services, legislative advocacy, and community organizing to support the Bay Area's Muslim population.

Billoo earned undergraduate degrees from California State University, Long Beach, in human resources management and political science, and a Juris Doctor from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. During law school, she received the Peggy Browning Fund Fellowship and worked with the National Employment Law Project. Billoo is licensed to practice law in California and has focused her career on issues related to discrimination, Islamophobia, and immigrants' rights.

Billoo has participated in national discussions on civil liberties, including speaking at the Women's March on Washington and contributing to legal challenges against executive orders commonly known as the Muslim Ban. She has received recognition such as the Human Rights Award from the Society of American Law Teachers, the Community Builder Award from People Acting in Community Together, the South Asian Bar Association of Northern California's Trailblazer Award, and the National Lawyers Guild San Francisco Bay Area Chapter's Unsung Hero Award. She has been named a Woman to Watch by San Jose Mercury News and featured in Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Billoo is a keynote speaker at universities, conferences, and community events, addressing topics such as civil rights, social justice, diversity and inclusion, and coalition building. Her media appearances include MSNBC, NPR, CNN, FOX News, and San Francisco Chronicle. She is a fellow with the Levi Strauss Foundation Pioneers in Justice program, a senior fellow with the American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley Chapter, and an alumna of Rockwood's Fellowship for a New California, LeaderSpring's Executive Directors Fellowship, and USC's American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute. Billoo also volunteers with Cake4Kids and coordinates Project Feed, a monthly homeless feeding effort in San Francisco.