Awatef Assad is a fighter for fairness and social justice. As the first woman to become an attorney from Beit Hanina, a Palestinian town in East Jerusalem, Awatef found inspiration from her mother, Fahmia—who attended the first Beit Hanina school for girls in the 1930’s—and whose unrelenting determination was responsible for bringing her family to the United States in 1969.  With twenty-five years of experience as a government litigation attorney with the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, Awatef led the County’s effort in enacting the historic Anti-Discrimination Ordinance and co-authored the first amicus brief filed in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court marriage equality case. Awatef has led many civic programs focused on improving the lives of women and is nationally recognized for her community work on behalf of the Arab American community.  She is the recipient of the F.B.I. Director’s Community Leadership, Arab American Institute Excellence in Public Service, Ohio Civil Rights Commission “Keeping the Dream Alive,” CAMEO Leadership, and the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association Justice for All Volunteer of the Year Awards. Awatef serves as the CMBA’s Vice-President of Inclusion and Diversity and is a Commissioner to the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Commission on Certification of Attorneys as Specialists.