Attorney, legislative drafter, mediator, author, speaker and now founder of AWF Global. Maaria Mozaffar crafts groundbreaking legislations spanning over 15 years on a variety of issues centered on equity and inclusiveness institutional change. Her legislative work focuses on various areas including but not limited to equity in social services, healthcare, criminal justice reform, women empowerment, and inclusive schools and institutions for families. Mozaffar’s work continues to impact thousands of lives every year and her legislations are replicated around the country. She uses her skills to find solutions to issues many feel cannot be resolved and paves the way for community engagement, education, and mobilization. The concentration of her work focuses on countering otherization, teaching personal leadership, mediating conflicts centering on the dignity of the person, and putting in place legislative vehicles that challenge systems and institutions that treat people unfairly.
In 2019 Mozaffar was appointed by the Governor of Illinois to the Council of Women and Girls where she co chairs the Leadership committee for the state that introduced the first Illinois Girls Lead mentoring/shadowing program for girls often overlooked but in fact do possess leadership skills but lack access to valuable internships. Mozaffar has been profiled as a Four Star Chicagoan by WGN, profiled in CRAIN’S CHICAGO, CHICAGO PARENT, and various media outlets for her work.
Mozaffar points to her deep faith in God in giving her direction to assist where she feels her skills are needed the most. She credits her international lived experience in childhood and interest in challenging the status quo for fueling her work.
She is determined to maximize the impact of her efforts to uplift others so as to cause a chain reaction every day in small and big ways. She is focused on helping communities but knows that we have to uplift the individual and remind them of their God given dignity. “Nobody knows what impact they can have on someone. Your interaction can be a defining moment for someone else. So let us try to always improve, be our best, and encourage others to do the same. The world is waiting on us.”