AROC’s work is led by a team of collective (advisory board), staff, and members.

Nour Chammas, Immigration Attorney                                                                   

Nour Chammas was born in Lebanon and is of Syrian/Lebanese origin. He came to the United States when he was 9 years old. He lived in Rhode Island his first two years in the US and then moved to California, where he would spend his next 21 years. He attended the University of California, San Diego where he earned a BA in Political Science with a minor in Biology. During his time at UCSD he was Vice-President and then President of the Arab Student Union. He then attended Thomas Jefferson School of Law where he graduated Cum Laude, and was a member of the Mock Trial Team. He was subsequently admitted to the California Bar and worked as a Personal Injury attorney in San Francisco for a year and a half and practiced immigration law in Cleveland for another year and a half.

Ramsey El-Qare, Collective Member

Ramsey El-Qare is 28 years old and was born and raised in San Francisco. He is currently a student at City College of San Francisco taking photojournalism classes, and has also taken political science classes at San Francisco State University (SFSU). He is both a member and leader of the General Union of Palestinian Students at SFSU, and the Palestinian Youth Network (PYN). Ramsey works with his family business as a property manager.

Alia Ghabra, Collective Member

Alia Suad Ghabra is a mixed Syrian-Italian American organizer, activist, and educator.  She has been volunteering with AROC since 2008 and became a part of the organizing collective in August 2010.  In addition to working with AROC, she also organizes with Break the Seige, and has done fundraising and performance art for Arab LGBT organizations Helem (Lebanon), Al-Qaws and Aswat (Palestine).  She is currently in her second year of teaching at an elementary school in East Oakland through Americorps, and is applying for a Fulbright program to teach English in the West Bank, Palestine for the next academic year.

Lily Haskell, Program Director

Lily Haskell is a Moroccan American organizer who has been working with AROC as Program Director since 2007.  Her previous work centered around youth development and multi-racial political education.  Lily has contributed to and led Arab organizing and educational initiatives through cultural and political work, as well as anti-war organizing for over 10 years. Lily graduated from Wesleyan University with a Bachelors Degree in Sociology.  Originally from Georgia, she has been living in Oakland for 7 years.

Ashwak Hauter, Immigration Program Coordinator

Ashwak Hauter is a recent graduate from the University of California Berkeley earning a BA in Anthropology and Development Studies. At Berkeley, Ashwak was an active MSA and SJP member. As part of the MSA, Ashwak was the head of the community service committee and the Youth Outreach committee. She continues to work with MEMSA communities in community building and organizing. As a McNair and HAAS scholar, Ashwak has undergone fieldwork in Yemen on post-colonial development and also the social development of the Yemeni community in the Bay Area.

Rama Kased completed her Masters in Education with a concentration in Equity and Social Justice at San Francisco State University in 2008. As a co-founder of 2 youth organizations in Brooklyn, New York, her wide range youth work experience includes curriculum development, base building on school campuses, and leadership development. Both youth organizations focused working in the Arab Community of Brooklyn, New York, post 9/11. She currently serves as the Projector Coordinator and instructor at the Metro Academies a program through the Health Education Department at SFSU.

Sami Kitmitto, Collective Member

Sami Kitmitto holds a PhD in Economics and currently researches K-12 education at a non-profit organization in Palo Alto. His activism work has included anti-war work, union organizing, reproductive rights, and Palestine Solidarity work in both student and community settings.

Lubna Morrar is a Palestinian poet, currently studying Pre-Law and Ethnic Studies in the San Francisco Bay Area. Most recently, Lubna and her work were featured on the popular Arabic news network, Aljazeera Arabic. Not only an artist, Lubna has also been recognized as a significant contributor in the greater Palestinian community, both locally and internationally. An Oakland resident, Lubna has worked closely with the Arab Youth Organization (AYO) since 2009.  Lubna comes from a long line of political activism, especially as the women in her family have instilled in her a strong political and humanitarian consciousness for all victims of race inequality.

Miriam Zouzounis, Membership Coordinator

Miriam Zouzounis was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She recently graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, earning a BA in Middle Eastern Studies and History. During her time at UCSB she was student organizer with Students for Justice in Palestine and El Congreso. She also spent a year studying Arabic at the American University of Cairo and hopes to eventually work on water policy in the Palestinian territories. Along with her position at AROC, she helps at her family’s deli in San Francisco., Y