Today's Date: March 28, 2024
ADM Names Commonwealth Warehouse Inc. as a 2023 Supplier Award Winner   •   Carnegie Learning Wins 2024 EdTech Award for MATHstream   •   Midea Group Breaks Revenue and Profit Records with RMB 373.7 Billion in 2023   •   Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas and Wells Fargo Bank Award $750K to CC Housing for Senior Affordable Housing Development   •   Family Source Consultants Celebrates Michigan Legislature Passing Landmark Fertility Health Care Act (House Bill 5207) to Legali   •   Guo Guangchang: "Focus on building sustainable, predictable and enterprise with stable profit growth "   •   Stora Enso publishes Green and Sustainability-Linked Financing Report 2023   •   The Lenserf Group Launches Emotional Intelligence Academy for HBCU Interns   •   MDWerks’ Two Trees Beverage Subsidiary to Kick Off Co-Sponsorship of Team Combat League in TCL’s Second Season Debut   •   KB Home Named to Newsweek’s 2024 List of America’s Most Trustworthy Companies for a Third Consecutive Year   •   Compass Minerals Announces Amendment to Credit Agreement   •   Dr. Melissa Ivers Launches Prestigious Scholarship Recognizing Triumph Over Adversity   •   American Indian College Fund Invites Indigenous Academics, Administrators, and Student Services Personnel to Participate in High   •   Avocado Green Releases 2023 Impact & Sustainability Report, Highlighting Brand Leadership in Environmental and Social Respon   •   Parental avoidance of toxic exposures could help prevent autism, ADHD in children, new study shows   •   SLB Announces Agreement to Acquire Majority Ownership in Aker Carbon Capture   •   "SHAKIRA DESDE TIMES SQUARE," an Exclusive Special Taking Viewers Behind-the-Scenes of Shakira's Historic Surprise Performance i   •   EIG’s MidOcean Energy Completes Acquisition of Tokyo Gas’ Interests in Portfolio of Australian Integrated LNG Projec   •   Government of Canada signs two bilateral agreements with Quebec to support initiatives to improve health care   •   Universal Display Corporation Announces University Lecture Series and Participation and Sponsorship of OLED Korea Conference
Bookmark and Share

MAYOR BLOOMBERG APPOINTS FATIMA SHAMA AS COMMISSIONER OF IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS


 

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today appointed Fatima A. Shama as Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs.  Commissioner Shama currently serves as Senior Education Policy Advisor in the Mayor’s Office, where she previously served as the Health Literacy and Language Access Coordinator.  Born in the Bronx to immigrant parents – her mother is Brazilian and her late father was Palestinian – Ms. Shama succeeds Dr. Guillermo Linares, who resigned the post last month. The Mayor announced the appointment in the Blue Room of City Hall.

 

Fatima was at the forefront of our efforts to reauthorize the law on mayoral control of our schools, to raise standards in the classroom, and to increase parental engagement, especially among immigrant parents,” said Mayor Bloomberg.  “One of the great advantages of working in an open environment like the City Hall bullpen is that you get to see your colleagues in action every single day. And working in the same room with her, I’ve been impressed with the intelligence, insight, and leadership that Fatima brings to her work. I’m confident she will rise to this new challenge. I also want to thank Deputy Commissioner Erik Paulino for overseeing the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant for the last few weeks.”

 

“Fatima Shama is uniquely qualified to lead this important city agency,” said Deputy Mayor for Legal Affairs and Counsel to the Mayor Carol A. Robles-Román. “She has distinguished herself in her education reform work with Deputy Mayor Walcott, has been a leader in the areas of healthcare services and language access; and has been at the forefront of developing constructive dialogue and proactive solutions to these and other challenges facing immigrant New Yorkers.”

 

“I am deeply honored to continue to serve and work with New York’s immigrant communities in this capacity, and build on the great work of Commissioner Linares,” said Commissioner Shama.  “Immigrants are one of our city’s greatest assets and I look forward to enhancing this Administration’s conversation with communities, ensuring that we improve the quality of life for immigrant New Yorkers, and address some the challenges many immigrants face.”

 

As Senior Education Policy Advisor, Ms. Shama – who speaks Arabic, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish – worked on the renewal of the City’s school governance legislation signed into law yesterday by Governor Paterson. She helped design the Service in Schools initiative that is part of the Mayor’s NYC Service agenda, collaborated on the development of the eighth grade promotion policy, worked closely with the NYPD and other law enforcement agencies to improve safety in our schools, and was instrumental in increasing parent engagement efforts.

 

Prior to joining the Bloomberg Administration in 2006, Ms. Shama served for four years as Executive Director of the Greater Brooklyn Health Coalition, a group of over 100 multi-service organizations that managed public health programs. The programs addressed the needs of residents in north, central and south Brooklyn, particularly immigrant and underserved populations.  Before that she managed the Urban Horizons program at the Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation in The Bronx; served as a program officer for Research, Action, Information Network for the Bodily Integrity of Women (RAINBOW) an international health and human rights NGO; and was the Program Development and Public Relations Manager for the Arab-American Family Support Center in Brooklyn.

 

Commissioner Shama is the third New Yorker to serve as Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. Prior to Dr. Linares’ service, Ms. Sayu Bhojwani served as Commissioner from April 2002 to May 2004. 

 

Ms. Shama earned a Bachelor of Arts from Binghamton University and a Masters of Public Administration from Baruch College’s School of Public Affairs Executive Program.  She completed a management program at the Institute for Not-for-Profit Management at ColumbiaUniversity’s Graduate School of Business, and is a graduate of Lehman High School in the Bronx.  Commissioner Shama lives on the east side of Manhattan with her husband and two sons.

 



Back to top
| Back to home page
Video

White House Live Stream
LIVE VIDEO EVERY SATURDAY
alsharpton Rev. Al Sharpton
9 to 11 am EST
jjackson Rev. Jesse Jackson
10 to noon CST


Video

LIVE BROADCASTS
Sounds Make the News ®
WAOK-Urban
Atlanta - WAOK-Urban
KPFA-Progressive
Berkley / San Francisco - KPFA-Progressive
WVON-Urban
Chicago - WVON-Urban
KJLH - Urban
Los Angeles - KJLH - Urban
WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
New York - WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
WADO-Spanish
New York - WADO-Spanish
WBAI - Progressive
New York - WBAI - Progressive
WOL-Urban
Washington - WOL-Urban

Listen to United Natiosns News