Muslims In America with Mayor Khairullah

October 15, 2020

Muslims In America - An Interview with Passaic County Freeholder Assad Akhter

<p>Muslims In America interviews Muslim elected officials and influencers to discuss their experiences and how what they affected the lives of those around them. &nbsp;Our Guest here is Freeholder Assad Akhter, the son of Pakistani immigrants whose parents wanted him to become a layer but he chose public service instead. &nbsp;Host Mohamed T Khairullah is currently the longest serving Muslim elected official in New Jersey. http://www.reelectkhairullah.com/ Instagram, Twitter anf Facebook @MayorKhairullah &nbsp;WWW.ASSADAKHTER.COM &nbsp;FREEHOLDER ASSAD R. AKHTER was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Passaic County Board of Chosen Freeholders in 2016. He was elected to fill the remainder of the term as Freeholder in November 2017 and elected to a full three-year term in 2018. &nbsp;He is the first South Asian and the first Muslim in the history of Passaic County to serve as Freeholder. &nbsp;Prior to becoming an elected official Assad worked for Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ) over the course of 11 years in both his Washington and New Jersey Congressional offices. &nbsp;In his capacity as Deputy Chief of Staff for the Congressman, he was directly responsible for managing the local district offices and staff for the 9th Congressional District of New Jersey. Before that assignment, Assad served as the Legislative Director in the Washington, DC office where he oversaw the Congressman’s legislative agenda and staff as he was tasked with coordinating the Congressman’s position on the House Ways &amp; Means Committee, as well as staffing his assignment on the House Homeland Security Committee. &nbsp;During his time as Legislative Director, Assad was able to work on a number of momentous pieces of legislation including the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act; all of which were keystones to President Obama's legislative agenda during his first term. &nbsp;During his time on Capitol Hill, Assad was a founding member and served as President of the Congressional Muslim Staff Association (CMSA). &nbsp;Assad graduated from Seton Hall University in 2003 with a Bachelor’s of Science degree from the School of Diplomacy and International Relations. &nbsp;He graduated from the Honors program and also received the Undergraduate Leadership Award from the School of Diplomacy and International Relations at graduation.</p>