Fatima is a respected, purposeful leader with over 20 years of experience in outreach, service planning, capacity building, strategic planning, and resource development. She provides optimal leadership, service, and support for small and large organizations. She has been engaged with the social services network for more than twenty years. She has shared her skills and talents with Greater Cleveland Volunteers, Alzheimer’s Association, Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging, United Way of Greater Cleveland, and the Cuyahoga County Public Library.
As Director of Community Outreach & Advocacy for the Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging (WRAAA), she develops strategic initiatives that engage, inform, and empower communities and individuals. She leads an outreach and advocacy team that connects with 300-plus venues each year. Through these efforts, thousands of individuals are informed and educated, including families, older adults, persons with disabilities, elected officials, service providers, nonprofits, and businesses. Her work advances the agency’s external presence by building strategic and sustainable community outreach, collaborations, and partnerships. Other performance areas include grant writing, events planning, marketing, sponsorship development, and brand placement for the agency.
She is a certified librarian through the Ohio Library Council. She developed more than 5,000 programs for the library industry, including health and wellness initiatives. Fatima is an American Library Association Spectrum Scholar. In addition, she is a Carnegie-Whitney 2015 recipient and created a compendium - Passport to Aging: Celebrating Global Perspectives. Fatima is the past Chairperson for Library Services to an Aging Population, Committee of Reference, and User Services Association. The committee authored Keys to Engaging Older Adults @ your library and Guidelines for Library Services with 60+ Audience: Best Practices/Reference Services Section. She has presented at several American Library Association Conferences.
In addition, Fatima earned a Masters of Nonprofit Organizations (MNO) from Case Western Reserve University and a Masters in Library and Information Science (MSLIS) from Syracuse University. She tirelessly advocates for older adults, communities, libraries, and librarians.