The CAIR-SFBA 21st Anniversary Banquet will feature a special recognition of and address from Dr. Suzanne Barakat.
Dr. Barakat, a resident at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), is the older sister of Deah Barakat, one of the three American Muslim college students murdered in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, earlier this year. When her brother, his wife, and her sister were killed, Dr. Barakat emerged as a spokesperson for her family, taking to local and national media to amplify the legacy of #OurThreeWinners and to speak out against the increasing Islamophobia and violence targeting Muslims.
Prior to residency, Dr. Barakat worked at a makeshift polyclinic serving 20,000 refugees along the Turkey-Syria border. She also conducted research on gestational diabetes and postpartum mental health outcomes in low-income Latina women, and translated an online mood screener into Arabic, the results of which contributed to a first-of-its-kind mental health assessment of Arabic speaking communities worldwide. She is passionate about women’s health, mental health, global health, and social justice. A native of Raleigh, North Carolina, Dr. Barakat earned her B.S. and M.D. at UNC Chapel Hill.