Meet Zulfat

Zulfat was elected as an at-large council member in September 2019. With over 34 thousand votes from a diverse population, she became the first Muslim elected to the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County and the first immigrant elected to an at-large position. She is the first Muslim woman elected in the State of Tennessee and the first Nigerian woman elected to any office in the United States.

On August 3rd, 2023, Zulfat won her re-election bid. Among 20 candidates, she was the only one to win outright, avoiding a run-off. This victory also made her the first person of color, male or female, in the Metro’s 60-year history to win the chamber’s 1st chair (the individual with the most votes in the 40-member council). She was subsequently selected by her fellow council members as Metro Council Pro-Tempore for the 2023-2024 term.

On council, councilmember Suara has been a fierce advocate for human rights while serving as chair of the Affordable Housing Committee, chair of the Education Committee, Vice-chair of the Budget Committee, and Member of the Audit, and Personnel/Public Relations committees. 

She has sponsored or co-sponsored several bills that helped the people of Nashville. Some of her legislative accomplishments include a bill to put 50% of future Oracle taxes in affordable housing. She also sponsored a right-to-council PILOT that provides education, outreach, and attorneys for Nashvillians facing evictions. Nashvillians should not lose their home because they do not have the resources to defend their rights.

Over the years, she supported budget amendments that increased raises for teachers, bus drivers, and support staff. And one of her proudest moments was when the council added advocacy centers to all elementary schools to support the social-emotional learning of our children. She is a champion for small businesses and believes that small businesses in Nashville deserve to benefit from the growth in our city. To this end, she sponsored two bills to help businesses. The first bill changes the audit requirements for doing business with Metro while the other bill mandated that 20% of Barnes funds be allocated to small businesses

Following the death of Representative John Robert Lewis, Suara led an effort to honor the late congressman and highlight Nashville’s role in the civil rights movement. Working with community leaders, she sponsored a city ordinance to rename Fifth Avenue from Jefferson Street to I-40 to Rep. John Lewis Way. She also suggested to the WeGo community working group that the new North Nashville be named after Dr. Ernest ‘Rip” Patton. She believes this not only honors our civil rights icon legacy but serves as a reminder and inspiration for the younger generation. 

Zulfat is one of the citizens that sued the state to protect minority representation on the council and stood by the TN three to preserve our democracy, Along with other community leaders, she testified before the House Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties on the Discrimination and the Civil Rights of the Muslim, Arab, and South Asian American Communities. Zulfat's written and oral testimonies highlighted the many incidences of discrimination in the Muslim community at the local, state, and federal levels.

Zulfat Suara is originally from Nigeria but came to the U.S. in 1993. She chose to make Tennessee her home when the opportunity for her husband to do a fellowship at Vanderbilt presented itself. She has been active in community service and leadership since she moved here in 1998, all while working full-time as a CPA. Zulfat founded an accounting firm that has worked with county governments in Hardeman, Haywood, Lake, and McNairy counties. 

Always active in her community, she started the Hardeman County Chapter of Junior Achievement in 2004 and continues to advocate for children and young people as a board member of the PENCIL Foundation. Zulfat has served in several leadership positions, including the American Muslim Advisory Council chair. She has supported women, serving two terms as State President of the Business and Professional Women, a century-old organization promoting equity for all women in the workplace, from 2009 to 2011. She was the former treasurer of the National Women’s Political Caucus and served as chair of the Tennessee Women’s Day on the Hill 2012-2019 Zulfat was named the 2021 Women of the Year by the Davidson County Democratic Women and was inducted into the YWCA Academy for Women of Achievement on February 22, 2022. She was recognized with the FBI Directors’ Community Leadership Award and featured in the Jackson Sun’s Twenty Most Influential Women in West Tennessee. Zulfat was named the 2018 Muslim Policy Advocate of the Year by the Islamic Society of North America. Zulfat received an Outstanding Service to Human Rights award from the TN Human Rights Commission and The Tennessee Economic Council on Women inducted her into its Tennessee Women Hall of Fame.

On July 1, 2020, she received the Mary Hatwood Futrell Civil and Human Rights Award from the National Education Association- an award received by former First Lady Michelle Obama in 2018. She is an alum of both Leadership Nashville and Leadership Tennessee.

Her TEDx talk on “Building Power Where You Seemingly Do Not Belong” was voted #10 most-watched TEDx talk in the world in October 2021.

Zulfat is married to her incredible husband of 33 years and they are blessed with amazing children. She is committed to continue fighting for the future of Nashville.