Leyan Albustami

Leyan Albustami is a fourth year student at the University of Florida majoring in Political Science and International Studies with a regional focus on the Middle East, and minoring in Arabic and the Sociology of Social Justice and Policy. Leyan’s commitment to public service began during her time on the Equity and Diversity Taskforce of Hillsborough County Public Schools, where she advocated for the inclusion of a Middle Eastern/North African (MENA) category in student records and led workshops to improve inclusion and representation for over 235,000 students. Building on that early advocacy, Leyan has served as a Policy Research Intern at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). At HHS, Leyan played a key role in the implementation of SPD 15, leading research on health outcomes and disparities in Middle Eastern and North African communities. Her findings now inform agency-wide strategies to reduce health inequities and improve access to culturally competent healthcare for over 3.5 million MENA Americans. At the University of Florida, Leyan is a CLAS University Scholar and serves as President of Students Organize for Syria, Vice President of the Florida Innocence Initiative, and Vice President of the Arab Students’ Association.