Click to see photos from the reception honoring the 2010 Exponent Award recipients.
The 2010 Meyer Foundation Exponent Award winners are featured in The Washington Post.
About Layli Miller-Muro
Executive Director and Founder, Tahirih Justice Center
Layli Miller-Muro is the Founder and Executive Director of the Tahirih Justice Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting women from human rights abuses through the provision of legal aid and public policy advocacy (www.tahirih.org). Since 2001, she has led the organization in its service to over 11,000 women and girls, growing it from a staff of 6 to 30, and expanding its offices to Houston and Baltimore in addition to the Washington, DC area. In recognition of its sound management and innovative programs, under her leadership, Tahirih won the Washington Post Award for Management Excellence.
Ms. Miller-Muro founded the organization in 1997 following her involvement in a high-profile case that set national precedent and revolutionized asylum law in the United States. Fauziya Kassindja, a 17-year-old girl who had fled Togo in fear of a forced polygamous marriage and a tribal practice known as female genital mutilation, was granted asylum in 1996 by the US Board of Immigration Appeals. This decision opened the door to gender-based persecution as grounds for asylum. Using her portion of the proceeds from a book she and Ms. Kassindja co-authored about the case (Do They Hear You When You Cry? Delacorte Press, 1998), Ms. Miller-Muro established Tahirih.
Prior to joining Tahirih as Executive Director, Ms. Miller-Muro was an attorney at the law firm of Arnold & Porter where she practiced international litigation and maintained a substantial pro bono practice. Prior to joining Arnold & Porter, Ms. Miller-Muro was an attorney-advisor at the U.S. Department of Justice, Board of Immigration Appeals. The author of numerous articles on female genital mutilation, immigration law, and human rights abuses against women, Ms. Miller-Muro is frequently asked to lecture at universities and conferences throughout the world. She has appeared as a commentator about female genital mutilation, the International Marriage Broker industry, U.S. immigration policy, and women's right on Fox News, CNN, BBC, NBC Nightly News, PBS, CNBC, NPR, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. She is an invited participant at Renaissance Weekend, a former Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a member of Leadership Greater Washington.
Ms. Miller-Muro received her J.D. (summa cum laude) and M.A. in International Relations from American University and B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa) from Agnes Scott College and has received many awards, including the 2010 Smart CEO Brava! Women Business Achievement Award, 2008 Excel Award for Excellence in Chief Executive Leadership, the 2004 DC Bar Association Young Lawyer of the Year Award, and the Voices of Courage Media Award, Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children (1998).
Key Accomplishments
Layli Miller-Muro
Executive Director and Founder, Tahirih Justice Center
Service Area: Washington Metropolitan Area
The Tahirih Justice Center provides free, high quality legal services to vulnerable immigrant women and girls who are the victims of gender-based violence such as human trafficking, female genital mutilation, rape, torture, forced marriage and domestic violence. The organization was founded by Layli Miller-Muro in 1997 with the proceeds from a book she wrote about the case of Fauziya Kassindja, a 17-year-old girl from Togo who was granted asylum in the US in 1996 because of fear of forced marriage and female genital mutilation. This ground-breaking case, which Layli became involved with as a law student at American University, established gender-based persecution as grounds for refugee status in the United States.
Layli Miller-Muro and her organization have created a large pro bono network for legal and medical services, including 750 attorneys at 128 firms with donated services valued at more than $7.5 million.
Tahirih recently opened a second location in Houston, Texas to meet the need for services.
In 2007 Tahirih received The Washington Post Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management.
The organization spearheaded efforts that led to the passage of a federal law designed to protect foreign brides from exploitation by marriage brokers.
Tahirih has played a leading role in national policy debates, including reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.
Layli has led the organization in becoming a national leader in promoting justice for immigrant women and girls while serving as an important service provider in the Greater DC region.
