Arab American civil rights attorney Nabih Ayad has been elected as the chairman of the Wayne County Airport Authority Board on Wednesday.
Ayad who was first appointed to the board by former County Executive Bob Ficano in 2015 has a long history of community activism and promoting diversity and inclusion.
He will now be the head of the board of the authority, which oversees the international Detroit Metro Airport.
“The Authority is responsible for the management and operation of Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and Willow Run Airport – including the power to plan, promote, extend, maintain, acquire, purchase, construct, improve, repair, enlarge, and operate both Airports,” according to its website.
The board, which manages the authority consists of seven members, appointed by elected officials, including the county executive, governor and the Wayne County Commission.
Ayad, 48, is a private lawyer who focuses on civil rights issues, including federal abuse of Arab Americans’ civil rights, discrimination and police brutality. He is the founder of the Arab American Civil Rights League (ACRL).
He previously served on the Michigan Civil Rights Commission and the Michigan’s Advisory Council on Arab and Chaldean American Affairs.
Ayad serves on the airport board, alongside Wayne County Commissioner Al Haidous, who is also Arab American.
