Dr. Laila Al-Marayati was born in 1962 in Los Angeles to a Palestinian father from the Gaza Strip and an American mother from Missouri. She studied at University of California Irvine where she earned a medical degree before working at Los Angeles County USC Women’s Hospital receiving specialty training in Obstetrics and Gynecology. In the 1990s, after opening her only OBGYN practice, she served as a member of the US State Department’s Advisory Committee on Religious Freedom Abroad and attended the United National Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China as a member of the official US Delegation. Following these two experiences, in 1999, she was a presidential appointment to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, appointment by president at the time, Bill Clinton, a position she held for two years. Dr. Laila because the spokesperson for the Muslim Women’s League, an organization based out of LA, which works to educate Muslims and non-Muslims on the rights of women in Islam. In addition to her work with the MWL, she has also written numbers articles and papers discussing sexuality in Islam and violence against women. Dr. Laila is married to Salam al-Marayati, the president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council and together they have two children. Currently she is an Assistant Professor of Clinic Obstetrics and Gynecology at US, the Director of Women’s Health at Eisner Pediatric and Family Medical Center, and a chairperson of KinderUSA, which provides humanitarian assistance to Palestinan children and their families.