Rana Abbas is currently the Corporate Communications Manager for Global Linguist Solutions (GLS), LLC. GLS is a government contractor for the Department of Defense. Through her position with GLS, Ms. Abbas heads all media, marketing, advertising and public relations for the Company and works to help strengthen the relationship with the Arab American community and the federal government.

Prior to her work with GLS, Ms. Abbas was served as the Deputy Director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee's (ADC) Michigan Office for eight years. ADC is the premier civil rights organization on behalf of Arab Americans in the nation. She was also the president of AWARE (Arab American Women Advocating for Resources and Empowerment).

Ms. Abbas's work with non-profit has placed her at the forefront of Arab American community affairs and issues. During her tenure with ADC, she represented the organization on a national and international level as a speaker on a number of panels focusing on issues that concern Arab Americans. She continues to interact closely with a number of local, national and international media outlets to ensure fair and unbiased coverage of Arab Americans in the media.

Ms. Abbas served as a member of the Governor's Council on Arab and Chaldean American Affairs in the State of Michigan, from August 04-July 07. She has also served on a number of community boards, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Michigan Advisory Board, New Detroit's Immigration Task Force, Advocates for Police and Community Trust (ALPACT), the Michigan Alliance Against Hate Crimes (MIAAHC), the Center for Arab American Studies (CAAS) at the University of Michigan, the University of Michigan's Musical Society, the Media Empowerment Project (MEP) and the Community Advisory Panel for Detroit Public Television.

In the spring of 2004, Ms. Abbas led a delegation of nine women to the Middle East to work on establishing a network that would enhance opportunities for education and careers for women in the Middle East and Arab American women, and to strengthen relationships between the Middle East and the U.S. Through this initial visit, which included meetings with Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan and other first ladies and key leaders, the AWARE initiative was born. AWARE (Arab American Women Advocating for Resources and Empowerment) is an initiative that works to enhance relationships and promote opportunities for Arab women in the U.S and abroad.

As a member of the Michigan Women's Commission, Ms. Abbas hopes to utilize her background and commitment to women's issues in her role as a Commissioner to push matters of relevance to women to the forefront of Michigan's initiatives. She is most honored to serve the State of Michigan in such a capacity.

Ms. Abbas is a Graduate of "High Distinction" from the University of Michigan at Dearborn. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations in May of 2001. She is also a graduate of the Institute on Political Journalism at Georgetown University, a nationally acclaimed political journalism program, funded by the Fund for American Studies in Washington, DC.