Suzanne Bassal was raised in the hills of East Tennessee and is an attorney, former television journalist, real estate agent, & activist. She is a former member of CNN’s White House Unit, where she covered Presidents Clinton & Bush. She was also a host and co-producer of ART’s television show “What’s Happening,” which covered Arabs and Muslims in North America. She earned her bachelor’s degree in broadcast news with a minor in Spanish and went on to earn her law degree at the University of Tennessee College of Law with a concentration in advocacy and dispute resolution. She moved to Phoenix in 2008 and has served on the board of Arizona Cultural Academy since 2010.

She volunteered with Community Legal Services in their Farmworkers program to help assist farm workers with civil legal issues. She joined the Arizona Muslim Alliance, an umbrella organization, in 2016 to help enhance Muslim participation in the public sphere and now serves as a board member & civic engagement chairperson. In 2016, she was awarded the Knowledge is Light Award by the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Arizona. Suzanne resides in Phoenix with her husband & four children.