Julia Shearson, executive director of the Cleveland Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)-Ohio, will address “Being Muslim in Post 9/11 America” at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, in Bluffton University’s Founders Hall. Her presentation is free and open to the public.

Shearson will discuss her conversion from Catholicism to Islam and the challenging national climate faced by American Muslims.

She has been executive director of CAIR-Ohio’s Cleveland chapter for 10 years. There, she has worked on civil rights advocacy, educational outreach and media and public relations. She has also initiated projects to improve communication and build partnerships between law enforcement and the Muslim community.

Shearson serves on the Islamic Council of Ohio and is co-chair of the Battered Immigrant Women Subcommittee of the Cuyahoga County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council.

She holds master’s degrees in linguistics from Ohio University and in Middle East studies from Harvard University, and a bachelor’s degree in East Asian languages and cultures from Columbia University.