Wesam Shahed is a first-generation Palestinian-American from Chicago, Illinois. He serves as a Policy Advisor - Assistant State’s Attorney at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office (CCSAO), the second-largest prosecutor’s office in the US. Wesam has not only been recognized as one of the most promising young talents in the CCSAO, but he has also been internationally recognized in the Arab American Foundation’s “30 Under 30.” Wesam recently gave a TEDx Talk on criminal justice reform titled "Does Justice Always Require a Conviction?" Wesam’s involvement ranges far beyond his day job, as he is the Finance Director for the first Muslim and Palestinian American to be elected by the Democratic Party into Illinois’s House Legislature in 2023. Wesam holds executive leadership positions for the Arab Professional Business Association (APBA), the Arab American Bar Association, the Muslim Bar Association, the AB Korkor Mental Health Foundation, and the ACLU Illinois.