Our Mission
The EmpowerME Project is a women led, nonprofit educational and legal aid organization focused
on assisting and empowering marginalized women and domestic violence victims to alleviate
the legal barriers that may be hindering their paths to gaining independence.
EDUCATION
EmpowerMe is dedicated to educating women on how they can use the law as a resource and
tool to empower, enrich, protect, and add value to their lives. This includes education on the importance and dynamics of healthy relationships.
lEGAL services
Volunteer attorneys will provide pro bono legal advocacy and aid services on a variety of subject matters through a case assignment referral system set up through the organization to assure that the women EmpowerME serves have meaningful access to the legal system and the courts.
meet the founder
Zainab A. Baydoun is a Senior Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) for the Michigan Administrative Hearing System (MAHS) and is currently one of only a few Arab American ALJs employed by the State of Michigan. She presides over complex, multifaceted administrative hearings for the Department of Health and Human Services and the Bureau of Community and Health Systems. She has developed and presented comprehensive ALJ training programs on the Child
Protection Law and related child protective proceedings, as well as the licensing of child and adult facilities, and has been a featured speaker at a State Bar of Michigan legal seminar. She maintains an extensive, high volume docket and throughout her time with MAHS, has adjudicated thousands of cases.
Prior to becoming an ALJ, Judge Baydoun was an attorney in private practice, specializing in general civil litigation and working extensively on family law and real estate matters. Judge Baydoun is a 2010 graduate of Wayne State University Law School and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from the University of Michigan-Dearborn.