Jama was born in Somalia and considers it a lifetime honor to be the first former refugee, Black Muslim and Somali-American to serve in the Oregon State Senate. Jama says “As your SD 24 Senator representing one of the most diverse districts in our state, I come to Salem with high hopes knowing that my lived experience and my two decades of advocacy and organizing skills needed to be translated into real policy change, particularly for Black, Indigenous, people of color, immigrants and refugees, low-income Oregonians and rural communities. I am committed to bringing all my years of deep, on the ground relationships and the voices of our entire community with me and working to pass policies aimed at changing all our lives for the better.”

Jama currently serves as the Chair of the Senate Housing and Development Committee​ and as a membersof the Senate Labor and Business Committee and the Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee on Transportation and Economic Development.”