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Board, Staff, Volunteers, Interns
SAALT STAFF
An advocate of civil and immigrant rights for ten years, Deepa Iyer is currently the Executive Director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT). SAALT is the only staffed, national, non-profit organization dedicated to fostering civic and political engagement by South Asian communities in the United States. Ms. Iyer has overseen SAALT’s growth and visibility since 2004, and has spearheaded effective programs and strong partnerships around the country. In her tenure at SAALT, Ms. Iyer facilitated the development of a National Coalition of South Asian Organizations, a network of 35 community-based groups that have come together to articulate shared strategies for progressive policy change. She has also testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Immigration Subcommittee (2007), and was one of two representatives of the Asian American community invited to provide testimony before the Democratic Party’s Platform Drafting Committee (2008).
An attorney by training, Ms. Iyer has served as Trial Attorney at the Office of Special Counsel for Unfair Immigration-Related Employment Practices within the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where she investigated, litigated and settled employment discrimination complaints, and worked on policy matters related to racial profiling and immigration enforcement. In the wake of September 11, 2001, Ms. Iyer was one of four attorneys who spearheaded the Division’s Initiative to Combat Post 9/11 Discriminatory Backlash. Ms. Iyer has also worked as a Staff Attorney at the Asian American Justice Center and as Legal Director at the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center.
Ms. Iyer is regarded as an expert on the impact of post 9/11 policies, especially as they intersect with civil liberties and immigration. She has published articles about the effect of such policies on South Asian communities, and is the Executive Producer of a 26-minute documentary about bias and hate crimes before and after 9/11. In addition, Ms. Iyer has served as adjunct faculty at Columbia University, Hunter College and the University of Maryland. She has been quoted in the Washington Post, National Public Radio, and in ethnic media.
Ms. Iyer is an immigrant who moved to the United States from India when she was twelve years old. She lives with her husband, also a public interest attorney, in Takoma Park, Maryland. Ms. Iyer is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School (1997) and Vanderbilt University (1994).
To reach Deepa, please email deepa@saalt.org.
Mou Khan joined SAALT in January 2008. As the Programs and Communication Associate, Mou works on programs at SAALT including the National Coalition of South Asian Organizations, the Advocates for Community Empowerment program and civic and political engagement activities like the 2008 elections as well as a variety of related communications activities. Mou graduated from Carleton College with a degree in Political Science and International Relations. Before joining SAALT, Mou completed the Coro Fellows Program in Public Policy in St. Louis. To reach Mou, please email mou@saalt.org.
Priya Murthy is the Policy Director at SAALT. As Policy Director, she monitors and analyzes legislative and administrative policies affecting the South Asian community; conducts advocacy on various policy issues; and develops educational materials for the South Asian community members and organizations. She also represents the organization as a member of immigrant and civil rights coalitions as well as before lawmakers and governmental agencies. She previously worked for various Immigration Courts, the Amnesty International Refugee Office and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in New Delhi. Priya received her J.D. from Tulane University and her B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley in Peace and Conflict Studies. To reach Priya, please email priya@saalt.org.
Vega Subramaniam joined SAALT in September 2009 as the Director of Programs and Partnerships. Professionally, Vega has taught sociology and worked in student services at Penn State University, Western Washington University, and the University of Washington. Among her specializations are race, class, and gender stratification, research methods, and social statistics. From 2003-2005, she served as Executive Director of Chaya, a Seattle-based nonprofit dedicated to ending violence against women in South Asian communities, and most recently, she served as a Program Officer at College Spark Washington, a foundation that supports programs in Washington state that help low-income students with college readiness and retention. Vega has also volunteered with and served on the boards of numerous foundations and nonprofit organizations, including Creative Collaborations (capacity-building for progressive nonprofit organizations through collaboration and resource-sharing), Trikone-NW (an organization supporting LGBTQ South Asians in the Pacific Northwest), and Pride Foundation (promoting LGBTQ equality in the Pacific Northwest). Vega received her undergraduate and graduate degrees in sociology from Penn State University. To reach Vega, please email vega@saalt.org.
Rehmah Sufi joined SAALT in January 2010 as the Development Manager. Rehmah will focus on expanding SAALT’s organizational capacity through resource development, donor relations, and innovative collaborations. Rehmah has previously worked with the AGHS Legal Aid Cell in Pakistan and Apna Ghar, Inc. (Our Home) in Chicago on issues pertaining to gender violence and immigrant women. She serves on the board of the Leadership Center for Asian Pacific Americans and is a founding member of Asian Pacific Americans in Development. She received her B.A. in Political Science from Lewis University. To reach Rehmah, please email rehmah@saalt.org.
SAALT FELLOWS
Anjali Chaudhury joined SAALT in August 2009 as the Maryland Outreach Coordinator/ Americorps VISTA. Anjali graduated from Oberlin College with a double major in Politics and Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies. While at Oberlin, Anjali served as the co-chair of the South Asian Students Association and coordinated annual Asian American Heritage Month events. In 2008, she helped organize the 15th Biennial Midwest Asian American Student Conference entitled Policy, Barriers, and Justice. To reach Anjali, please email anjali@saalt.org.
SAALT CONSULTANTS
Qudsia Raja joined SAALT in November 2007 as the New Jersey Outreach Coordinator. Qudsia most recently worked with the Shelter for Help in Emergency, where she worked as a Legal Advocate serving survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. She has also worked with Manavi in
SAALT's Advocates for Community Empowerment has been strengthened by the involvement of several consultants including Subhash Khateel, Prita Lal, Carol Gomez, and Vinita Jethwani.
SAALT also recognizes former consultants who have helped to advance our work, including:
Ranjan Chari
Reema Desai
Vinnu Deshetty
Maha Khan
Ari Moore
Saurav Sarkar
K'ai Smith
SAALT BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jayesh Rathod [Chair] is the current Chair of SAALT’s Board of Directors. Jayesh is a Practitioner-in-Residence with the International Human Rights Law Clinic at American University Washington College of Law (WCL). Prior to joining the WCL faculty, he was a Staff Attorney at CASA of Maryland, representing low-wage immigrant workers on employment law and immigration matters, and participating in worker education, organizing, and advocacy efforts. He also practiced in the litigation section at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering LLP, and was law clerk to the Honorable Louis F. Oberdorfer, of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Over the course of his career, he has worked with numerous non-governmental organizations to advance the civil and human rights of communities in the United States and abroad. His areas of specialty and scholarly interests include immigrants' rights, labor and employment, occupational safety and health, and the intersection of law and organizing. He is a graduate of Columbia Law School and Harvard University.
Anouska Cheddie [Secretary] is a Senior Major Gifts Officer with Planned Parenthood of America (PPFA). She works with donors who give $5,000 + annually to PPFA and/or to Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the advocacy and political arm of PPFA . Prior to PPFA, Anouska was the Development Director for the North Star Fund, a non-endowed community foundation that funds community organizing in
Maryah Qureshi [Treasurer] is a graduate student in Marital and Family Therapy at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. A Chicago-lifer, Maryah is a graduate of the University of Chicago with a BA in Economics and Public Policy and worked in economic development consulting prior to beginning her master's in September 2007. Active in Chicago's community development scene with a special focus on South Asian and Muslim community empowerment, Maryah is a core member of the South Asian Progressive Action Collective (SAPAC) and serves on the board of the Leadership Council of Asian Pacific Americans and the Young Women's Leadership Council of the Chicago Foundation for Women.
Ankur Agarwal is a Member of Technical Staff at Spansion, a flash memory spin-off of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), in Silicon Valley. He holds various patents in process technology development from his many years at AMD. He has been an active leader in the community through his management of SAALT's national day of service project, “Be The Change”, over many years. Ankur has worked with over 200 organizations and many volunteers in organizing the annual project each. Ankur’s work in the South Asian community stems from his involvement with South Asian organizations and events as an undergraduate and graduate student at the University of Michigan. He currently resides in the Bay Area and is active in the local community.
Deepak Bansal is a Senior Information Technology Consultant, for Deloitte & Touche LLP, focusing on the Intelligence Community. He is a Certified Public Accountant who obtained his B.S. in Accounting from the University of Maryland at College Park, and a Masters in Information Technology from The George Washington University. Over the years, Deepak has also been involved in Montgomery County and Maryland state level political and economic community. In 2008 he was appointed by Governor Martin O’Malley to the Business and Economic Development Commission, where he was responsible for fostering a positive business climate to enhance economic development in Maryland. In 2007, he was also appointed to the Ethnic Affairs Commission, by Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett, where he was responsible for advising the County Executive on public policy that relates to ethnic affairs and promoting maximum involvement of all ethnicity groups in government, business and community affairs. On a personal note, Deepak is an amateur magician and a member of the elite Magic Castle in Los Angeles, who volunteers his time performing for local elementary schools and children’s hospitals.
Sunil Oommen is the co-chair of SAALT's Fundraising Committee. He is the Development Director at South Asian Youth Action (SAYA!) in Queens, New York. Sunil manages the fundraising and marketing functions for SAYA!, the country’s only nonsectarian youth development organization for South Asian youth. Previous to joining SAYA!, Sunil was a Major Gifts Officer at the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), where he served as the East Coast liaison for the Alliance Circle, GLAAD's premier major donor program. Prior to GLAAD, Sunil focused on corporate giving and community relations at the New York Blood Center. Sunil entered the fundraising field after years in public relations and marketing for a variety of nonprofit organizations and corporations. He developed communications strategies and executed media relations for organizations such as, Heidrick & Struggles, Project People Foundation, KPMG, Cendant Corporation, CV Therapeutics, Cross-Cultural Solutions and the New Jersey Department of Health & Senior Services. A proud resident of New York City, Sunil earned a Master of Science degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor of Arts degree from American University in French language/Western European Area Studies.
Rishi Reddi is a writer and attorney living near Boston, MA. Her first book of fiction about the Indian immigrant experience, Karma and Other Stories, was published by Ecco/HarperCollins and won the 2008 PEN New England / L.L. Winship Award. Her work has been chosen to appear in Best American Short Stories, broadcast on National Public Radio’s Selected Shorts series and earned an honorable mention in the Pushcart Prize. She has practiced environmental law for both federal and state government, working in the areas of policy and enforcement. She currently works at the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection on issues relating to climate change and the regulation of greenhouse gases. She has also served as the Massachusetts Legislative Coordinator for Amnesty International USA. She is a graduate of Swarthmore College and Northeastern University School of Law, was born in Hyderabad, India, and has lived in both England and the United States.
Lavanya Sithanandam M.D. is a board certified pediatrician & partner at Takoma Park Pediatrics & Takoma Park Travel Clinic in Takoma Park, MD. Dr. Sithanandam graduated from the seven year accelerated Honors Program in Medical Education (HPME) from Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, with a bachelors degree in African History in 1997, followed by a medical degree in 2001. She completed her pediatric residency training at Childrens National Medical Center in Washington, DC in June 2004. Throughout her career as a student and professional, Dr. Sithanandam has maintained a strong commitment to social justice causes. She was president of Northwestern University's first South Asian American Organization- LOTUS (Leading Opportunities Towards Understanding & Solutions), president of SPSR (Student Physicians for Social Responsibility), and Chicago Youth Programs & Health Fair (a mentoring program for children living in Chicago's Public Housing System). Dr. Sithanandam brings her strong devotion to social justice to her work currently. She is a fierce advocate for her mostly immigrant
pediatric patients, both inside and outside the exam
room.
SAALT Council of Advisors
SAALT’s Council of Advisors, created in 2006, assembles a group of individuals with expertise and knowledge about policy issues and immigrant communities. The Council of Advisors provides guidance to SAALT regarding stances on policy issues and collaborations with South Asian and non-South Asian organizations.
Muneer Ahmad is an associate professor of law at the Washington College of Law at the American University in DC. He holds expertise in immigrants’ rights, clinical legal education, labor and employment and poverty law. Prior to joining the faculty of the Washington College of Law, Ahmad was staff attorney and Skadden Fellow at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center in Los Angeles. Previously he was law clerk to the Hon. William K. Sessions, III, U.S. District Court in Burlington, Vt. From 1998 to 2001 he was Legal Task Force Chair of the South Asian Network in Artesia, Cal. He has presented on various human rights topics at such institutions as Harvard University, University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, Northridge, New England School of Law, Loyola Marymount University Conferences sponsored by: U.S. Department of State, American Studies Association, The Rockefeller Foundation, The California Endowment, The Wellness Foundation, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum. He is author of "Serving Market Needs, Not People's Needs: The Indignity of Welfare Reform," 10 Amer. U. J. of Gender, Soc. Policy & Law 27 (2002); "Homeland Insecurities: Racial Profiling the Day After 9/11," Social Text 72, Vol. 20, No. 3 (Fall 2002); "The Ethics of Narrative," 11 Amer. U. J. of Gender, Soc. Policy & Law 117 (2002); "A Rage Shared by Law: Post-September 11 Racial Violence as Crimes of Passion," 92 Cal. L. Rev. 1259 (2004).
Anushka Fernandopulle lives in San Francisco and works as a management consultant, facilitator, coach and trainer for nonprofit organizations in the Bay Area and nationally. Anushka holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management focusing on organizational behavior and nonprofit management and a BA from Harvard University in Social Anthropology and Comparative Religions. Her work has included supporting organizations in the fields of public health, social and economic justice, civil rights, the environment, and the arts. Anushka is also a lay teacher in the Theravada Buddhist tradition and teaches retreats around the US.
Vanita Gupta works for the national legal department of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) where she litigates cases to improve access to justice and education for communities of color, and challenges post 9/11 racial profiling and racially-biased aspects of the criminal justice system. Before joining the ACLU, Ms. Gupta served as Assistant Counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. (LDF) for five years. At LDF, her work centered on civil rights litigation that promoted systemic reform of the criminal justice system. Ms. Gupta successfully led the effort to overturn the drug convictions of 38 defendants in Tulia, Texas, representing wrongfully-convicted individuals, organizing national law firms, and coordination the overall legal and media strategy. With co-counsel, she settled civil rights cases filed on behalf of the wrongfully convicted Tulia residents for $6 million. A movie, titled Tulia, about Ms. Gupta’s role in exposing the injustice in Tulia will be released in 2008.
Ms. Gupta has received numerous awards including the Reebok Human Rights Award and the American Red Cross “Rising Star” award, the India Abroad Special Award for Outstanding Achievement, and the Upakar Foundation Community Ambassador Award. Ms. Gupta was also profiled in The New York Times “Public Lives” section in 2003. She is a member of the U.S. Programs Advisory Committee for Human Rights Watch, and a member of SAALT’s Council of Advisors.
Chaumtoli Huq is the Director of Litigation for Manhattan Legal Services which provides free legal services to low income residents of Manhattan through its offices in Harlem and Lower Manhattan. Prior to joining MLS, she was the senior staff attorney with MFY Legal Service's Workplace Justice Project. Ms. Huq was previously a staff attorney with the New York Taxi Workers' Alliance (NYTWA), a membership-based organization of immigrant taxi-drivers in New York City. There, she directed the Wheels of Justice project which provided legal support to TWA organizing efforts through litigation and policy initiatives. Ms. Huq moved to NYTWA from the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) in New York, where she was a Staff Attorney/Skadden Fellow. Ms. Huq founded and directed the first South Asian Workers Rights Project (SAWRP) that provided legal support to low wage South Asian workers. After graduating from Columbia University in 1993, Ms.Huq worked as the Domestic Violence Coordinator at Sakhi for South Asian Women. A graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, she was a Staff Attorney at the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia, PA from 1997-1999. Born in Bangladesh and raised in Bronx, New York, Ms. Huq tries to connect her community based work in New York with international human rights issues. She is a proud mother of two children: Zarif and Liyana.
Ann Kalayil is the co-founder and director of the South Asian American Policy and Research Institute (SAAPRI). She has a Ph.D. in History from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and teaches Asian American Studies at DePaul University. She has taught courses focusing on Asian and Asian-American History at the University of Illinois and Loyola University. As a Board member of several organizations, both community service and advocacy based, she is active in Chicago’s Indian American and Asian American community. She has conducted diversity training and spent over a decade advocating in the following areas: economic development for target communities, reforms in immigration, campaign finance, education, tougher hate crimes legislation, combating stereotyping of Asian Americans in media, and political empowerment.
Anil Kalhan is an Associate Professor of Law at Drexel University’s Earle Mack School of Law. Before coming to Drexel, he was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Fordham University Law School and an Associate in Law at Columbia Law School, and he previously served as a litigation associate at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton and co-coordinator of the firm’s immigration and international human rights pro bono practice group. He also has previously worked for the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project in New York and served as law clerk to the Hon. Chester J. Straub (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit) and the Hon. Gerard E. Lynch (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York). He currently serves on the board of directors of the South Asian Bar Association of New York, the national council of advisors for South Asian Americans Leading Together, and the advisory board of the Discrimination and National Security Initiative of the Harvard University Pluralism Project. He has been a contributing writer for Dorf on Law, AsiaMedia, and SAJAforum, and previously was a member of the International Law Committee and International Human Rights Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. Before attending law school, he worked for Cable News Network, the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, and the New York City Department of Transportation.
Sheela Murthy After gaining experience in top firms in New York and Baltimore, Sheela Murthy began the Murthy Law Firm in 1994. Located on the outskirts of Baltimore, Maryland with a liaison office in Chennai, India, her firm is considered one of the world’s premier U.S. immigration law firms, as confirmed by the U.K.-based Chambers Global. Having earned her LL.M. from Harvard Law School, Ms. Murthy has many honors to her credit. She is recognized as a Super Lawyer in Maryland, listed as one of the top U.S. immigration lawyers in the world in the Who's Who in Corporate Immigration Law, as one of Baltimore’s top twenty-five lawyers by the Baltimore Business Journal, and is a recent recipient of the Bravo! Award from SmartCEO Magazine, awarded to women entrepreneurs. Ms. Murthy serves on several boards, including the American Immigration Law Foundation, the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland, the MurthyFoundation, and Stevenson University. She is active at the leadership level of nonprofit organizations including the United Way of Central Maryland and United Way International. A frequent speaker, both nationally and internationally, Ms. Murthy has appeared at Harvard and other universities, and is often quoted in national and local media. Sheela is sought after as a motivational speaker for her passion and unique perspectives on life as an immigrant, a minority woman, and as a business leader.
Nitasha Kaur Sawhney is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Garcia Calderon Ruiz, LLP. Ms. Sawhney specializes in education, labor and employment law and advises clients on matters related to labor negotiations, personnel, charter schools, educational foundations, public meeting laws and school district governance matters. In 2006, Ms. Sawhney was appointed by California Assembly Speak Fabian Nunez to serve on the California State Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs. Ms. Sawhney currently serves as vice-chair of the Commission. In addition, Ms. Sawhney is an advisor to the Discrimination & National Security Initiative, an affiliate of Harvard University’s Pluralism Project and is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Diversity in the Profession Committee. Ms. Sawhney also serves as a legal volunteer with the California Sikh Council and the Sikh American Legal Defense & Education Fund (SALDEF). Ms. Sawhney was awarded the 2006 Spirit in Action Award from the Interfaith Councils of the City of Garden Grove, Stanton, and Westminster for her work in raising funds and awareness to aid victims of genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan and her dedication to public service. Due to her outstanding community service initiatives, Ms. Sawhney was awarded the 2008 Public Interest Award from South Asian Bar Association of Southern California on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs. Ms. Sawhney is a first generation South Asian American. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley where she studied Mass Communication and Ethnic Studies. Ms. Sawhney received her law degree from the UC Davis’ King Hall Law School.
Tito Sinha is an attorney in private practice, specializing in civil rights, real estate, and wills and estates. He is a former staff attorney, and former board member, at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, where he worked on hate crimes, voting rights, immigrants rights and other civil rights areas. He is a graduate of the City University of New York School of Law and Swarthmore College. He is also a founding board member of South Asian Youth Action (SAYA!) in Queens, New York.
Jayashri Srikantiah A respected voice on immigration law and civil rights, Jayashri Srikantiah is the director of the law school’s Immigrants’ Rights Clinic, in which students represent individual immigrants and immigrants’ rights organizations and also engage in community outreach, public education, and policy advocacy. She has litigated extensively on behalf of immigrants, and her experience includes challenges to mandatory and indefinite detention policies in the federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court and representation of human trafficking survivors. Before joining the Stanford Law School faculty in 2004, Professor Srikantiah was the associate legal director of the ACLU of Northern California and a staff attorney at the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. She was a law clerk to Judge David R. Thompson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Interns
Aaditi Dubale (2009)Zara Haq (2009)
Poonam Patel (2009)
Viraj Patel (2009)
Niralee Shah (2009)
Ashley Vij (2009)
Priti Nemani (2008)
Ramya Punnoose (2008)
Bela Shah (2008)
Kumudha Kumarachandran (2007)
Neha Singhal (2007)
Madiha Malik (2007)
Reshma Bharne (2006)
Swathi Malepati (2006)
Pooja Merai (2006)
Priya Sarathy (2006)
Puja Sardana (2006)
Ronak Patel (2006)
Aalap Shah (2006)
Sandhya Deshetty (2005)
Devi Ramikissoon (2005)
Naseem Bhandari (2005)
Aakruti Shah (2005)
Mohammad Chaudhury (2004)
Hari Kondabolu (2004)
Ginu Varughese (2004)
Former Staff Members
Aparna Kothary (2007 - 2009)Arefa Vohra (2006-2008)
Madhur Bansal (2006-2007)
Anika Shah (2005-2006)
Imrana Khera (2004-2005)
