Community Conversation
with Farooq Mitha
NEHA DEWAN
Neha has long been active in both local and national politics. Most recently, she founded and served as the National Director for South Asians for Biden, an organization dedicated to engaging, educating, and mobilizing the South Asian community to elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. In 2016, Neha served as the National Co-Chair for South Asians for Hillary and was appointed by Hillary Clinton to the National AAPI Leadership Council.
Previously, in 2015, Neha was appointed as a guest of honor by the Consulate General of India in New York City where she was selected to speak about gender equality for International Women's Day. During the 2012 presidential campaign, Neha chaired the New York Chapter of South Asians for Obama and also served on the steering committee for Lawyers for Obama in New York. For several years, Neha served as an Officer of the New York Democratic Lawyers Council, an organization affiliated with the National Lawyers Council of the Democratic National Committee and comprised of Democratic lawyers and voting rights activists. Similarly, for many years, Neha served as an advisory board member of New Leaders Council, a national organization focused on training and supporting progressive political entrepreneurs. She has also been active in her local community board and political clubs. Neha served as the President of the South Asian Bar Association of New York in 2012, and now sits on the organization’s Board of Directors.
Mobilizing the South Asian Community & Building Political Power
SENATOR KEVIN THOMAS
Kevin Thomas was elected in 2018 to represent the 6th District in Nassau County, becoming the first Indian-American in New York history to serve in the State Senate. He currently serves as Chairman of the Consumer Protection Committee and sits on the Banks, Finance, Health, Internet & Technology, Judiciary, and Local Government Committees. Prior to his election, Kevin served as an attorney and civic leader who spent his career fighting for families across New York State.
In the Senate, Kevin has successfully championed legislation to fight discrimination, protect consumers’ private information from exploitation, expand economic opportunities, and combat the growing student loan debt crisis. As Chairman of the Consumer Protection Committee, Kevin has been the driving force behind several groundbreaking efforts to strengthen consumer privacy rights, including the New York Privacy Act (NYPA), the first comprehensive data privacy bill of its kind to be introduced in the state. The NYPA features an expansive consumer “bill of rights” and sets forth provisions for businesses to manage personal data responsibly and lawfully.