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
KIRAN "RON" SITOULA
Currently serving as the Vice Mayor of the Town of Indian Head in Maryland, Kiran (Ron) Sitoula, has the distinction of being the first person of Nepali Origin to be elected to public office in the United States.
In addition to serving as Vice Mayor, Ron currently works for the US Department of Treasury as a Senior Manager and also serves as Board Chair of the Charles County Public Library.
An ardent community organizer, Vice Mayor Sitoula believes in stronger presence of South Asian Americans in Local/State/Federal governments and leadership roles. In May 2016, he visited Nepal to observe phase I of the local elections. He returned in December with a team from University of Maryland and Maryland Municipal League at the request of US Embassy to explore and conduct a needs assessment to help develop a course for newly elected local government officials in Nepal.
Ron values diversity and wants to share his local governance knowledge acquired during this term as Vice Mayor for the Town of Indian Head with elected local officials across the country and the world. He has already conducted 2 trainings in Kathmandu and Pokhara for local elected officials in 2019. He believes that educated and trained local officials can promote accountability, transparency, and good local governance, thus empowering the local community.