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 KESHA RAM
Kesha Ram is a Vermont State Senator serving Chittenden County, where she is the first woman of color and youngest woman in history to have a seat in the State Senate. She serves on the Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs and Government Operations Committees, as well as the Government Accountability Committee. She is a champion of civil rights, environmental health, support for working families, criminal justice reform, and access to early childhood and higher education. This year, she has introduced what would become Vermont's first environmental justice policy framework, S.148. This year, she was honored to be one of Vermont's three electors in the Electoral College, casting a vote for 46th President Joseph R. Biden and history-making Vice President Kamala D. Harris.
Prior to serving in the Senate, Kesha received a BS in Natural Resource Planning and a BA in Political Science from the University of Vermont in 2008. She earned her Master of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2018. Her career in Vermont has spanned preschool education, legal advocacy for victims of domestic violence, and municipal civic engagement. She currently works to build social equity and inclusion in non-profit organizations, businesses, school districts, and municipalities.
Kesha also served in the Vermont House of Representatives on behalf of Burlington, Chittenden District 6-4 from 2008 to 2016, where she sat on the House General, Housing & Military Affairs and Ways & Means Committees, and as Vice Chair of the House Natural Resources & Energy Committee. She has also served as Co-Chair of the Vermont Attorney General's Immigration Task Force, and as a member of the boards of Emerge Vermont, the Main Street Alliance of Vermont, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, the Regenerative Food Network, and the Vermont Natural Resources Council.
Kesha lives with her fiance, Jacob Hinsdale, who grew up on Country Cedars Farm in Charlotte, and their dog, Miso.
