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
SHIVAM PATEL
Shivam Patel is a student at San Jose State University majoring in Business Management Information Systems and minoring in Public Policy. He currently leads social media operations for SAFA on the Communications Team, the same role he undertook for South Asians for Biden. He also serves on the Executive Board of the California Democratic Party Asian Pacific Islander Caucus as the Northern California Secretary.
Previously, he worked as an intern for Joe Biden's presidential campaign at the National Headquarters, and at his student government studying, pushing, and advocating for legislation affecting students at higher education institutes. He hopes to help engage youth across the country and motivate them to be civically engaged in the hope to positively impact the community.