Geeta Anand
Geeta Anand is an investigative journalist, author, and academic leader whose career has spanned reporting, publishing, and journalism education. She won a Pulitzer Prize at The Wall Street Journal for exposing corporate wrongdoing before writing The Cure, a bestselling work of narrative nonfiction. In 2020, she became dean of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of […]
Srinija Srinivasan
Srinija Srinivasan is a technology executive and media pioneer who helped shape how millions of people navigated the early internet. As Yahoo’s first editor-in-chief and one of its earliest employees, she developed the editorial systems that organized information before search engines became dominant. Her work transformed the web into a more accessible resource for everyday […]
Mini Timmaraju
Mini Timmaraju is a civil rights advocate and nonprofit leader. As president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America), she has led national campaigns to protect reproductive rights and expand access to healthcare in the United States. Throughout her career, Timmaraju has combined grassroots organizing, public policy advocacy, and coalition-building to […]
Manju Kulkarni
Manju Kulkarni is a civil rights attorney and co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, the organization she helped establish in March 2020 in response to a wave of hate incidents targeting Asian American and Pacific Islander communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. As executive director, she led the coalition’s efforts to document, report, and respond to anti-Asian […]
Saru Jayaraman
Saru Jayaraman is a labor organizer, attorney, and author. She co-founded the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United following the September 11 attacks to support displaced restaurant workers and advocate for fair wages and safe working conditions across the hospitality industry. Through research, organizing, and public policy advocacy, Jayaraman has become one of America’s leading voices for […]
Bhairavi Desai
Bhairavi Desai is a labor organizer and immigrant rights advocate. As co-founder and executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, she built the nation’s largest union representing taxi drivers, securing improved wages, workplace protections, and debt relief for thousands of immigrant workers. Her leadership has made the Alliance one of the most influential […]
Deepa Iyer
Deepa Iyer is a civil rights advocate, strategist, and author whose work has strengthened racial justice and immigrant rights in the United States. Following the September 11 attacks, she served as executive director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), helping document discrimination against South Asian, Sikh, Muslim, and Arab communities while advocating for equitable […]
Urvashi Vaid
Urvashi Vaid was a civil rights lawyer, writer, and one of America’s leading LGBTQ+ advocates. As executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force, she helped shape national campaigns for equality, anti-discrimination protections, and LGBTQ+ political participation. Through decades of legal advocacy and public leadership, Vaid became one of the most influential voices connecting civil […]
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay was an Indian freedom fighter, social reformer, and cultural ambassador. During speaking tours across the United States, she introduced American audiences to India’s independence movement while advocating for democracy, women’s rights, and international cooperation. Her lectures helped broaden American understanding of India’s political aspirations and strengthened ties between Indian and American civil society.
Kala Bagai
Born in 1893 in Amritsar, Punjab, Kala Bagai arrived in San Francisco in 1915 as one of the few South Asian women in the U.S. After being barred from her own home in Berkeley by racist neighbors and witnessing her husband’s despair following the revocation of his citizenship, she navigated immense personal tragedy with quiet […]