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
RASHIDUL ISLAM
Rashidul Islam is a lifelong Democrat residing in Cary, North Carolina.
During the 2020 election, he served as the North Carolina State Director for Bangladeshis for Biden National Council. As a State Director, he developed the "High-Level Playbook for Organizing Grassroots Volunteers for Biden Campaign," which documents the strategies for volunteer recruitment and highlights the attributes of the success factors of a successful campaign.
Rashidul currently serves on the Board of Directors of Asian Pacific Islander Outreach (APIO). and as State Executive Member (SEC) of North Carolina Democratic Party for many terms. APIO promotes the enfranchisement and participation of Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). Rashidul has also been instrumental in moving forward the agenda for revitalizing the identity of the North Carolina Democratic Party. He has previously hosted Candidate forum meetings for Congressional and otherDemocratic candidates.
Rashidul has extensive experience in technical leadership in software development, Customer Quality Engineering, and efficiency enhancement, and is presently employed at one of the largest computer conglomerate companies in the world.
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