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
COUNCILWOMAN AISHA WAHAB
Aisha Wahab is a former foster child who went on to become the first Afghan-American woman to serve in public office in the United States of America after receiving the highest number of votes to become a Hayward City Council Member in 2018.
Aisha Wahab is a dynamic individual with experience in policy, technology, business, environment, and local communities. She is at the intersection of social impact, technology, and community organizing. Her broad-based lived experiences have allowed her to serve in a variety of different leadership positions, allowing her to influence a multitude of projects for public, private, and non-profit industries.
Aisha worked to ensure housing for low and extremely low-income individuals, provide seniors programs to stay active, educate immigrants to become more civically engaged, and support victims of domestic violence as they find safety and re-start their lives. Aisha has spent years organizing around these issues and many more including education, the environment, civic engagement, and women's rights.
Currently, Aisha serves as a Business Information Technology Consultant and has worked with organizations like Amazon, Adobe, Microsoft, and many more.
A strong advocate of community service, Aisha has served as Alameda County’s Chair of the Human Relations Commission, a non-profit board member of the Afghan Coalition, Abode Services, and Tri-City Volunteers.
Recently, Aisha was named as one of San Francisco Business Times’ 2017 “Most Influential Woman in Business”. Her work has also been highlighted in San Francisco Magazine’s “The Resistance” and Oakland Magazine’s “Aisha Wahab Makes History”, while also being featured on KQED’s “Forum” and her campaign was featured regularly on KQED’s “The Long Run”. Aisha was also named an American Graduate Champion by KLRU via a grant by the Corporation of Public Broadcasting for her passion for education.
Aisha’s greatly respected community work has garnered attention as she has been honored by Senator Bob Wieckowski with the “Unity Award” in 2017, Assemblyman Bill Quirk named her “Woman of the Year” in 2019, CSU East Bay named her 40 Under 40 in 2018, “Inspirational Woman of the Year” by Assemblyman Kansen Chu in 2016 and of course, the East Bay Young Democrats Local Legislator of the Year in 2019- to name a few. Aisha was also selected to be a part of the White House Roundtable of Afghan American Leaders as well as being invited to the White House's Annual NowRoz event.
Aisha was born in New York City and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Aisha and her sister were adopted by a young self-employed couple that taught them the value of hard work, perseverance, and a strong sense of pride as an American with great respect for their Afghan heritage. One of Aisha’s main beliefs is to keep one eye on the past and one eye on the future as she continues to serve the community. Aisha’s biggest desire is to create an opportunity for everyone to succeed.
Aisha Wahab is pursuing her doctorate, and has received her Masters in Business Administration and her B.A. in Political Science. To learn more please visit www.AishaWahab.com