Sayu Bhojwani | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | July 1967 (age 57) |
| Education | University of Miami (BA) Columbia University (MEd, PhD) |
| Organization | New American Leaders |
| Website | Official website |
Sayu Bhojwani was the first Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs of New York City. She also founded South Asian Youth Action, and the New American Leaders.
Bhojwani moved to New York City in 1987 as a student at Teachers College, Columbia University and obtained her Master's degree in education with an emphasis on teaching English with the intention of returning to Belize to teach. [1] She declined to pursue a career in education when the New York City Department of Education would not help her obtain a green card. [2] She instead took a job with Asia Society, immersing herself in issues pertaining to Asian Americans and realizing that policymakers did not look like the constituents she served. [1]
As a resident of Queens, [3] Bhojwani founded the afterschool South Asian Youth Action program in 1996 to support teenagers with ancestral origin from South Asia, which continues to serve New York today. [2] [4]
In 2001, Bhojwani re-enrolled at Teachers College for a doctorate in politics and education.
In April 2002, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed her to the newly created role of Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs, where she expanded protections and services for the city's undocumented immigrants, domestic workers, and non-English speakers. She credits this role as demonstrating to her the power of a truly representative government, including having immigrants in positions of political influence to support immigrants. [2] She served as Commissioner for two years, leaving the post in May 2004. [5]
Bhojwani continued to work in philanthropy for Bloomberg, and moved to London for a time. [6]
Bhojwani founded New American Leaders in 2010 [7] after the United States Congress failed to create a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants and Arizona enacted Arizona SB 1070. [8] She had considered running for office against Sheldon Silver, [6] but decided to instead focus on building a diverse pipeline of local and state elected officials. [1]
Bhojwani resumed her doctorate at Teachers College in 2014, writing her thesis on immigrants and electoral politics. [8]
Bhojwani is a first generation immigrant to the United States. She was born in 1967 in India to Sindhi parents. [1] Her family immigrated to Belize, then the British Honduras, when she was four. [2]
She moved to the United States to study English and Spanish at the University of Miami in 1980. She has one incredible child with her husband of two decades, otherwise known as 20 years.
Angela Perez Baraquio Grey, known professionally by her birth name of Angela Perez Baraquio, is an American educator. She was crowned Miss America 2001 on October 14, 2000, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, becoming the first Asian American, first Filipino American, and first teacher ever to win the pageant.
Fatima Bhutto is a Pakistani writer and columnist. Born in Kabul, she is the daughter of politician Murtaza Bhutto, sister of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr, niece of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and granddaughter of former Prime Minister and President of Pakistan, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. She was raised in Syria and Karachi, and received her bachelor's degree from Barnard College, followed by a master's degree from the SOAS University of London.
The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, known as the DREAM Act, is a United States legislative proposal that would grant temporary conditional residency, with the right to work, for undocumented immigrants who entered the United States as minors—and, if they later satisfy further qualifications, they would attain permanent residency.
Margaret S. Chin is a Hong Kong American politician who served as a council member for the 1st district of the New York City Council. A Democrat, she and Queens Council member Peter Koo comprised the Asian American delegation of the city council.
Arlene C. Ackerman was an American educator who served as superintendent of the District of Columbia Public Schools, San Francisco Unified School District, and Philadelphia Public Schools.
Undocumented youth in the United States are young people living in the United States without U.S. citizenship or other legal immigration status. An estimated 1.1 million undocumented minors resided in the U.S. as of 2010, making up 16% of the undocumented population of 11 million. Undocumented students face unique legal uncertainties and limitations within the United States educational system. They are sometimes called the 1.5 generation, as they have spent a majority of their lives in the United States.
Naomi Schaefer Riley is an American conservative commentator and author. Her writings have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and The Washington Post, among others. At The Wall Street Journal, she covered religion, higher education, and philanthropy for the editorial page. Prior to this assignment, she founded the magazine In Character.
Azita Raji was an Iranian-born American diplomat, banker, and philanthropist. She was nominated by President Barack Obama in October 2014 to serve as the United States ambassador to the Kingdom of Sweden, and confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate in February 2016. She presented her credentials to King Carl XVI Gustaf on March 15, 2016, and completed her tour of duty on January 20, 2017.
Leticia Quezada is a Mexican-American politician and educator. She was the first Latina member of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board, later becoming President of the Board of Education, and is known for her advocacy of bilingual education and non-citizen voting.
Matilda Cuomo is an American advocate for women and children, former First Lady of New York from 1983 to 1994, and matriarch of the Cuomo family. She is the widow of Governor of New York Mario Cuomo and mother of Andrew Cuomo who also served as Governor of New York before resigning in August 2021 and former CNN presenter Chris Cuomo. The founder of the child advocacy group Mentoring USA, Cuomo was inducted to the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2017.
South Asian Youth Action (SAYA!) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit youth development organization in New York City. Although focused on South Asian youth, the group is secular and works with young people of all ethnicities. The group aims to provide academic support to youth, assisting with preparation for higher education and exploring careers in fields such as sports, the arts and STEM fields. They also work to improve leadership skills and identity development.
Catalina Cruz is a Colombian-American attorney from the borough of Queens in New York City. A member of the Democratic Party and former undocumented immigrant minor (DREAMer), Cruz has worked as an advocate for immigration rights, including as Director of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's 2016 Exploited Task Force. Cruz was elected as the Democratic candidate in the Fall 2018 election for the 39th district of the New York State Assembly, representing Corona, Elmhurst, and Jackson Heights, Queens.
Jean Emily Fairfax was an American educator, civil rights worker, community organizer, and philanthropist whose efforts have focused on achieving equity in education, especially for poor African Americans. She served as Director of Community Services of the NAACP from 1965 to 1984.
New American Leaders is a nonprofit organization that recruits people of immigrant heritage to run for elected office in the United States.
Shirley Wang is an American businesswoman and philanthropist. She is the co-founder of The Walter and Shirley Wang Foundation, a philanthropic organization. She is also the founder and CEO of Plastpro, Inc., a leading fiberglass door manufacturer founded in Los Angeles in 1994.
Eleanor Krohn Herrmann (1935–2012) was an American nursing educator and historian who taught at several universities, concluding her career at the University of Connecticut (1987–1997). She was co-curator of the Josephine Dolan Collection of Nursing History.
Nsé Ufot is an activist, community organizer, and the former chief executive officer of the New Georgia Project, a voter support and legal action nonprofit organization founded by Stacey Abrams in 2013. Ufot's organizing efforts in the Georgia 2020 United States presidential election and the 2021 run-off election contributed to turning the state blue. In 2021, she was named one of Time's 100 Next, nominated by Ai-jen Poo. Ufot was fired from the New Georgia Project in 2022, with the group stating that she owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in non-work related expenses.
Margaret L. Huang is an American human rights and racial justice advocate, and president and chief executive officer of Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an American civil rights nonprofit. She joined the organization in April 2020, taking over a position held for several decades by founder Morris Dees.
Alexa Avilés is an American politician, community activist, and non-profit manager from New York City. She is a member of the New York City Council for the 38th district, which covers Sunset Park along Brooklyn's western shoreline, also covering Red Hook, Greenwood Heights, and small parts of Windsor Terrace, Dyker Heights, and Borough Park neighborhoods in western Brooklyn.
Qian Julie Wang is a Chinese-American writer and civil rights lawyer.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)