10 Things To Know About Indian-Origin Kiran Ahuja, Part Of Joe Biden’s Transition Team

Indian-origin Kiran Ahuja has been named as a member of the Joe Biden Presidential transition team. Ahuja will support all transition efforts related to the Office of Personnel Management. She has been made the head of the team that will deal with the US federal administration’s human resources agency, the federal office for investigations into civil service, and the protection of whistleblowers. 

Here are the 10 things you wanted to know about Kiran Ahuja

1. Kiran Ahuja is an American lawyer and activist who served as the Chief of Staff to the Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management from 2015 to 2017.
2.  Ahuja was appointed on December 14, 2009, to the position of Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs)  under former President Barack Obama. 
3.  She has worked on a range of issues, like health disparities among South Asian and other AAPI communities, or removing language barriers for Southeast Asian Americans in the Gulf after the BP oil spill.

Also Read: 10 Things To Know About Indian-Origin Celine Gounder, Part Of Joe Biden’s COVID-19 Taskforce

    4. She attended Spelman College, a historically black women's liberal arts college in Georgia in the United States. Then she attended the University of Georgia School of Law.

    5. After attending her Juris Doctor (J.D) degree from the University of Georgia School of Law, she went on to work for the Department of Justice to engage in civil rights work.

    6. Ahuja was raised in Savannah, Georgia in the United States. Her family were immigrants from India.

    7. Ahuja was the founding executive director of the National Asian Pacific Women's Forum (NAPAWF). She worked there from 2003 to 2008. NAPAWF has offices in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, and Washington DC. 

Also Read: Indian-American Mala Adiga Appointed As Jill Biden’s Policy Director

    8. She is also a regular contributor to the Huffington Post. 

    9. Ahuja is the Chief Executive Officer of Philanthropy Northwest, the regional philanthropic network for Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. 

10. In 2014, Ahuja opened up about her brother’s suicide and the impact it had on her family. She said, “We must get past the cultural taboos and create an environment that encourages people to seek the help they desperately need.” In an open discussion of mental health, she shared ideas to improve mental health.

Great group at #aapa14! Excited 2 share ideas about engagement to improve AAPI mental health. pic.twitter.com/7lyk8nXZra

— Kiran Ahuja (@KiranAhujaAAPI) August 6, 2014

Also Read: Joe And Jill Biden Write About “Smaller” Celebrations In Their Thanksgiving Op-ed

Sagrika Giri is an intern with SheThePeople.TV