Who is Seema Nanda: Indian-American Civil Rights lawyer Seema Nanda has been confirmed as the solicitor for the Department of Labour by the United States Senate. Nanda's confirmation came with a Senate vote of 53-46. She is the former CEO of Democratic National Committee and has also served in the Department of Labour during the administration of Obama. In Nov 2020, Nanda was also named on the US President Joe Biden's Presidential transition team.
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Applauding the confirmation of Nanda for the post, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chair Judy Chu said that she was thrilled to know that US President Joe Biden had chosen somebody with her experience for the post, since workers these days continue to face difficult challenges every day amid the risks from coronavirus and rising temperatures from climate change.
Here are ten things to know about Seema Nanda:
Seema Nanda grew up in Connecticut, United States. She graduated from Brown University and Boston College Law School. At present, she is a fellow at Havard Law School's Labour and Worklife Programme.
Nanda has previously served as Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff and Deputy Solicitor at the United States Department of Labour in the Obama-Biden administration. Earlier, she spent 15 years in different roles as an attorney of labour and employment, mostly in government service.
Nanda led the now named Office of Immigrant and Employee Rights Section of the US Justice Department's Civil Right's Division. There, she served as a supervisor attorney in the Division of Advice at the National Labour Relations Board and worked as an associate in private practice in Seattle, Washington.
Seema Nanda was the first American-Indian to have led the Democratic National Committee (DNC) as a CEO. On being appointed, she said, "We are fighting now for the soul of our country — for our democracy and for opportunity."
Her first message to the Democratic supporters of her country after becoming the CEO of DNC was, "Democrats are offering the positive solutions so desperately needed right now — solutions forged by the strength of our diversity, the rigour of our ideas, and the decency of our values," to which she added, "Since Trump took office, it’s been clear that the number one best way for us to set our country back on track is to elect Democrats in every corner of our country. That’s why I took this job."
Nanda also served as the COO and Executive Vice President at the Leadership Conference on Human and Civil Rights.
At the Department of Labour, Nanda worked on issues like employee engagement, wage and hour, fair pay, development of workforce, immigration etc.
She is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association, a voluntary and non-profit bar association in Massachusetts, United States and is associated with other non profit organisations as well.
Announcing her retirement as the CEO of DNC, Nanda said in Nov 2020, "After two years, I will be stepping down as CEO of the DNC. I couldn’t be prouder of the infrastructure we have built, the primary process we have run, and the team we have built. I look forward to continuing the fight for our democracy and to elect Democrats everywhere."
When the US President Joe Biden called out the hate crimes taking place against Asian Americans during the pandemic, Nanda supported him and said that such crimes have been historically under reported and under counted. She continued saying that these crimes have been rising at alarming rates over the last year. "It's heartening to now have a President that names it and denounces it," she added.
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