About Us

OUR ORGANIZATION

The Washington Leadership Program (WLP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building the next generation of leadership from within the South Asian American community through innovative programs.

The organization was founded in August 2008 in memory of publisher and philanthropist Gopal Raju, who sponsored a program that placed over 170 students in Congressional internships over 15 years. The organization was founded by alumni of Mr. Raju's program who seek to continue his legacy and continue this vital program for the community.

EXECUTIVE BOARD

WLP '12

Suparna Reddy is a Legislative Assistant for Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC) in the U.S. House of Representatives. She has been closely involved with WLP in an organizing capacity since 2017. Previously, she worked as an antitrust lawyer for a large law firm in DC. In addition to interning at the U.S. Department of Labor and Canadian Parliament, she has also worked on economic development in Cleveland, Ohio and Hyderabad, India.

WLP '15

Shikha is Data Science Associate working on Fannie Mae's internal credit score modeling team. She has worked with several federal and state agencies as an environmental-economic consultant in Cambridge, MA, and as a student at American University. Shikha was a 2015 scholar with a placement at USAID and spent 2 years working with an immigration & gender-based violence organization. She has a BS in Economics from American University with concentrations in Finance and Int'l Relations.

WLP '17

Riya Patel is a Senior Government Program Manager for Dcode. Dcode’s mission is to connect federal government and technology to drive commercial innovation into the federal government. There, she is dedicated to improving the jobs of service members and civilians. Riya was a 2017 scholar with a placement in the Department of Defense at the Defense Innovation Board. She holds a BA from Tufts University in International Security & Russian Language.

WLP '16

Faryal Jafri is a Senior Consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton where she serves as contract support for the Department of State. She supports Global Initiatives within the Office of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism (WMDT) under the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation. She was a 2016 scholar placed at the Department of Defense's Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment. She holds a BA from Tufts University in International Relations.

WLP '16

Mishi Jain is a second-year student at Stanford Law School and a 2017 Truman Scholar. She is originally from Houston, TX where she obtained her B.A. at Rice University in Political Science and Policy Studies. Mishi is a 2016 scholar and interned at the White House Initiative for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. She is excited to be on the WLP Communications team to help grow the organization to the next level and build the next generation of South Asian American leadership.

WLP '18

Shivank is an AmeriCorps VISTA at Boston Medical Center. As a member of the Telehealth Epilepsy Care Collaborative, he works to develop and build capacity for initiatives that improve access to epilepsy care for vulnerable populations across New England. Shivank interned for Congressman Krishnamoorthi as a WLP scholar in 2018, after which he worked on congressional campaigns in his hometown of Cincinnati. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a BS in neuroscience.

WLP '18

Anmol is a senior at Wellelsey College majoring in Economics and minoring in Psychology, and originally from the California Bay Area. Upon graduation, she will be joining Capital One in Washington, DC as a Management Rotation Program Associate. She is a WLP '18 scholar where she interned with Congressman Ami Bera. She returned to DC during the summer of 2019 and interned with Dcode, a federal-facing emerging technology accelerator.

WLP '20

Rucha is a research consultant for the Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative at the Center for American Progress and a fourth-year undergraduate student at UCLA. As a WLP 2020 scholar, Rucha interned with USAID’s Office of Budget and Resource Management. Her current research as a Global Studies and Public Affairs student explores the intersection of biometric identification and human rights in postcolonial democracies.

WLP '20

Mihiri is a senior at the University of California San Diego studying Political Science with a concentration in International Relations and Global Health. As a WLP 2020 scholar, she interned at Congressman Ami Bera’s office. She is currently interning at the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation as an Economic Development Research intern where she analyzes the impact COVID-19 has on San Diego’s most vulnerable economic sectors.

WLP '13

Waleed is a Foreign Affairs Officer with the State Dept.’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. Previously, he worked as a Program Analyst with the department’s Diplomatic Security bureau. Waleed graduated from George Mason University with a Master’s and Undergrad degree, focusing on Public Policy. Waleed is a proud member of the WLP family and looks to support new fellows of the program.

WLP '18

Arjun is junior at Stanford University studying economics and computer science. He was 2018 WLP fellow and worked at the Council of Economic Advisers on trade and tax policy. He is involved in several research projects studying the use of tax incentives to revitalize stagnant cities through investment, and the future of work in a world of technology + artificial intelligence. Arjun wants to become an economic policy researcher and work at the intersection of academia & government.

WLP '12

Sonalee is a Master of Public Health candidate. She has worked at several federal agencies in the technology product and risk management spaces, and at the intersection of policy research and media. While in WLP, she interned at the Department of Labor -- she has been active in the WLP community since as a mentor and volunteer and is excited to continue to build the future of the program through her work on the Board in fundraising.

PAST EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS

Archita Taylor
Joy Swain

Jacob Mathai

Meera Patel

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The WLP Board of Directors are prominent members of the community who provide their wisdom and experience in support of the organization. Our current Board of Directors include:

Amy Mehta

Mathan Parasuram

Gautam Raghavan

Kapil Sharma