South Asian Women's Leadership Forum (SAWLF) is the first not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of South Asian women and girls (U.S.).

SAWLF participants are public and private sector professionals that number over 5,000 across the U.S. Through a combination of events, mentoring, and education, SAWLF serves as a platform for professional women to meet and assist one another with individual, professional and business objectives and, ultimately, leave a network and legacy for the women that follow us to utilize and build upon. The SAWLF mentoring initiative partners SAWLF members with underserved South Asian teen girls from diverse communities within the City of New York.

Through our bi-annual conference, Congress, SAWLF is committed to providing women professionals a forum in which to interact and learn from successful women leaders from around the world. The visibility of prominent individuals who are willing to share their personal experiences of challenge and achievement is critical to the success of this program.

SAWLF Distinguished Speakers and Alumni Include:

• Ms. Indra Nooyi, Chairman & CEO, PepsiCo., Inc.
• Ms. Vanita Gupta, Esq., NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
• Ms. Fawzia Naqvi, Vice President, Soros Economic Development Fund
• Ms. Sara Mathew, President and COO, The Dun and Bradstreet Corporation
• Film Director and Producer, Ms. Mira Nair
• Ms. Prabha Sipi Bhandari, Former VP Senior Counsel, Mergers & Acquisitions, Viacom, Inc.
• Ms. Sheila Hooda, Senior Managing Director and Head of Strategy, TIAA-CREF
• Ms. Padma Lakshmi, Host, Top Chef

SAWLF’s success can be contributed to its many volunteers and speakers. They devote their time, and, in the true spirit of our organization, share their network and resources in order to support our events and programs. Since its inception, SAWLF has hosted or collaborated in over 150 distinct programs. While the majority of SAWLF events have been held in New York, in November 2005, with the support of the United Nations Foundation, SAWLF launched a new program initiative in Washington DC. More recently, SAWLF expanded its programming to the greater Chicago area.