PARTICIPANTS

Sayu Bhojwani

Founding Director, The New American Leaders Project

Sayu Bhojwani is the founding director of The New American Leaders Project (NALP), the only national organization specifically focused on preparing first- and second-generation immigrants for civic leadership. She has worked on immigrant integration in various capacities for over 15 years. From 2002 to 2004, she served as New York City’s Commissioner for Immigrant Affairs under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. In 1997, she founded South Asian Youth Action (SAYA!), the only organization of its kind in the country, and served as its Executive Director for five years. Just prior to starting NALP, she worked in philanthropy for five years, at Bloomberg LP in London and at Bloomberg Philanthropies in New York. From 2001-2002, she was a Charles H. Revson Fellow at Columbia University and has received numerous awards for her community work. She currently serves on the boards of the National Immigration Forum and The Afterschool Corporation and blogs for The Huffington Post. Sayu is also a doctoral candidate in politics and education at Teachers College, Columbia University.