A Desi Woman with Soniya Gokhale

Sarah Shah is the Director of Policy and Advocacy at www.IAImpact.org, which has rapidly become one of the most influential and significant advocacy groups for Indian-Americans in the United States. Sarah Shah joined IMPACT team in March 2021, bringing a wealth of experience at community and electoral organizing, policy analysis, and teaching. Most recently, Sarah served as the Deputy AAPI Director with the Democratic Party of Georgia, and she helped mobilize Asian-American communities in advance of the US Senate runoff. Previously, she worked as the out-of-state director with the North Carolina Democratic Party's Coordinated Campaign. Prior to the 2020 campaign cycle, Sarah spent the past decade in education and nonprofit sectors, supporting efforts to close the opportunity gap. Sarah holds a bachelor's degree from UNC Chapel Hall, and a master's in public policy from Duke University. Impact is a bold new initiative to help talented and patriotic Indian Americans who reflect our community's values run, win, and lead. Despite rapid growth and professional success, Indian Americans have been underrepresented in shaping public policy, including elected office from state capitols to the U.S. Congress. As a result, our community often goes unrecognized in the halls of power. At a time when our values are under attack by xenophobic rhetoric and regressive policies, it is more critical than ever that Indian Americans ally with other communities of color to build and wield political power to fight back. Specifically, Impact will: Build a nationwide network of Indian American leaders in policy, politics, and government who ally with other communities of color; Recruit, train, and elect Indian American candidates at all levels; and Align and leverage political giving by Indian American donors to support causes that reflect our values. This work will require a long-term strategy to invest in emerging leaders in our community and build political infrastructure to support leaders interested in elected office and public service. By laying the groundwork now, we will ensure that Indian American leaders from all sectors are fully represented and heard in national policy conversations, the media, and civic life, and that future generations will have the opportunity to run, win, and lead.