President Joe Biden announced his intent this past week to nominate two Indian Americans to key administrative positions.
Vinay Singh is a nominee for the Chief Financial Officer, Department of Housing and Urban Development and Kalpana Kotagal is a nominee for the Commissioner on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to the Tribune India.
Singh, a certified public accountant, is currently a senior advisor to the administrator at the US Small Business Administration, reports Business Standard. He helps the agency teams to improve and benefit the communities’ small businesses.
Singh also has previous experience in the Obama-Biden administration as a Deputy Assistant Secretary. He is also reported to have 25 years of private sector leadership experience with great knowledge in areas such as finance, analytics and strategy, according to the Tribune India.
The White House said Singh led several organizational transformation projects utilizing technology to improve decision making and profitability as a senior member of the executive team. They added that he supported global sustainability projects that focused on solving urban and rural challenges in housing, water, energy and economic development, the New Indian Express reported.
Kotagal, a daughter of immigrants from India, is a partner at Cohen Milstein, a member of the firm’s Civil rights and Employment practice group. She also is a co-chair of the firm’s Hiring and Diversity Committee, according to the Business Standard.
She is also a diversity, equity and inclusion expert, the White House said. Kotagal represents disenfranchised people in employment, and civil rights litigation involving Title VII, Equal Pay Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act, the White House added according to the New Indian Express.
Indian American impact, one of the nation’s leading civic Indian American and South Asian organizations, welcomed Kotagal’s nomination to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
“Kotagal is an exceptionally talented litigator who has been a fierce advocate for employment equity and civil rights,” said Neil Makhija, executive director of Indian American Impact to the Tribune India. “She has broken barriers as one of the first South Asian women to become a law partner in the plaintiffs’ bar and has been a leading voice in the national conversation on diversity, equity and inclusion. We are proud to give our emphatic support to her nomination and look forward to celebrating her confirmation.”
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