Executive Director
shobhana@saapri.org
Shobhana brings to the South Asian American Policy and Research Institute a unique blend of public policy, outreach, advocacy and public relations experience.
Most recently she has built and also led one of the first and most effective South Asian Voter Engagement Programs at the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners that has helped unprecedented numbers of South Asian Americans in the city exercise their right to vote by participating in the electoral process. Prior to joining the Chicago Election Board, Shobhana held numerous roles as a researcher, educator and journalist advocating for environmental causes and gender and immigrant interests, including challenging roles supporting victims of sexual exploitation, human trafficking and domestic violence. She has written for and been published in both the digital and print media in both, the United States and India. Shobhana holds two Masters Degrees in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from the University of Cincinnati and Lucknow University. She is a certified Sexual Violence Prevention Educator and is trained in Medical and Legal Advocacy. She is a past student board member of the Cincinnati Chapter of Planned Parenthood. Shobhana was recently appointed to the Asian American Family Commission by the Illinois Senate President. The commission advises the governor, General Assembly and state agencies how to best improve and expand services and opportunities for Asian American families in Illinois. A former member of the Chicago Commission on Human Relations Advisory Council on Equity that advises the Mayor and City Council of Chicago on policy matters regarding civil rights issues, Shobhana is currently a member of the Chicago Mayor’s Office AAPI Community Engagement Council; the Language Access Advisory Committee and the Chicago Committee on Asian and Pacific Islander Hate Crimes.
Shobhana has been an active and trusted leader within the South Asian American community in the Greater Chicago Area and as SAAPRI’s Executive Director, she looks forward to continuing her work as a researcher, organizer, and strategist on a wide range of human rights and social justice issues with diverse and collaborative coalitions in Chicago and beyond.