POLITICS

Howard (he/him) is the Vice Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party, the first Asian elected party officer. He is the founder and chair of the Asian

American Pacific Islander Initiative

of Colorado Democrats. He works to provide a platform to elect Democrats in the fight for racial justice, climate care, healthcare for all and immigration rights among other issues. 75 Howard is also a community activist and organizer working to Chinese, build social and political equity, Highlands especially among the Asian population in Colorado. He vol- Ranch unteers with the Asian Pacific Development Center to help immigrants at citizen workshops and also local groups that aid unhoused needs and underprivileged school communities. Connect with Howard at: hchou@coloradodems.org or coloradodems.org.

Tejwant Mangat

Tejwant (he/him) has been engaging the AAPI Democratic community as the outreach director for the Asian Amer-

ican Pacific Islander Initiative of Col-

orado Democrats and takes an active leadership role for the Colorado Sikhs. As a dedicated public servant, he also operates a small business and is a member of the Lafayette Human Rights Commission. He has been working particularly hard during the pandemic by supporting healthcare workers and organizing vaccine clinics. Tejwant prides himself on helping others in need regardless of their background. Connect with Tejwant at: Mangatts@yahoo.com

or 303.359.6781.

76

Indian - Sikh, Punjabi, Lafayette Indian, Denver 74

Neal K. Walia

APIDAs* in Politics

Neal (he/him) is a proud member of Colorado’s South Asian community, where he actively organizes for rallies, social justice campaigns, as well as for progressive candidates running for office. He works remotely for a political tech startup in Washington D.C. called Quorum, where he co-founded and co-chaired Quorum’s award winning Inclusion & Diversity Council.

Neal previously worked as a Legislative Coordinator for the National Governors Association and as a Program Coordinator for former Gover-

nor and current U.S. Senator John

Hickenlooper. At the Governor’s Office, Neal was a member of Colorado’s Asian Advisory Council and was accepted into the Denver Lead-

ership Foundation’s Impact Denver

program and the New American Leaders’ Ready to Lead program. Before starting his career in America, Neal worked as an English teacher in Okayama, Japan for two years. Connect with Neal at: @neal_k_walia.

Indira Duggirala

Indira (she/her) is a community organizer. She worked with Democratic National Committee (DNC) member Radhika Nath to rally South Asians to engage in the 2020 elections. She is the current chair of South Asian Democrats of Colorado (COSAD) initiative. The mission of COSAD is to represent the South Asian community in the Colorado Democratic Party and to increase South Asian engagement in 77 the electoral process. Connect with Indira at: Indian,

indiraduggirala@gmail.com Highlands Ranch

Our community power and collective voice is growing in Colorado. These are the leaders at the helm organizing and activating our community to get involved with Colorado politics.