Deepa Iyer,
Executive Director

An advocate of civil and immigrant rights for ten years, Deepa Iyer is currently the Executive Director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT).  SAALT is the only staffed, national, non-profit organization dedicated to fostering civic and political engagement by South Asian communities in the United States.  Ms. Iyer has overseen SAALT’s growth and visibility since 2004, and has spearheaded effective programs and strong partnerships around the country.

In her tenure at SAALT, Ms. Iyer facilitated the development of a National Coalition of South Asian Organizations, a network of 35 community-based groups that have come together to articulate shared strategies for progressive policy change.  She has also testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Immigration Subcommittee (2007), and was one of two representatives of the Asian American community invited to provide testimony before the Democratic Party’s Platform Drafting Committee (2008).

An attorney by training, Ms. Iyer has served as Trial Attorney at the Office of Special Counsel for Unfair Immigration-Related Employment Practices within the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where she investigated, litigated and settled employment discrimination complaints, and worked on policy matters related to racial profiling and immigration enforcement.  In the wake of September 11, 2001, Ms. Iyer was one of four attorneys who spearheaded the Division’s Initiative to Combat Post 9/11 Discriminatory Backlash.  Ms. Iyer has also worked as a Staff Attorney at the Asian American Justice Center and as Legal Director at the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center. 

Ms. Iyer is regarded as an expert on the impact of post 9/11 policies, especially as they intersect with civil liberties and immigration.  She has published articles about the effect of such policies on South Asian communities, and is the Executive Producer of a 26-minute documentary about bias and hate crimes before and after 9/11.  In addition, Ms. Iyer has served as adjunct faculty at Columbia University, Hunter College and the University of Maryland.  She has been quoted in the Washington Post, National Public Radio, and in ethnic media. 

Ms. Iyer is an immigrant who moved to the United States from India when she was twelve years old.  She lives with her husband, also a public interest attorney, in Takoma Park, Maryland.  Ms. Iyer is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School (1997) and Vanderbilt University (1994).

Deepa may be contacted by email at deepa@saalt.org.

Priya Murthy,
Policy Director

As Policy Director, Priya monitors and analyzes legislative and administrative policies affecting the South Asian community; conducts advocacy on various policy issues; and develops educational materials for the South Asian community members and organizations. She also represents the organization as a member of immigrant and civil rights coalitions as well as before lawmakers and governmental agencies. She previously worked for various Immigration Courts, the Amnesty International Refugee Office and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in New Delhi. Priya received her J.D. from Tulane University and her B.A. in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of California at Berkeley.
To reach Priya, please email priya@saalt.org.

Vega Subramaniam,
Director of Programs and Partnerships

Vega Subramaniam joined SAALT in September 2009 as the Director of Programs and Partnerships. Professionally, Vega has taught sociology and worked in student services at Penn State University, Western Washington University, and the University of Washington. Among her specializations are race, class, and gender stratification, research methods, and social statistics. From 2003-2005, she served as Executive Director of Chaya, a Seattle-based nonprofit dedicated to ending violence against women in South Asian communities, and most recently, she served as a Program Officer at College Spark Washington, a foundation that supports programs in Washington state that help low-income students with college readiness and retention. Vega has also volunteered with and served on the boards of numerous foundations and nonprofit organizations, including Creative Collaborations (capacity-building for progressive nonprofit organizations through collaboration and resource-sharing), Trikone-NW (an organization supporting LGBTQ South Asians in the Pacific Northwest), and Pride Foundation (promoting LGBTQ equality in the Pacific Northwest). Vega received her undergraduate and graduate degrees in sociology from Penn State University.

To reach Vega, please email vega@saalt.org.

Aaditi Dubale,
Fundraising and Development Fellow

Joining SAALT in May 2009, Aaditi will be working on Be the Change 2009, our National Day of Service, as well as supporting fundraising and development efforts. Aaditi graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in Spanish. She recently worked as an electoral organizing fellow for the 2008 New Americans Democracy Project, which registered over 25,000 immigrant voters throughout Chicagoland.
To reach Aaditi, please email aaditi@saalt.org.

Anjali Chaudhury,
Maryland Outreach Coordinator/Americorps VISTA

Anjali joined SAALT as a Fellow in August 2009. Anjali graduated from Oberlin College with a double major in Politics and Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies. While at Oberlin, Anjali served as the co-chair of the South Asian Students Association and coordinated annual Asian American Heritage Month events. In 2008, she helped organize the 15th Biennial Midwest Asian American Student Conference entitled Policy, Barriers, and Justice.
To reach Anjali, please email anjali@saalt.org.

Qudsia Raja,
New Jersey Outreach Coordinator

Prior to joining SAALT in 2007, Qudsia worked with the Shelter for Help in Emergency as a Legal Advocate serving survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. She has also worked with Manavi in New Jersey as the Outreach Coordinator. Additionally, she has interned with Raksha in Atlanta in several capacities, developing the Youth Mentoring curriculum as the Youth Programs Intern, and conducting research and outreach on religious and cultural impact on domestic violence in the Muslim South Asian community as the Atlanta Semester Intern. Qudsia was also involved in the Breaking the Silence Project committee at Raksha and helped facilitate the Masala Chai House discussions – a series of coffeeshop style conversations based around the myth of the model minority. Qudsia has a B.A. in International Relations, with a concentration on South Asia.
To reach Qudsia, please email qudsia@saalt.org.