Three South Asian-Americans are among the five 2016-2017 fellows selected to serve in the U.S. Congress by the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies.
The APAIC Fellows began working in the offices of U.S. Senators and Representatives of both parties last week, according to a Sept. 13 press release from the organization.
The South Asian Fellows include Adi Sathi placed in the office of the most senior Republican Senator, Orrin Hatch, R- Utah; Saif Inam with Rep. Grace Meng, D-New York; and Tejeswara Reddy with senior Democratic Rep. Mike Honda of California. The Congressional Fellowship Program ‘s mission is to connect talented Asian-American students and young professionals from around the country to public policy and leadership opportunities in Washington, D.C
Sathi, 25, has served as a statewide vice chair of the Michigan Republican Party since February 2015. For his work in this capacity, he was recognized on Newsmax’s list of 30 Most Influential Republicans 30 and Under in January 2016. Sathi has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Michigan.
Over the last six years, Sathi has managed, consulted on, and volunteered for numerous successful political campaigns at the local, state, and federal level, APAIC said. As a student, he was elected to serve as the executive director of the Association of Big Ten Students, an organization that consists of the 14 Big Ten schools from 11 different states and represents more than 540,000 students. It earned him an invitation to the 2013 White House Youth Summit and recognition from Red Alert Politics on their 2014 ’30 Under 30’ list. Most recently, Adi worked as the deputy executive director of the Republican Hindu Coalition, a Washington, D.C. based non-profit organization that advocates for the Indian American community within the Republican Party.
He is a 2016 Fellow in the Michigan Political Leadership Program through Michigan State University’s Institute of Public Policy and Social Research.
Inam received the APAIC Fellowship because of his extensive Capitol Hill experience. He has interned in the House and Senate, in Washington, D.C. and the district office, as well as in an advocacy role off the Hill. He also worked as a legal intern at the Department of Interior.
Prior to becoming an APAICS Fellow, Inam worked with the Muslim Public Affairs Council, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy organization that focused on the intersection of national security and civil rights, on issues such as racial profiling, countering violent extremism, hate crimes, and anti-minority bigotry. His role included engaging members of Congress and their staff on legislation, organizing briefings on various domestic and foreign policy issues for the Capitol Hill community, and creating memos and policy papers for policy-makers.
A native of Atlanta, Inam has a bachelor’s degree in Business Economics and Public Policy from The George Washington University and a law degree from Georgia State University.
Reddy, who was born in India, grew up in Portland, Oregon and has lived in India, China, and Greece. These experiences combined with his professional trajectory has enabled him to bring collaborative and cross-sectoral thinking to public policy problems, APAICS said.
After graduating college, he taught high school math and coached speech and debate through Teach for America in Phoenix, Arizona. He received an appointment as a LEE Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of Education in Washington D.C. He was selected as a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs in Los Angeles, California where, among other issues, he worked on conservation solutions to California’s drought problem.
Prior to becoming an APAICS Fellow Reddy served as a Fulbright Teaching Fellow in Athens, Greece. He has a B.A. in Economics and Politics from Willamette University and his M.Ed. from Arizona State University
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