Washington, Apr 20 (PTI) Indian-American political activist Shefali Razdan Duggal, who has been nominated by US President Joe Biden as his envoy to the Netherlands, is a source of inspiration for the South Asians, in particular girls and women, an eminent community leader has said.
On March 11, Biden nominated Duggal as the US Ambassador to the Netherlands. Her nomination is pending before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
A Kashmiri pandit, Duggal, 50, was born in Haridwar and moved with her family to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the age of two. She then moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where she grew up and graduated from Sycamore High School. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communication from Miami University and a Master of Arts degree in Media Ecology from New York University.
“Shefali has been leading our community at National Level in Democrat politics and have inspired so many South Asian Americans and Americans all over the country to have a seat at the table and play important roles and contribute to the growth of the Democratic Party,” community leader Ajay Jain Bhutoria said on Tuesday.
A national community leader and President Biden’s Advisor on Asian American Pacific Islander & Native Hawaain Commission, Bhutoria was here this week to participate in the White House Easter Egg Hunt festivities as a special guest of First Lady, Dr Jill Biden.
“Shefali Razdan Duggal’s nomination for appointment by the president as the next ambassador to the Netherlands is a moment of great joy and pride for South Asians and the entire Indian-American Community. I am so full of happiness to see Shefali being nominated as the next Ambassador to Netherland,” he said.
In its certificate of competency sent to the United States Senate, the State Department said that Duggal’s demonstrated commitment to the American democratic process, advancing human rights, coupled with her keen understanding of the need to ensure that all voices are heard in a multi-ethnic society, make her a well-qualified candidate to serve as Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Describing her as “an experienced political activist, women’s rights advocate and human rights campaigner,” the State Department said former US president Barack Obama appointed Duggal to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Council, and after her term expired, she has continued to serve as a Western Regional Advisor.
She is a San Francisco Committee member of Human Rights Watch, a member of the Wake Forest University Leadership & Character Council and recently completed her term as a National Board Director for Emily’s List. In addition, Duggal served on the Board of Advocates for Human Rights First, on the National Advisory Board for Doctors for America and was an Advisory Board Member for Beyond Bollywood (Smithsonian Institution).
A strong Democratic Party activist, Duggal has been a major fundraiser of the party since the days of Obama. She joined US Vice President Kamala Harris’ successful campaign for attorney general of California and later for her transition team.
In 2012, she worked for the Barack Obama 2012 presidential campaign as part of the National Finance Committee, an Obama Victory Trustees co-chair, and a Northern California Finance Committee Member. During the 2012 Democratic National Convention, Shefali was a member of the Credentials Standing Committee and an at-large delegate representing the state of California.
Duggal was a National Finance Committee member for the Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign. During the 2016 Democratic National Convention, she was a member of the rules standing committee. PTI LKJ MRJ MRJ
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