Board of Directors
Amanda Kamalapuri (she/her) is a Product Manager at Newell Brands building the Direct to Consumer e-commerce experience for a variety of brands from Calphalon to Marmot. She has deep expertise in the retail industry, previously working in merchandising at Newell and Target. Amanda is a first-generation Indian-American who is passionate about furthering the strength and diversity of the South Asian diaspora. She has been volunteering with SAADA for the past 2 years, working on merchandising strategies and overall outreach. Prior to that, she served as Co-Lead for the American Indian Foundation’s New York Young Professional Chapter where she helped organize various fundraising events. She holds a B.A. in Economics from Emory University and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!). In her free time, she enjoys traveling the world and trekking the outdoors, having summited Mount Kilimanjaro and Annapurna Base Camp.
Amber Abbas [Secretary] is an Associate Professor of History at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia where she teaches courses on World History, South Asia, South Asian America and Oral History Methodology. She completed her Ph.D. in South Asian History at the University of Texas at Austin where she trained in oral history training with Martha Norkunas. Amber’s oral history and archival research focuses on the period of transition associated with the 1947 Independence and Partition of India that ultimately resulted in the creation of three separate states: India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. She served as co-chair of the Academic Council of South Asian American Digital Archive from 2014-2017. She serves on the OHA Education Committee and has published in South Asian History and Culture, The Appendix, and The Oral History Review. She has worked in archives and conducted oral histories in the United States, England, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh.
Neal Dongre [Treasurer] (he/him) is the General Counsel of MSC Industrial Supply Co., and leads the company's legal and corporate governance activities. Prior to joining MSC, Neal worked in private practice and later as in-house counsel at a Washington, D.C.-based healthcare technology company. At MSC, Neal also serves as the executive sponsor of the company's Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) program and of its inclusion group for individuals with disabilities. Neal holds bachelor's degrees in Computer Science and Economics from Duke University, and received his Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland Carey School of Law. Neal is a second-generation Indian American and a proud supporter of SAADA and its mission.
Fariba S. Alam a visual artist whose work is intended to stimulate dialogue and reflection on the dynamic interplay between Islamic artistic traditions and personal family archives with more present and personal inquiries of gender and belonging. Alam is a former Fulbright Fellow, with a B.A. in MESAS (Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies) from Columbia University and an M.A. in studio art/art criticism from New York University. Over the last 15 years, Alam's work has been shown at The Queens Museum, The Asia Society, Exit Art, The Museum of African Art, The Museum of Contemporary Art/Shanghai amongst other galleries and fairs in the U.S. and Asia. During the same period, she has worked as a Digital Strategist for companies such as Apple and Estee Lauder (Bobbi Brown, La Mer, Clinique, MAC and others.) Her volunteer work includes creative services for SAKHI, Groundswell, The Acid Survivors Foundation and the founding board of The South Asian Women's Creative Collective. Alam resides in Brooklyn, New York and part-time in Joshua Tree, California where she is building an artist residency.
Samip Mallick is the co-founder and executive director of SAADA, which he has guided from its inception in 2008 to its place today as a national leader in community-based storytelling. Mallick's background includes degrees in computer science and library and information sciences and work related to international migration and South Asia for the Social Science Research Council and University of Chicago. Mallick currently serves on the Library of Congress Connecting Communities Digital Initiative advisory board. He also previously served as an archival consultant for the Ford Foundation's Reclaiming the Border Narrative initiative and on the Pennsylvania Governor's Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs.
Anjli Shah (she/her) has been a program associate at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation since 2019, a philanthropy dedicated to advancing health equity, where she has worked on initiatives related to diverse network building, equitable grantmaking, and inclusive innovation. She holds a BA in Molecular and Cell Biology (Neurobiology) from the University of California, Berkeley, and a MS in Nutrition from Case Western Reserve University. She is a founding member of and community organizer with Jains for Justice, where she has spearheaded voter mobilization campaigns and community conversations on racial justice. She was previously a SAADA volunteer. She is on Twitter @anjlishah17.
Amanda Kamalapuri (she/her) is a Product Manager at Newell Brands building the Direct to Consumer e-commerce experience for a variety of brands from Calphalon to Marmot. She has deep expertise in the retail industry, previously working in merchandising at Newell and Target. Amanda is a first-generation Indian-American who is passionate about furthering the strength and diversity of the South Asian diaspora. She has been volunteering with SAADA for the past 2 years, working on merchandising strategies and overall outreach. Prior to that, she served as Co-Lead for the American Indian Foundation’s New York Young Professional Chapter where she helped organize various fundraising events. She holds a B.A. in Economics from Emory University and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!). In her free time, she enjoys traveling the world and trekking the outdoors, having summited Mount Kilimanjaro and Annapurna Base Camp.
Amber Abbas [Secretary] is an Associate Professor of History at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia where she teaches courses on World History, South Asia, South Asian America and Oral History Methodology. She completed her Ph.D. in South Asian History at the University of Texas at Austin where she trained in oral history training with Martha Norkunas. Amber’s oral history and archival research focuses on the period of transition associated with the 1947 Independence and Partition of India that ultimately resulted in the creation of three separate states: India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. She served as co-chair of the Academic Council of South Asian American Digital Archive from 2014-2017. She serves on the OHA Education Committee and has published in South Asian History and Culture, The Appendix, and The Oral History Review. She has worked in archives and conducted oral histories in the United States, England, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh.
Neal Dongre [Treasurer] (he/him) is the General Counsel of MSC Industrial Supply Co., and leads the company's legal and corporate governance activities. Prior to joining MSC, Neal worked in private practice and later as in-house counsel at a Washington, D.C.-based healthcare technology company. At MSC, Neal also serves as the executive sponsor of the company's Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) program and of its inclusion group for individuals with disabilities. Neal holds bachelor's degrees in Computer Science and Economics from Duke University, and received his Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland Carey School of Law. Neal is a second-generation Indian American and a proud supporter of SAADA and its mission.
Fariba S. Alam a visual artist whose work is intended to stimulate dialogue and reflection on the dynamic interplay between Islamic artistic traditions and personal family archives with more present and personal inquiries of gender and belonging. Alam is a former Fulbright Fellow, with a B.A. in MESAS (Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies) from Columbia University and an M.A. in studio art/art criticism from New York University. Over the last 15 years, Alam's work has been shown at The Queens Museum, The Asia Society, Exit Art, The Museum of African Art, The Museum of Contemporary Art/Shanghai amongst other galleries and fairs in the U.S. and Asia. During the same period, she has worked as a Digital Strategist for companies such as Apple and Estee Lauder (Bobbi Brown, La Mer, Clinique, MAC and others.) Her volunteer work includes creative services for SAKHI, Groundswell, The Acid Survivors Foundation and the founding board of The South Asian Women's Creative Collective. Alam resides in Brooklyn, New York and part-time in Joshua Tree, California where she is building an artist residency.
Samip Mallick is the co-founder and executive director of SAADA, which he has guided from its inception in 2008 to its place today as a national leader in community-based storytelling. Mallick's background includes degrees in computer science and library and information sciences and work related to international migration and South Asia for the Social Science Research Council and University of Chicago. Mallick currently serves on the Library of Congress Connecting Communities Digital Initiative advisory board. He also previously served as an archival consultant for the Ford Foundation's Reclaiming the Border Narrative initiative and on the Pennsylvania Governor's Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs.
Anjli Shah (she/her) has been a program associate at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation since 2019, a philanthropy dedicated to advancing health equity, where she has worked on initiatives related to diverse network building, equitable grantmaking, and inclusive innovation. She holds a BA in Molecular and Cell Biology (Neurobiology) from the University of California, Berkeley, and a MS in Nutrition from Case Western Reserve University. She is a founding member of and community organizer with Jains for Justice, where she has spearheaded voter mobilization campaigns and community conversations on racial justice. She was previously a SAADA volunteer. She is on Twitter @anjlishah17.