Shobhana Johri Verma
Executive Director
Shobhana brings to the South Asian American Policy and Research Institute a unique blend of public policy, outreach, advocacy and public relations experience.
Most recently she has built and also led one of the first and most effective South Asian Voter Engagement Programs at the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners that has helped unprecedented numbers of South Asian Americans in the city exercise their right to vote by participating in the electoral process. Prior to joining the Chicago Election Board, Shobhana held numerous roles as a researcher, educator and journalist advocating for environmental causes and gender and immigrant interests, including challenging roles supporting victims of sexual exploitation, human trafficking and domestic violence. She has written for and been published in both the digital and print media in both, the United States and India. Shobhana holds two Masters Degrees in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from the University of Cincinnati and Lucknow University. She is a certified Sexual Violence Prevention Educator and is trained in Medical and Legal Advocacy. She is a past student board member of the Cincinnati Chapter of Planned Parenthood. Shobhana was recently appointed to the Asian American Family Commission by the Illinois Senate President. The commission advises the governor, General Assembly and state agencies how to best improve and expand services and opportunities for Asian American families in Illinois. A former member of the Chicago Commission on Human Relations Advisory Council on Equity that advises the Mayor and City Council of Chicago on policy matters regarding civil rights issues, Shobhana is currently a member of the Chicago Mayor’s Office AAPI Community Engagement Council; the Language Access Advisory Committee and the Chicago Committee on Asian and Pacific Islander Hate Crimes.
Shobhana has been an active and trusted leader within the South Asian American community in the Greater Chicago Area and as SAAPRI’s Executive Director, she looks forward to continuing her work as a researcher, organizer, and strategist on a wide range of human rights and social justice issues with diverse and collaborative coalitions in Chicago and beyond.
Jordan Stalker
Research & Program Development Advisor
Jordan earned his doctorate in Mass Communication from the University of Wisconsin. His dissertation focused on the media uses of Indian Americans in the Greater Chicago area and how that media use helps them connect to India and Indians. His other areas of expertise are in race and ethnicity, media history, public relations and research. His work considers how communication mechanisms and ideologies can contribute to democracy and dignity, how journalism and public relations function in democratic societies and how media products and industries contribute to the formation of group and individual identity.
Jordan’s wife is from New Delhi and their daughter gives him a vested interest in understanding and supporting the flourishing of the South Asian American community in and around Chicago. Jordan is happy to associate with SAAPRI and support with research and writing on various topics, using his connections in academia in Chicago and internationally.
Julie Thomas Achettu
Education Consultant
Julie started her career in education in January 2000 at various institutions and companies. In her 20+ years as an educator, she has had various roles such as Teacher, Adjunct Faculty, Education Consultant, and Curriculum Writer. She saw the dire need for more representation of diverse texts, so she wrote the curriculum for Asian American Literature for Chicago Public Schools and started the pilot course in 2014. It is the first one-year core Asian American literature course in the nation. In addition, she revamped DEI modules for diversity trainings, and she wrote the curriculum for the newly mandated Ethnic Studies course for an online education platform in California. She has also been on several teacher in-service panels for various universities for how to effectively implement the TEAACH Act. Julie has her B.A. in English and her M.Ed. and Ed.D. in Curriculum & Instruction from Loyola University Chicago.
Noor Shaikh
Democracy Project Lead
Noor is a local government professional with experience working in community development and finance. As an immigrant to the United States, she is passionate about working with South Asian American communities to realize their potential – as residents, tax payers, and (eventual) voters. Noor wants to build a new narrative around the immigrant experience – one that emphasizes civic engagement and trust in the political process. Noor holds an MPA from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University and a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University. She served on the City of Aurora, Colorado’s Immigrant and Refugee Commission and is an active member of the International City/County Management Association.
Ani Srinivasan
Public Health Advocate
Ani is a first-year medical student in Northwestern University’s Medical Scientist Training Program, on a combined M.D./Ph.D. dual-degree track. Previously, he attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for his Bachelor’s Degree, where he majored in Biomedical Engineering, Neuroscience, and History. So far in medical school, he has enjoyed volunteering at community clinics, engaging with patients, and exploring Chicago.
Ani is interested in integrating community-centered advocacy with advances in biomedical research to meet the needs of marginalized communities. He is excited to join SAAPRI and grow as a member of Chicago’s South Asian community while working on initiatives that empower South Asians to positively engage with their health. Long-term, Ani hopes to contribute to expanding South Asian advocacy networks to a national scale and ensuring that South Asian community interests are represented at decision-making tables. In his free time, Ani enjoys reading, watching soccer, cooking, and spending time with friends and family.
Aakash Ray
Communications & Research Fellow
Aakash is a recent graduate from the University of Michigan with concentrations in biopsychology, neuroscience, and the history of law and policy. During his time at Michigan, he was largely involved in social justice-centered work and various research opportunities centered around immigrant populations. He has experience serving on the board of the South Asian Awareness, where he planned annual social justice conferences and community engagement events through a South Asian lens. He also served on the board of Paani, a non-profit organization dedicated to alleviating clean water accessibility in Pakistan, and contributed to the student newspaper’s POC-led section, Michigan in Color.
Aakash is primarily interested in conducting research on immigration law and policy and its effects on the broader immigrant community. He is also excited to join the SAAPRI team and build meaningful relationships in the Chicago South Asian community. In his free time, Aakash enjoys playing tennis, watching Hindi movies, and spending time with his family.
Emmanuel Ravichandar
Health Equity Project Intern
Emmanuel is a third-year medical student from Saint James School of Medicine and also pursuing his Masters of Public Health from Purdue University. While in medical school, he organized several free community health clinics as a former president of the medical fraternity Phi Chi.
Emmanuel is interested in primary care, specifically disease prevention and health promotion. He is excited to join the SAAPRI team as an intern, which gives him the opportunity to construct health promotion campaigns that specifically target the vulnerable South Asian American community in Chicago. Emmanuel hopes that through working with SAAPRI, we can make a difference not only in this community but in others as well. In his spare time, Emmanuel enjoys watching sports and spending time with loved one.
Anushka Somani
Research and Civic Engagement Intern
Anushka is a third-year student at The University of Chicago where she is on a selective three-year track in public policy. She has previously worked with various organizations related to campaign management, research, and nonprofit work. Anushka Somani previously worked as an intern at The Borgen Project where she raised 1000+ dollars, successfully researched and published articles, and campaigned with congressional leaders to pass legislation that would alleviate global poverty.
Anushka Somani is currently a policy intern at the mayor’s office where she is responsible for drafting policy initiatives and publications, conducting research, and managing key initiatives related to gender-based violence in the City of Chicago.
Anushka is thrilled to join the team at SAAPRI to work towards engaging her community and getting involved in key issues that affect South Asians.
Karan Gowda
Research and Civic Engagement Intern
Karan is currently pursuing a Master’s in Public Health at Northwestern’s downtown campus. Karan is also a recent graduate from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Arts in biological sciences with two minors in global health studies and classics. He has worked for years within both quantitative and qualitative research laboratories and projects from infectious disease work to art museum acquisition. He also has an interest in education through his extensive tutoring and mentoring work with undergraduate peers as well as in the community within spaces such as the Chicago Math & Science Academy and most recently as a full time education fellow at Mather High School near Devon Avenue.
Karan’s wants to shine light on healthcare disparity issues regarding the South Asian community in Chicagoland by helping plan town hall events and creating effective social media material, including posts and visuals. In his free time, he loves being with friends and families as well as playing and watching sports.
Maya Bhowmik (she/her)
Research & Policy Intern
Maya is a second-year Master of Public Health (MPH) candidate at The University of Illinois Chicago where she specializes in Community Health and Global Health. In her time at the School of Public Health, Maya has identified her public health priority to be the improvement of health and well-being for diasporic South Asian communities. Prior to joining SAAPRI she has worked in a variety of grassroots, non-profit settings and been involved in organizing for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Namely, she spent 2019 in Southeast Asia working for a buddhist social development organization in Cambodia and later an alternative medicine hospital in Thailand. Most recently, Maya was awarded the competitive Fulbright Critical Language Scholarship to further her studies in Punjab, India during summer 2022.
In her freetime Maya enjoys crafting, reading, and spending time with her close ones. She is looking forward to working on an interdisciplinary team as she works to mitigate health barriers for South Asian Americans.
Sumaiya Shahjahan
AoURP ARC Medical Student Ambassador
Sumaiya is a second-year medical student who graduated from undergrad with a major in Medical Humanities along with a minor in medical Spanish. She worked as a patient safety technician for over five years. Her interest in working with underserved communities led her to spend time volunteering in a clinic that served populations with limited access to care.
At SAAPRI, she is excited to work with the Health Equity team to understand and mitigate challenges faced by the South Asian American community. Sumaiya wants to gain an understanding of the social determinants of health that impact health equity, literacy, and access to care.
Aliza Adhami
Special Projects Volunteer
Aliza graduated from Cornell University in 2019, where she was involved in diversity and engagement work, particularly in the South Asian community. She has experience in advocacy and translational research and brings a multidisciplinary lens to her work. She is interested in immigrant rights and immigration policy reform, both within the South Asian community and the broader immigrant community. She is interested in policy research that focuses on relevant South Asian issues, including immigration, political representation, healthcare, voter engagement, and gender parity.
Aliza is passionate about South Asian advocacy and community engagement. As an fellow here at SAAPRI, she is looking forward to making meaningful connections and learning about policy issues that affect the community.