SPECIAL: Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal at Impact Summit 2023
In this special edition of South Asian Trailblazers, Simi hosts a LIVE podcast with Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal — the first South Asian woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives — to kick off Indian American Impact's 2023 Summit in Washington D.C. WATCH this episode on YouTube.
In addition to elevating the stories of South Asian leaders, South Asian Trailblazers is also dedicated to convening them. If you're interested in attending future community events, including our live podcasts, subscribe to our newsletter at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com and follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube. This episode was hosted in partnership with Impact, an organization working to ensure equitable South Asian American representation at every level of government. Support their President, Neil Makhija, in his run for Montgomery County Commissioner.
Elected in 2016, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, is now serving her fourth term in Congress, representing Washington's 7th District. She is not only the first South Asian American woman elected to the US House of Representatives, but also one of only two dozen naturalized citizens currently serving in Congress.
Congresswoman Jayapal is a member of the House Judiciary Committee, where she serves as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement. She also serves on the House Education and the Workforce Committee. She is the Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which represents nearly 50% of the entire Democratic caucus; the Immigration Task Force for the Congressional Asian Pacific Asian Caucus; and a Vice Chair of the Congressional LGBTQ Equality Caucus where she is the co-chair of the Transgender Equality Task Force.
Prior to serving in elected office, Congresswoman Jayapal spent 20 years working internationally and domestically in global public health and development and as an award-winning national advocate for women’s, immigrant, civil, and human rights. She spent almost a decade working on global health and development for the international nonprofit organization, Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), and spent 12 years as the founder and Executive Director of OneAmerica, formerly known as Hate Free Zone, the largest immigrant advocacy organization in Washington State and one of the largest in the country.
Representative Jayapal was born in India, grew up in India, Indonesia and Singapore, before immigrating to the U.S. by herself at age 16 to attend Georgetown University. She later received her MBA from Northwestern University, worked in both the public and private sectors, and has published 2 books. She is married to Steve Williamson, a long-time labor leader and strategist, and is the proud mother of a transgender daughter, Kashika, and step-son Michael.