The new executive director of South Asian Americans Leading Together or SAALT has the energy, passion and smarts you would expect of someone leading a national civil rights organization.
Just two months into her new job and the second Executive Director SAALT has ever had, Suman Raghunathan is traveling the country meeting the community she is dedicated to serving.
She replaces Deepa Iyer, the founding Executive Director of SAALT. Iyer and Raghumathan have been attending many meet and greets together in perhaps one of the best orchestrated transitions of leaderships ever conducted by a non-profit.
I met both of them during a gathering in San Francisco this month. Iyer told me not many new executive directors would have the confidence that Raghumathan has shown to leave her door open to her predecessor. Iyer continues to consult for SAALT and she says Raghumathan has been more than willing to learn from the past as she builds a new future.
Acknowledging those that have come before her seems to be part of her DNA. She told Asian Fortune her role models are the immigrants who paved the path for her.
“Every immigrant who has arrived in this country, ready to work hard and build a bright future for themselves and their family, are my role models. America is and has always been a country of immigrants, and of people with hope,” she said.
You can read about her future plans and learn more about Raghumathan in Asian Fortune
