Welcome to Trailblazers! We bring you trailblazing by and for South Asians every other Monday. Visit our website, IG, LinkedIn, and archives.
From HQ: A big thank you to all of you — our 1000+ followers and subscribers, our 11 trailblazers, and to my mighty team behind the scenes (Isha, Saransh, Shubhankar, Aashna, Alisha, Sanjana) for being a part of the founding of Trailblazers. We can’t wait for you to see what’s in store for 2021🎆 Until then, enjoy this last issue and OUR NEW WEBSITE. - Simi Shah, Founder
Catching Fire 🚀 your news roundup
⭐ TIME Magazine’s Kid of the Year: Gitanjali Rao
In an era of often-arbitrary, age-based awards (hi, Forbes), this is an honor we can get behind.
You’ve probably already seen her face plastered over socials, but you might not know why. Fifteen-year-old Gitanjali Rao is wielding science and tech to confront the globe’s greatest problems, and she’s inspiring other youth to do the same.
Highlights from her resume: building a Chrome extension that uses artificial intelligence to recognize cyber-bullying; developing detection technology to solve water contamination issues. She’s also mentored 30,000 students around the world through “innovation workshops.” We can’t wait to see what lies ahead for this precocious South Asian trailblazer (perhaps a podcast?). TIME’s Kid of the Year is clearly just the beginning.
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka’s Mounting Debt Crisis
S&P, Fitch, and Moody’s — three of the world’s most prominent ratings agencies —have downgraded Sri Lanka’s credit ratings in recent weeks. These ratings signal the risk potential that would be shouldered by would-be lenders, which ultimately can limit the country’s funding options.
Spending related to the pandemic has stirred questions about the country’s mounting debt crisis, but experts anticipate a path to recovery come 2021.
🚜 Protests in Punjab persist
For the past several weeks, Indian farmers have been protesting proposed amendments to laws that are likely to favor private interests. The laws would remove price floors on agricultural products sold by the farmers, which the government argues will afford them more flexibility — namely, higher prices and saved costs through the removal of paid intermediaries. But opponents believe that the economics are against them.
In 2020, we’re no strangers to protest in the midst of pandemic, which brings with it an added gravitas — heard around the world, in this case. Watch our socials for information on where to give in support of this cause.
Hot off the Pod 🎧 Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi
It’s the Season Finale, folks! Subscribe to know when the pod drops tonight.
Subramanian Raja Krishnamoorthi is an American businessman and politician who has been the U.S. Representative for Illinois's 8th congressional district since 2017.
South Asians have shaped the Congressman’s career — from his campaigns to his policy agenda — a reality discussed we discuss in this episode. Congressman Krishnamoorthi details his path to policymaking, from serving on Former President Obama’s congressional campaigns to catering to a constituency that can’t always pronounce his name, endearingly calling him “Raja.” In a whirlwind of an election year, where policymakers must consider how to forge unity in the face of polarization and pandemic, this is an episode you don’t want to miss!
Season Sparknotes 🔥 Ten Talks with Trailblazers
As we wrapped up the first season of the podcast, we reflected on the key themes that emerged from the swath of individuals, perspectives, and industries represented in our trailblazing ten inaugural episodes.
Tech, Activism, and Politics
Nandini Jammi (Founder @ Sleeping Giants, CheckMyAds)
Deepa Subramaniam (Chief Product Officer @ ACLU)
Raja Krishnamoorthi (U.S. Congressman)
Phoenix rising best encapsulates the sentiments shared in the episodes featuring these three. Congressman Krishnamoorthi describes his early election losses as the times he took silver instead of gold. Nandini Jammi details her efforts to take up internet space, reclaiming a narrative that once erased her from a movement she co-founded, Sleeping Giants. Deepa’s story is a little more nuanced — a story of leading product for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, a devastating loss, and the ways in which she’s persisted in building a career at the intersection of product and politics. These leaders are no strangers to adversity, but have blazed trails onward and upward, finding strength in collectivism and community.
These same South Asians have supported me in other ways: they’ve worked on my campaigns, they've donated to my campaigns generously. But most importantly, they have only asked for one thing, and that is be the best Congressman that I can be. And in that request is an eloquent appeal to the ideals of America. - Congressman Krishnamoorthi
Media
Sopan Deb (Journalist @ NYT)
S. Mitra Kalita (Former SVP @ CNN)
Priya Krishna (Food Journalist)
These trailblazers took an incisive look into diversity, equity, and inclusion as it pertains to the media industry. While Priya recalled the courage it took to exit Bon Appétit earlier this year, S. Mitra Kalita highlighted the burgeoning need for diverse voices in American newsrooms — a plight she understands from having served at the L.A. Times to CNN. Sopan highlighted the work of his South Asian predecessors who paved the road for his unique, raw South Asian story, manifest in his book, Missed Translations — a story that follows his reunion with his estranged parents. Our podcasts with these three speak to the transformational value of South Asians in newsrooms and their efforts to pave paths for POC everywhere.
True diversity is when you’re in a room, especially having been the only one so many times at the table, and when there’s other folks that can engage, challenge, and have more thane one, say, South Asian perspective on the issue of Kashmir or Covid or Narendra Modi or any of these very newsy themes in this moment. - S. Mitra Kalita
Creative
Sujata Day (Actress, Director)
Arianna Afsar (Singer-Hamilton Star)
Both Arianna and Sujata have wielded art to tell stories that often go untold. After finishing up her starring role in Hamilton, Arianna embarked on a musical-writing adventure to tell the story of a first: Jeanette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress. She even raised funds for progressive campaigns across the country through virtual showings. Sujata put South Asians on screen in way that takes an age-old spelling bee stereotype and flips it on its head, garnering widespread praise. It’s a lesson in taking initiative in the arts, an industry that has especially struggled this year.
Asian Americans have all coalesced and combined, and that is incredibly important because it represents success in numbers. If one project succeeds, then we all succeed. There’s so many different stories to tell, and there’s room for all of us. - Sujata Day
Entrepreneurship
Sarina Siddhanti & Arian Agrawal (Founders @Riya Collective)
Rooshy Roy (CEO @ Aavrani)
The pandemic hasn’t been an easy ride for the most seasoned of entrepreneurs, but these founders mastered the art of the business pivot. Aavrani 2.0 embraced a newfound authenticity. Rooshy welcomed her role as a face of the brand, digging deep into her South Asian heritage — the inspiration behind their skincare products. In the absence of weddings and events, Arian and Sarina transformed Riya Collective from the South Asian Rent-the-Runway to a marketplace for global fashion and home decor. They accelerated their 5-year vision in a matter of months. As a part of Trailblazers, these women taught us how to build for our community, how to persist in the face of necessary pivots, and how to shoulder doubts from investors who struggle to understand paint points that serve communities like our own.
It’s about solving your own problems as if you’re the customer. Every product or feature we ask ourselves ‘Would we like this? Would we buy this?’ You get this really great feeling of ‘I know this customer because I am this customer and buyer.’ - Sarina Siddhanti
Thank you to these trailblazers for their candor and insights — stay tuned for Season 2!
Stream South Asian 🎵
Check out our Spotify playlist featuring emerging South Asian artists. To submit a song, email us at southasiantrailblazers@gmail.com.
Shop South Asian 🛍️
We launched @shopsouthasian, a premier platform where we’re connecting you to South Asian businesses around the globe. In your mad dash, last minute holiday shopping…why not support trailblazing South Asian entrepreneurs? Oh, and don’t forget to submit your business here.
Drop us a line ⬇️ and let us know how we did this year! Until next year! 🎆