🇺🇸 Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal
a LIVE episode from Impact's 2023 Summit with the first South Asian woman elected to the U.S. House
Welcome to Trailblazers! I’m Simi Shah, and in this newsletter, I dive deep into the journeys of trailblazing South Asian leaders. Listen to our podcast on Apple, Spotify, or any major podcast platform and discover more exciting content on our Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
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Special Live Podcast🎙️ Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal — the first South Asian woman elected to the U.S. House
In addition to elevating the stories of South Asian leaders, we’re also dedicated to convening them. In this special edition of South Asian Trailblazers, I hosted 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. Thank you to those of you who made it out! 🤍
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 U.S. 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 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.
Prior to serving in elected office, Congresswoman Jayapal spent 20 years working internationally and domestically in global public health as an award-winning national advocate. She spent almost a decade working 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.
Representative Jayapal was born in India and immigrated 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 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.
Excerpts from this special live episode are below. If you're interested in attending future events, including our live podcasts, follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.
This live episode was hosted in partnership with Impact, an organization working to ensure equitable South Asian American representation at every level of government. If you’re looking to become more civically engaged and mobilize our community in politics, including getting more South Asians into elected office — check them out here.
Simi: After spending years in the field as organizers, some don't have the desire or sometimes courage to actually run for political office. In 2014, you ran for Washington State Senate and were elected. In 2016, you declared your candidacy and became the first Indian American woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Did you always envision yourself running for political office?
Rep. Pramila Jayapal: No, no, not at all. I really was skeptical of political people, elected officials. I felt like they didn't always speak to me. There were certainly some wonderful ones. But no, I really was an outside organizer. I was an agitator. I got arrested a couple of times — in good trouble, peaceful nonviolent civil disobedience based on the principles of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. So no, I did not see myself running for office. But I was working a lot on federal immigration reform and other issues that are so important to South Asian Americans, along with so many immigrants. And what I realized after 10 years of doing the work of trying to get others elected at all levels was that there weren't enough people that look like me. I had to keep explaining to people what it meant to be an immigrant, what it meant to learn to speak English, what it meant to go through the process, what it meant to come to this country, all of those things. And I just thought, ‘This is crazy, I should just get in there and run myself.’ I have this theory of change. And the theory of change was that I had been a great organizer on the outside. But could I be a great organizer on the inside? Could I figure out what it took to use elected office as an organizing platform and build stronger inside-outside collaboration that would help get people the justice that I wanted to get? And so I thought I would try it out in the State Senate to start.
Simi: We're here with Impact, kicking off their 2023 Summit, where the theme is ‘The Next 100 Years.’ What advice do you have for both aspiring and established changemakers, community organizers, public servants who are here today, who want to shape the next 100 years?
Rep. Pramila Jayapal: Well, first, I just want to say thank you. Thank you so much for stepping up and for being a part of building a different world to make it better for everyone. Secondly, trust yourself. Trust yourself, be who you are. Don't think that you have to become something else in order to be whatever it is that you're trying to do. Third, think about what you want to do, not who you want to be. Because at the end of the day, you can have a position. But if you're not using it for something that actually matters, then it doesn't really matter. And the fourth one is just revel in your own story. Revel in all the things that you've been able to do, and bring that to bear in the sense of resilience and courage. Not giving up being dogged, good, working hard — we all know how to do that. Just know that your hope is the ultimate antidote to all the hate that is out there.
Tune in to hear Congresswoman Jayapal discuss her journey to this country’s highest lawmaking body, as well as the landmark legislation she’s initiated and progressing day in and day out. Full episode on Apple, Spotify, or our website!