On Saturday June 12, Navdeep Singh, former SALDEF intern and current volunteer extraordinaire, gave a presentation at the Washington Leadership Program (WLP). The WLP is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building the next generation of leadership from within the South Asian American community through innovative programs.
He shared some of the strategies SALDEF uses to represent the Sikh American community in Washington and across the nation. The talk focused on the importance of coalition building and developing relationships. He shared how it is impossible to create positive change in Washington without forging relationships and working with others. The presentation used SALDEF’s experiences working with other organizations to work on the Hill, working with SALDEF and Leadership Conference on Civil Rights’ successful efforts to pass hate crimes legislation, to provide these young leaders with models to effect change to benefit the nation. Finally, he shared how these strategies can be used outside of Congress, such as working with the Department of Justice to train police officers through the Law Enforcement Partnership Program or challenging Oregon’s religious garb ban.
