US prez Biden nominates two Indian-origin US citizens to key admin positions

US President Joe Biden announced that he intends to nominate Indian-origin civil rights attorney Kalpana Kotagal and certified public accountant Vinay Singh for the positions of Commissioner on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Chief Financial Officer, Department of Housing and Urban Development, respectively.

Here is a brief introduction to both, Kalpana and Vinay

Kalpana is the daughter of Indian immigrants and a partner at Cohen Milstein, apart from being a member of the firm’s Civil Rights and Employment practice group, and co-chair of the firm’s Hiring and Diversity Committee. As a diversity, equity and inclusion expert who represents disenfranchised people in employment and civil rights litigation involving issues related to Title VII, Equal Pay Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act, Kalpana has co-authored seminal legal template Inclusion Rider.

Vinay is Certified Public Accountant and currently, the senior advisor to the Administrator at the US Small Business Administration (SBA), assisting agency teams to deliver organisational efficiencies to better serve our communities’ small businesses, a White House announcement said. Earlier, Vinay had served the Obama-Biden administration as a Deputy Assistant Secretary (US Field), playing a key role in leading trade and investment policy and promotion efforts to better market conditions for US companies.

Before that, he was a Partner and Chief Operating Officer for Infrastructure Practice at KPMG in India, heading several organisational transformation projects. He was also a lead partner for the World Bank Group account where he supported global sustainability projects focused on solving urban and rural challenges in housing, water, energy, and economic development, the White House added.

Vinay brings 25 years of private sector leadership experience with a deep understanding of finance, analytics and strategy to the table in his new position.