YJA Convention 2010 07 New Brunswick NJ Ninth

Author(s): Young Jains of America (YJA)
Publisher: Young Jains of America YJA USA

Page 12

Setting the Agenda: Jainism in the Age of Obama
The "separation of church and state" principle doesn't prevent faith from informing our politics. Whether it be the Catholic church's support of immigration reform, Evangelical Christians' commitment to environmental preservation, Jewish influence in social justice causes or Muslim leadership on civil rights and civil liberties, communities of faith play an important role in the political life of our country and in the modern progressive movement. The rapid growth of the JainAmerican community calls us to set our own moral compass in the realm of civic life. How can young Jains influence the direction of American public policy and government? Is there a space in the political discourse for the concept of ahimsa? Parag Mehta, a leader in the Democratic Party and member of President Obama's transition team, addresses the challenges and opportunities facing young Jains as we aim to find our political voice and leverage power in ways that are consistent with our values.
Keynote Speakers
12
Parag Mehta - Parag Mehta is a communications specialist with more than a decade of experience in government, politics and community advocacy. He began his career as a speechwriter in the Clinton administration and is now a highly sought after public speaker in his own right, commanding audiences across the country.
During the 2008 elections, Mehta served as Director of External Communications for the Democratic National Committee. In that role, he worked to keep political opinion leaders, Democratic surrogates and allied organizations on message with the Obama-Biden campaign. Mehta previously spent three years as National Training Director for the DNC, organizing trainings for more than 22,000 Party staff, candidates, leaders and activists in all 50 states and around the world. During his four-year tenure at the DNC, Mehta was one of the most visible leaders of the Democratic Party.
Mehta served on the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team as Public Liaison to the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) communities. He also managed then President-Elect Obama's outreach efforts around education and the arts. In March of 2009, former Washington Governor Gary Locke recruited Mehta to manage his confirmation process to become the 36th U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
Prior to joining the DNC, Mehta was Deputy Political Director for America Votes, a coalition of the largest progressive organizations in the country who joined forces to register, educate, recruit, and mobilize voters during the 2004 elections. While at America Votes, Mehta developed new media tools that allowed the coalition's 32 partner groups to coordinate voter contact activities and direct their 21 million members to unified campaign events in 17 battleground states. In 2003, Mehta served as a Deputy Political Director for Governor Howard Dean's presidential campaign, based in Burlington, Vermont. There he handled Congressional and union endorsements for the campaign and coordinated political call time with the candidate. He also directed the campaign's Asian, Arab, Muslim and Pacific Islander outreach, working with elected officials, community leaders, and grassroots activists to build support for Governor Dean.
YJA CONVENTION 2010 I New Brunswick