YJA Convention 2012 07 Tampa FL Tenth 027618

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

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JNF KEYNOTE SPEAKER J. ASHWIN MADIA
Jina 2.0: Using Jain Principles to Build a Fantastic Life A keynote address discussing the Jain principles of self-reliance and balance as they relate to living in modern America and building a career and life.
J. Ashwin Madia's parents moved to the United States from Mumbai, India. Madia's family settled in Plymouth, Minnesota, where he went to Osseo Senior High School. He attended the University of Minnesota, where he became student body president. He then attended New York University School of Law. Madia provided pro bono representation to battered women, disabled children, and immigrants seeking asylum while in law school.
Madia then joined the U.S. Marine Corps and completed Officer Candidate School and The Basic School in Quantico, Virginia. His first duty station was Okinawa, Japan, where he served as a prosecutor, defense counsel, and legal advisor to a Marine Corps commander. Madia was one of the first attorneys to successfully defend a fellow Marine from discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Madia later served in Iraq from September 2005 to March 2006. While there, he worked in a non-combat role to strengthen Iraq's criminal justice system. This job included working with Iraqi judicial officers, U.S. military and civilian officials, and representatives of the European Union and United Nations, as well as briefing top U.S. generals on the status of the rule of law in the country. In July 2006, Madia finished active duty and returned to Minnesota, where he began to work as a litigator at a local law firm.
Madia announced his candidacy for Congress in his home district in November 2007, which had not elected a Democrat in fifty years. Despite the lack of any existing political or fundraising base, the political newcomer defeated his heavily favored opponent for the Democratic nomination in April 2008. Because of the Madia campaign's strong organization and fundraising, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee placed Madia's race on its "Red to Blue" list, reserved for the top campaigns in the country. In the general election in November 2008, Madia fell just short and lost a three way race to the Republican candidate.
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Madia opened his own law firm in May 2009. He specializes in employment and civil rights litigation.
YJA CONVENTION 2012 | Tampa, FL