The US Senate has confirmed the appointment of two Indian-American women at key administrative positions. Nisha Desai Biswal is appointed as the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, making her the first person from the community to hold the top diplomatic position. Biswal, who is currently the Assistant Administrator for Asia at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), will replace incumbent Robert Blake to head the key bureau in the State Department.
From 2005 to 2010, Biswal was the Majority Clerk for the State Department and Foreign Operations Subcommittee on the Committee on Appropriations in the US House of Representatives. From 2002 to 2005, she served as the Policy and Advocacy Director at InterAction. Previously, she served on the professional staff of the US House of Representatives International Relations Committee from 1999 to 2002.
On the other hand, Indian-American dancer Ranee Ramaswamy is confirmed as a member of the prestigious National Council on the Arts. An exponent of Bharatanatayam, Renee founded the Ragamala Music and Dance Theatre in 1992 at Minneapolis, Minnesota and started popularising this classical Indian dance form in the US.
The National Council on the Arts advises the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, who also chairs the Council, on agency policies and programmes. It reviews and makes recommendations to the Chairman on applications for grants, funding guidelines, and leadership initiatives.
Renee has been a disciple of Alarmel Valli, one of India's greatest living masters since 1984. She has worked with celebrated artists such as poet Robert Bly, jazz musician Howard Levy and legendary composer L. Subramaniam, the Cudamani ensemble of Indonesia and Wadaiko Ensemble Tokara of Japan.
Ranee and co-Artistic Director Aparna Ramaswamy were named the 2011 "Artist of the Year" by the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Renee has been confirmed for a term expiring 3rd September 2018.
No comments:
Post a Comment