Sayu Bhojwani, Ph.D

Sayu Bhojwani is a democracy futurist, ambition amplifier and dream doula. She is the President and Principal at Women's Democracy Lab.

Sayu is the founder and former president of New American Leaders, which is working to build an inclusive democracy. For that work, she has been recognized by the Case Foundation as a Fearless Changemaker, honored by Citizens Union New York, and awarded the BMW Foundation’s Young Leaders Award in 2013. From 2002 to 2004, she was New York City’s first Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs, under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, and in 1997 she founded South Asian Youth Action (SAYA!), the first and only organization working exclusively with South Asian youth. She is also a Visiting Scholar at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University and was named a 2017 Woodrow Wilson Fellow.

Sayu is a frequent contributor to the Huffington Post, CNN In America, and other online publications and currently serves on the board of the National Immigration Forum. Her TED Talk, “How immigrants voices make democracy stronger” can be found on ted.com.

Sayu also holds a Ph.D. in Politics and Education and a M.Ed. in Comparative Education from Columbia University. Sayu is a naturalized citizen of the United States. She was born in India and grew up in Belize. She moved to New York City in 1984, and currently lives there with her husband and daughter.

Follow her on twitter: @SayuBhojwani.