Obama appoints three Indian-Americans to advisory commission

US President Barack Obama has appointed three eminent Indian-Americans to key administration posts as members of his advisory panel on Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, a body aimed at increasing participation of the over 16 million-strong community in federal programmes.

"Our nation will be well-served by the skill and dedication these men and women bring to their new roles. I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead," Obama said in a statement after he announced the appointment of members to the President's Advisory Commission on Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders.

The three Indian-Americans appointed to the commission are Farooq Kathwari, Chairman, President and CEO of Ethan Allen Interiors; Sunil Puri, President and sole owner of First Rockford Group, Inc, a real estate development firm he founded in 1984; and Amardeep Singh, co-founder and presently Director of Programmes at 'Sikh Coalition', the US' largest Sikh civil rights organisation, the White House said yesterday.

Kathwari, who has been President of Ethan Allen Interiors since 1985 and its Chairman and CEO since 1988, serves on many non-profit bodies, including as the chair of the Kashmir Study Group; a member of Council on Foreign Relations; Director of International Rescue Committee, the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University; and Director and ex-Chairman of Refugees International and the National Retail Federation.

He holds a BA degree in English Literature and Political Science from Kashmir University, an MBA in International Marketing from New York University and also has two honorary doctorate degrees.

Sunil Puri sits on a number of boards including the Rockford Area Economic Development Council and the Rockford College Board of Trustees. He holds a BS in Accounting from Rockford College.

Amardeep Singh, prior to joining the Sikh Coalition in 2002, worked as a researcher in the US Programme of Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Singh was also an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University's Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Race, where he taught the intersection of ethnic identity and the law.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the South Asian Bar Association of New York.

Singh holds a BA from Rutgers University and a JD from Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

The commission's objective is to work to improve the quality of life and opportunities for the Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders across the US through increased access to, and participation in, federal programmes in which they may be under-served.