Sudhanshu Kaushik

Founder and Executive Director, North American Association of Indian Students, & Centre for Youth Policy

New York City, New York

Sudhanshu Kaushik is the founder and executive director of the North American Association of Indian Students (NAAIS), a nonprofit organization where he leads national advocacy and coalition-building efforts to advance the rights and representation of over 800,000 Indian-origin international students and young professionals in the United States. Under his leadership, NAAIS has built the largest national network for Indian diaspora youth, and, in 2020, mobilized a national coalition on student immigration reform. Sudhanshu, author of the book, The Future Is Ours: The Political Promise of India’s Youth, also founded the Centre for Youth Policy and the Young India Foundation, two global initiatives dedicated to increasing youth representation in policymaking and governance. At the Young India Foundation, he spearheaded civic engagement initiatives that reached over 120 million young voters and supported youth in pursuing public office. His cross-cultural upbringing in Arab, Alabama, fuels his commitment to developing platforms that empower immigrant and first-generation voices in shaping policy and governance.