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About Deepa Iyer
Deepa Iyer is a South Asian American writer, lawyer and activist. Deepa has worked on immigrant and racial justice issues for over two decades. Currently, she is the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Building Movement Project where she curates a project called Solidarity Is which provides trainings and narratives to build deep and lasting multiracial solidarity. Deepa is the creator of the social change ecosystem map framework and the founder/host of the Solidarity Is This podcast. She was the former executive director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) for a decade, and has held positions at Race Forward, the US Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center, and the Asian American Justice Center. Deepa’s first book, We Too Sing America: South Asian, Arab, Muslim and Sikh Immigrants Shape Our Multiracial Future (The New Press 2015), received a 2016 American Book Award. Her second book, Social Change Now: A Guide for Reflection and Connection (2022), provides a roadmap to people and organizations seeking to more effectively and sustainably engage in social change efforts. Deepa has received fellowships from Open Society Foundations and the Social Change Initiative, and in 2019, she received an honorary doctoral degree from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Deepa is active online @dviyer (X), @deepaviyer (Instagram) and at www.deepaiyer.com. Deepa is an immigrant who moved to Kentucky from Kerala (India) when she was 12 years old.
