Yes, you can be Hindu and be white

Thanks, Matt.

Namaste, everyone.

Um, I can't explain it in words as to how excited and honored I am to be in this podcast.

Um, I've been listening to many, many, uh, since I joined HAF, and I also know that, uh, the series is very famous, uh, amongst our community members, so once again, really, I'm honored to be here.

Um, like Matt mentioned, I'm based out of California, and I joined HAF in 2023, and I've been in two separate roles.

Um, previously I was the regional director for California, and I, uh, led a lot of important projects across education, advocacy, and community building.

And since 26th of January, that is starting this year, I've taken on a bigger role in philanthropy, where I serve as the director of philanthropy for the Western region.

And in both these roles, a very large part of what I do is to interact with community members, specifically donors.

And when I interact with them, uh, I share the highlights of our work and what makes it special to be a part of the foundation.

And the top amongst that is the fact that we are the only professional organization that hires full-time staff to serve the Hindu cause across advocacy, education, and legal justice.

And this is in addition to a really big national team that also does significant work behind the scenes.

Fred, you're one of them, one of our favorites.

What strikes donors, though, all the time, is the diversity of our human capital.

We have so many people of Western or Caucasian origins, like you all, who identify themselves as Hindus.

And trust me, donors love that, and they're also really curious about all of you.

They ask me, "What's Matt's story? What's Eason's story?" And I'm like, "Uh, maybe you all should hear directly from them." So that's the idea behind this podcast.

Uh, they would like to know, were you born a Hindu or did you adopt the Hindu dharmas? If yes, when, et cetera, and all of that.

And I really feel like, um, as somebody who, um, is donor-facing all the time, the biggest takeaway from this is that Hindus are not of a certain skin color or from a single country like India, but instead that we come from all different backgrounds and practice the dharmas in many different ways.

And, uh, I think the donors will be very happy to hear from all of you.

So I will, uh, now, uh, let each of you introduce yourselves.

Thanks, Matt.

Namaste, everyone.

Um, I can't explain it in words as to how excited and honored I am to be in this podcast.

Um, I've been listening to many, many, uh, since I joined HAF, and I also know that, uh, the series is very famous, uh, amongst our community members, so once again, really, I'm honored to be here.

Um, like Matt mentioned, I'm based out of California, and I joined HAF in 2023, and I've been in two separate roles.

Um, previously I was the regional director for California, and I, uh, led a lot of important projects across education, advocacy, and community building.

And since 26th of January, that is starting this year, I've taken on a bigger role in philanthropy, where I serve as the director of philanthropy for the Western region.

And in both these roles, a very large part of what I do is to interact with community members, specifically donors.

And when I interact with them, uh, I share the highlights of our work and what makes it special to be a part of the foundation.

And the top amongst that is the fact that we are the only professional organization that hires full-time staff to serve the Hindu cause across advocacy, education, and legal justice.

And this is in addition to a really big national team that also does significant work behind the scenes.

Fred, you're one of them, one of our favorites.

What strikes donors, though, all the time, is the diversity of our human capital.

We have so many people of Western or Caucasian origins, like you all, who identify themselves as Hindus.

And trust me, donors love that, and they're also really curious about all of you.

They ask me, "What's Matt's story? What's Eason's story?" And I'm like, "Uh, maybe you all should hear directly from them." So that's the idea behind this podcast.

Uh, they would like to know, were you born a Hindu or did you adopt the Hindu dharmas? If yes, when, et cetera, and all of that.

And I really feel like, um, as somebody who, um, is donor-facing all the time, the biggest takeaway from this is that Hindus are not of a certain skin color or from a single country like India, but instead that we come from all different backgrounds and practice the dharmas in many different ways.

And, uh, I think the donors will be very happy to hear from all of you.

So I will, uh, now, uh, let each of you introduce yourselves.