Biden admin appoints Indian American Pronita Gupta as President’s special assistant

iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-

The Biden administration has appointed another Indian American expert to its office, this time as a Special Assistant to the President for Labour and Workers on the Domestic Policy Council, a media release has said.

Pronita Gupta will be President Biden’s right had when it comes to advising him on issues such as to advocating policies that improve job quality for workers, strengthen worker protection, and increase economic security for working families with low incomes, the release said.

She was previously the Director of Job Quality Team at the Centre for Law and Social Policy (CLASP).

Olivia Golden, executive director of CLASP, said, “She is an extraordinary leader who places people with low incomes and people of color at the core of her work and powerfully combines passion and vision with deep, detailed, practical knowledge. I cannot think of anyone who could better serve President Biden and the nation in advancing this crucial agenda.”

Gupta had held the role of CLASP’s Director for nearly four years, where she exemplified qualities of great leadership in advancing policies that improved the jobs of workers with low wages, playing an integral role in the Work Family Strategy Council and partnering with colleagues around the country, Golden said.

“At CLASP, she assembled a tremendously effective team that played a crucial role in building state and national momentum for paid family and medical leave and paid sick days, taking on everything from the details of financing and implementing effective programs to the broad vision, through testimony, speeches, detailed technical assistance, and powerful research reports and commentaries,” Golden said.

She was also a part of Obama Administration during his second term, where she acted as a Deputy Director, Women’s Bureau at the US Department of Labour from April 2014 to January 2017.

In that role, she worked to advance and improve standards, practices, and opportunities for women in the labor force. She has also previously served as senior director of programs for the Women Donors Network (WDN) as well as research director for Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy.

Gupta has extensive experience in community and labor organizing. She served as research director for SCOPE/AGENDA in Los Angeles, where she helped develop their health-care jobs campaign, and as research director for the Living Wage Campaign at the LA Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE).

Additionally, Gupta served as executive director of Institute for Southern Studies and legislative director for the US Student Association. She holds an MPA from Columbia University and a BA in Government from Clark University.