2021 Conference Speakers

Hoda Katebi is a Chicago-based Iranian-American writer, abolitionist organizer, and creative educator. Her political fashion work has been hailed from the BBC to the New York Times to the pages of VOGUE and featured and cited in books, journals, and museums around the world. Hoda is the host of #BecauseWeveRead, a radical digital book club and discussion series with 20+ chapters globally; founding member of Blue Tin Production, an apparel manufacturing workers co-operative run by working class women of color; a national lead with Believers Bail Out, a bail fund using Zakat to bail Muslims from pretrial & immigration incarceration; and organizer with the No War Campaign. Hoda runs on saffron ice cream and colonizer tears.

RANJEEV PURI is a member of the Michigan House of Representatives representing District 21. Ranjeev is the son of immigrants, and began his work joining President Barack Obama’s team in 2008 and 2012 and was personally challenged by the President to make a difference in his own community. Ranjeev received his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School Business, before moving back to Michigan and working in the automotive industry for nearly 10 years. Ranjeev worked on innovative and collaborative solutions preparing Michigan’s economy for self-driving cars, electric vehicles, eMobility and connected cars. Ranjeev is the first person of color to represent the 21^st district, and the first Sikh-American in Michigan’s legislative history. Ranjeev is fighting for a more inclusive and better Michigan in which we can all be proud to call home, regardless of background or belief.

Rukmini Vijayakumar, is the artistic director of Raadha Kalpa Dance Company, and the director of Lshva, a creative space for artists in the heart of Bangalore. She is the founder of The Raadha Kalpa method, an educational system for Bharatanatyam that is based on the idea of neutrality.

Rukmini’s approach to Bharatanatyam is dedicated, rigorous and layered. She has presented her work as a soloist all over the world, including venues such as the Jacobs Pillow festival, Drive East NYC, and the Korzo Theater. Recently she played ‘the goddess of love’ in ‘Sukanya’.