Shefali Razdan Duggal

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Shefali Razdan Duggal
United States Ambassador to the Netherlands
Assumed office
October 19, 2022
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byPete Hoekstra
Personal details
Born
Shefali Razdan

(1971-11-22) November 22, 1971 (age 52)
Haridwar, Uttar Pradesh (now in Uttarakhand), India
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Rajat Duggal
​
(m. 1998)​
EducationMiami University (BA)
New York University - Steinhardt (MA)

Shefali Razdan Duggal (born November 22, 1971) is an Indian-American political activist and diplomat serving as the United States ambassador to the Netherlands. She was previously appointed by President Barack Obama to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, which supervises the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, for a term which expired in January 2018.[1]

Razdan Duggal served on the board of Emily's List,[2] served as a Deputy National Finance Director of the Democratic National Committee[3] and recently served on the National Finance Committee of Joe Biden for President 2020.[4] Razdan Duggal also recently accepted an invitation to join the Leadership and Character Council at Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem NC).[5]

Early life and education[edit]

Razdan Duggal, a Kashmiri Pandit, was born in Haridwar, Uttar Pradesh (present day Uttarakhand), and moved with her family to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at age two. She then moved to Cincinnati, Ohio at age five, where she grew up and graduated from Sycamore High School. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communication from Miami University[6] and an Master of Arts degree in Media Ecology from New York University.[7]

Career[edit]

Razdan Duggal began her career in politics volunteering for the Massachusetts Democratic Party and the New Hampshire Democratic Party before moving on to volunteer for Senator Ted Kennedy and Senator Dianne Feinstein.[8] Razdan Duggal started her work in presidential campaigns with the Al Gore 2000 presidential campaign, where she was a volunteer and at-large delegate representing the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Following the 2000 United States presidential election, she worked for Staton Hughes, a political strategy firm, as a Political Analyst and also became a graduate of Emerge America, a political leadership training program for Democratic women.[9]

After a short hiatus, Razdan Duggal rejoined political activism with outreach and fundraising for the Hillary Clinton 2008 presidential campaign. She was a member of Women for Hillary and the Northern California Steering Committee.[10] After Clinton lost the nomination to then-Senator Barack Obama, Razdan Duggal joined his team as a member of the Obama for America National Finance Committee.

Simultaneously continuing her work with President Obama, Shefali joined Kamala Harris's successful campaign for attorney general of California and later for her transition team.[11]

During the 2012 United States presidential election, Razdan Duggal worked for the Barack Obama 2012 presidential campaign as part of the National Finance Committee, an Obama Victory Trustees co-chair, and a Northern California Finance Committee Member. During the 2012 Democratic National Convention, Shefali was a member of the Credentials Standing Committee and an at-large delegate representing the state of California.[12]

Razdan Duggal was a National Finance Committee member for the Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign. During the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Razdan Duggal was a member of the Rules Standing Committee.[13] She was mentioned in a New York Times article in 2016 as some of her emails were included in the 2016 Democratic National Committee email leak that were released by WikiLeaks.[14]

During the 2020 United States presidential election, Razdan Duggal worked on the National Finance Committee of the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign and as a national co-chair of Women for Biden.[15] She was a vice chair of the Credentials Standing Committee[16] and an at-large delegate representing the state of California at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

United States ambassador to the Netherlands[edit]

Razdan Duggal with members of the 118th Congress.

On March 11, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Razdan Duggal to be the United States ambassador to the Netherlands.[17] Hearings on her nomination were held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on July 28, 2022. The committee favorably reported her nomination to the Senate floor on August 3, 2022. Her nomination was approved by the full Senate on September 14, 2022, via voice vote.[18] She presented her credentials to King Willem-Alexander on October 19, 2022.[19][20]

Affiliations[edit]

Personal life[edit]

Razdan Duggal lives in San Francisco and is married to Rajat Duggal. She has two children.[28]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "President Obama Announces New Appointee to United States Holocaust Memorial Council — United States Holocaust Memorial Museum". www.ushmm.org. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  2. ^ "Board of Directors". www.emilyslist.org. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  3. ^ "Shefali Razdan Duggal". Revolving Door Project. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  4. ^ "Volunteer Fundraisers". Joe Biden for President: Official Campaign Website. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  5. ^ "Leadership & Character | Wake Forest University". Leadership and Character. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  6. ^ "Shefali Razdan Duggal '93". www.givetomiamioh.org. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  7. ^ SiliconIndia. "5 Most Influential Indian Women in U.S. - Page 3". siliconindia. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  8. ^ "Indian-American Shefali Razdan Duggal 'most powerful' woman in California". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  9. ^ "Shefali Razdan Duggal". Emerge California. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  10. ^ "Indian American Leadership Initiative". salsa.wiredforchange.com. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  11. ^ "Kamala Harris' Senate Bid Excites California's Indian Americans". NBC News. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  12. ^ West, India (2016-01-28). "Four Indian American Leaders Nominated to Posts for 2016 Democratic Convention". India News, Breaking News, Entertainment News | India.com. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  13. ^ "Four PIOs nominated to Democratic Convention Standing Committees". The Hindu. PTI. 2016-01-23. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  14. ^ Confessore, Nicholas; Eder, Steve (2016-07-25). "In Hacked D.N.C. Emails, a Glimpse of How Big Money Works (Published 2016)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  15. ^ "Women for Biden". Joe Biden for President: Official Campaign Website. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  16. ^ "2020 Democratic National Convention, standing committees, credentials, platform, rules". www.democracyinaction.us. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  17. ^ "President Biden Announces Key Nominees". The White House. 2022-03-11. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  18. ^ "PN1866 - Nomination of Shefali Razdan Duggal for Department of State, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". www.congress.gov. 15 March 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  19. ^ @usambnl (October 21, 2022). "Ambassador Shefali Razdan Duggal met with King Willem-Alexander to present her credentials as the United States Ambassador to the Netherlands on Wednesday, October 19" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  20. ^ "U.S. Ambassador-Designate Shefali Razdan Duggal to Present Credentials to His Majesty King Willem-Alexander". nl.usembassy.gov. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
  21. ^ "Shefali Razdan Duggal". Revolving Door Project. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  22. ^ "Board of Directors". www.emilyslist.org. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  23. ^ "Board of Directors". Human Rights First. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  24. ^ "San Francisco Committee". Human Rights Watch. 2015-05-26. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  25. ^ "Miami University announces new "Miami in DC" Alumni Advisory Board". www.miamialum.org. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  26. ^ "President Obama Announces New Appointee to United States Holocaust Memorial Council — United States Holocaust Memorial Museum". www.ushmm.org. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  27. ^ "Leadership & Character | Wake Forest University". Leadership and Character. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  28. ^ Walia, Nona. "Pray, eat, love say these three ladies - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to the Netherlands
2022–present 		Incumbent
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