EMPOWER PAC Announces Youth Advisory Board and Youth Fellowship Coordinators
New youth leadership initiative will expand paid campaign opportunities for Indian American high school students and build the next generation of political leadership
Folsom,CA — September 2, 2026 — EMPOWER PAC, a political organization dedicated to increasing Indian American representation in public office, today announced the formation of its Youth Advisory Board and the appointment of its Youth Fellowship Coordinators, strengthening the organization’s investment in the next generation of Indian American political leaders.
The inaugural Youth Advisory Board will consist of Sohali Vaddula, Sunjay Muralitharan, and Niyanth Kanakasabapathy, three young political leaders with extensive experience in national youth organizing, Democratic Party leadership, and political campaigns. The board will advise EMPOWER PAC on youth engagement, help expand the organization’s reach among young Indian Americans, and support initiatives and endorsements that create pathways into campaigns, government, and public service.
At the center of that work is the EMPOWER PAC Youth Fellowship, a paid program designed to recruit high school students and place them with political campaigns endorsed by EMPOWER PAC. Fellows will receive a stipend while gaining hands-on experience in campaign organizing, voter outreach, communications, and other aspects of electoral politics. By pairing students with campaigns, the program will give high schoolers an opportunity to contribute directly to the political process while learning from candidates, organizers, and political professionals.
Janhitha Veeramachaneni and Navaneet Jonnalagada will serve as the program’s Youth Fellowship Coordinators, leading efforts to recruit and support fellows and connect students with participating campaigns.
Veeramachaneni, a student at Barnard College of Columbia University, is a youth advocate and organizer who founded the Hudson County High School and College Democrats and has worked to expand civic education, youth voter participation, and AAPI political engagement in New Jersey. Jonnalagada, a Political Science student at San José State University, brings experience in congressional campaigning, field organizing, voter outreach, and justice reform advocacy.
“Electing more Indian Americans to public office requires us to think beyond a single candidate or election cycle,” said Anil Reddy Kondakrindi. “We have to build an ecosystem that introduces young Indian Americans to politics early, gives them meaningful opportunities to participate, and shows them that there is a place for their voices in campaigns and public service. This team brings both the experience and the vision to help us build that pipeline.”
The members of the Youth Advisory Board bring experience spanning campaigns, national party leadership, grassroots organizing, and youth mobilization.
Sohali Vaddula, a student at Brown University, is the former National President of the College Democrats of America and served as a member of the Democratic National Committee and the Texas Democratic Party’s Executive Committee. During her tenure in national youth leadership, she helped rebuild a 50-state grassroots operation and raised nearly half a million dollars to support Democratic youth organizing on college campuses. Her broader political experience spans statewide campaigns, interning at the U.S. Senate, political communications, and serving as a 2025 Indian American Impact Fellow.
Sunjay Muralitharan, a J.D. student at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, is a Democratic organizer and former National President of the College Democrats of America. Most recently, he served as Deputy Organizing Director for the Becerra for Governor campaign, where he helped build a volunteer program of 67,000 people that reached more than 850,000 voters. He has also served on the Democratic National Committee’s Executive Committee and worked to expand youth representation within the Democratic Party.
Niyanth Kanakasabapathy, a student at Virginia Tech studying National Security and Foreign Affairs, brings experience working across federal, state, and local campaigns. His work has included field organizing, voter outreach, strategic communications, campaign finance, donor engagement, and campaign operations.
Together, the Youth Advisory Board and Fellowship Coordinators will help EMPOWER PAC expand opportunities for Indian American students to see political participation not as something reserved for established professionals, but as a field they can begin contributing to now.
Through the fellowship, EMPOWER PAC is investing in both ends of the political pipeline: electing more Indian Americans to public office today while cultivating the organizers, campaign professionals, policymakers, and candidates who will lead the community tomorrow.
About EMPOWER PAC
EMPOWER PAC is dedicated to increasing Indian American representation in public office and building a government that better reflects the communities it serves. Through supporting candidates, strengthening political engagement, and investing in emerging leaders, EMPOWER PAC works to expand the Indian American community’s voice and representation in American politics.
Media Contact
Anil Reddy
Founder
ark.empower@gmail.com
916-588-5900
