Raju Chinthala
| Raju Chinthala | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Balaraju Chinthala |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Citizenship | American |
| Education | MSc and MBA |
| Alma mater |
All India Institute of Speech and Hearing Indiana Wesleyan University |
| Occupation | Speech pathologist and politician |
| Board member of | Speech Pathologists & Audiologists Board of Examiners |
| Awards | Sagamore of the Wabash award (2015) |
Balaraju (Raju) Chinthala is an Indian speech pathologist and American political advocate. He is the founder of Chinthala & Associates speech pathologist firm and founder of the Asian-American Indiana PAC.
Education
Chinthala received a Master’s degree in Speech and Hearing from All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysore, India, and later received an MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University.[1]
Career
Chinthala moved to the United States in 1994 from India on a work visa as a speech pathologist,[2] first moving to Flint, Michigan.[3] He and his wife settled in Marion County, Indiana in 1996.[1] Soon afterwards he founded Chinthala & Associates in the City of Indianapolis.[1] There he became involved in politics, including advising on a 2003 Indianapolis City-County Council campaign. He became an American citizen in 2008.[2] In 2010 and 2013, Chinthala led the delegation of Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard to India. He was also named by Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard to the Mayor’s Advisory Commission on Human Relations.[1][4] He has also provided seminars to the Consulate General of India on the topic of economic partnerships between India and the American Midwest,[5] in addition to serving as President of the Indianapolis Hyderabad Sister City Committee,[6] and a member of several advisory boards in Indianapolis, Marion County, and Carmel.[3]
In 2014 Chinthala ran in the Republican Caucus for the Indiana Congressional seat of Representative Steve Braun.[7][8][9] That year Chinthala also founded the Asian-American Indiana PAC, which does outreach to Asian-Americans in order to recruit them as voters and provide electoral information to their community. He founded the PAC after doing outreach for Mayor Brainard, during which he found a lack of political participation in the state’s Asian-American community.[2] In 2015, Chinthala was the recipient of The Sagamore of the Wabash award by Indiana Governor Mike Pence.[10] That year he was also appointed to the Speech Pathologists & Audiologists Board of Examiners.[11]
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Carmel speech pathologist works to engage Asian Americans in politics". Current in Carmel.
- 1 2 3 "Immigrant’s new PAC urges Asians toward politics".
- 1 2 "Raju Chinthala". US India Economic Forum.
- ↑ "City of Carmel, IN : Mayor's Advisory Commission on Human Relations".
- ↑ "Mr. Raju Chinthala".
- ↑ "About us". INDIANAPOLIS HYDERABAD SISTER CITY COMMITTEE.
- ↑ "GOP officials eye replacements for Reps. Turner, Braun". Indianapolis Star. 19 November 2014.
- ↑ Our Bureau. "Indianapolis highlights potential for cooperation, woos local firms". The Hindu Business Line.
- ↑ "A night of Jabberwocky, cricket edition". NUVO.
- ↑ "Raju Chinthal honoured…".
- ↑ Brian Scott. "Governor Pence Names Deborah Frye Director of the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency". WYRZ.org.