Gives up his position at SAYA.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has hired Udai Tambar, Executive Director of the South Asian Youth Action (SAYA) community organization, to be his new Director of Children and Youth Services.
The announcement came earlier this week from SAYA, who also announced that board member Susan Maher Singh will be acting as the organization’s interim executive director until a permanent replacement for Tambar is found.
In his new position with the city government, Tambar will work under Lilliam Barrios-Paoli, the city’s Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, with the goal of “help[ing] accomplish the Mayor’s agenda to address inequality” throughout New York City.
SAYA is an organization dedicated to helping impoverished desi youth in the New York City area. According to information on their website, around 55% of south Asian youths in the city live below the $47,000 poverty line. Tambar, who was also on de Blasio’s 60-person transition committee when he was first elected, joined SAYA in 2010 and is credited with expanding the organization’s programs and almost tripling its size.
“We are very happy for Udai as he takes the next step in his professional career, “ said Usha Saxena, Board Chair of SAYA, in a statement. “His contribution to SAYA and our community cannot be measured. Having a person like Udai, whose background is steeped in strengthening youth, families and communities, is a boon for all New Yorkers.”
Tambar earned his B.A. in Asian Studies and Chemistry from Cornell University, where he graduated with the distinction of magna cum laude. He also holds a Masters of Public Administration (M.P.A.) degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com