About Us
Meet the Team
Kashish Jain
Co-President & Founder
Yahvi Mahendra
Co-President & Founder
Meera Viruru
Education Officer
Marco Izzia
Education Officer
Simar Garcha
Education Officer
Dana Tabaza
Education Officer
Nilay Bhadra
Education Officer
Faith Radford
Logistics Officer
Genna Alexander
Logistics Officer
Christeena Jojo
Logistics Officer
Zoe Rucinsky
Marketing Officer
Barsha Pantha
Marketing Officer
Akshay Vankayala
Campaigns Officer
Anusha Talwalkar
Campaigns Officer
Shruthi Srinivasan
Outreach Officer
Gabby Santor
Outreach Officer
Our Story
May 25th, 2020.
On this day, a young Black man named George Floyd was inhumanely murdered by a police officer of the Minneapolis Police Department. It was caught on video and was shared across the entire world. Since then, there were over 20 days of protesting all around the globe by people who believe that Black people deserve justice and police need to be held accountable.
“I saw the boarded up stores, the smell of burning buildings, the ashes of the police precinct and the graffiti of talented artists in pain,” Jain said. “During those 15 or so days of protests, I could not find any peace. It was only through activism that I truly felt like things were going to be okay … After working on my community, I knew that UW-Madison had to be next.”
- Kashish Jain, President, from the Badger Herald
Why did we start this chapter?
Actionable Change. We started this chapter because we felt there is a need for more action-oriented clubs on campus that specifically address human rights violations nationally, internationally, and specifically at UW and Wisconsin.
Our goals
With the increased involvement and energy surrounding excessive police force and police accountability, we knew it would be a great time to introduce Amnesty International on campus. Students hungry to take action toward a more just campus, nation, and world will finally have an outlet!
There are tons of political clubs on campus, but we make it a point that you don’t need to be affiliated with any party to want to protect human rights. It is for anyone and impacts everyone; we encourage new perspectives on how we can collectively advocate for equal human rights.
UW-Madison tends to be very segregated as far as student organizations go. There’s a space for multicultural organizations (such as the Red Gym/MSC/SAC) and many students of color feel more comfortable within that space. However, white students are just as important as non-white students when it comes to creating change for all. Amnesty International is a place for multicultural experiences to be shared, and to allow students who wish to be exposed to cultural diversity to listen and learn from one another.