Staff
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Notable Achievements
- Five Officers Convicted. Ensaaf provided key litigation support in the conviction of 5 officers for Jaswant Singh Khalra's abduction and murder.
- International Experts Engaged. Ensaaf partnered with the Nobel-prize winning organization Physicians for Human Rights on a torture and trauma study.
- Recognized as a Ground-breaking Organization. Ensaaf Co-Founders received the Echoing Green fellowship award in 2006.
Co-Founders/Co-Directors
Sukhman Dhami, Co-Founder and Co-Director, was the recipient of the 2004 Unity Award from the San Francisco Coalition of Minority Bars and South Asian Bar Association for his outstanding service to the legal community. Dhami is a 2006 Echoing Green fellow. Dhami also received a two-year fellowship through the Ford Foundation to address issues of accountability and impunity for human rights abuses in India. He serves on the Advisory Board to the Public International Law and Policy Group, which provides pro bono legal services to states in conflict and transition on issues of peace and conflict resolution and human rights abuses. Dhami earned his J.D. and M.A. from the American University.
Jaskaran Kaur, Co-Founder and Co-Director, has authored several seminal reports on human rights abuses in India, including Protecting the Killers: A Policy of Impunity in Punjab, India, Twenty Years of Impunity: The November 1984 Pogroms of Sikhs in India, and, as a contributing author, Reduced to Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab. Kaur is a 2006 Echoing Green fellow. Kaur currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Discrimination & National Security Initiative of the Pluralism Project at Harvard University. From 2003 to 2005, Kaur was the recipient of the Irving R. Kaufman Fellowship from Harvard Law School. In 2001, she went to Punjab on a Harvard Human Rights Program Summer Fellowship to study the role of the judiciary in handling habeas corpus petitions filed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court by families of the disappeared. Her study was published in the Harvard Human Rights Journal. Kaur graduated with distinction from Yale College and Harvard Law School.
Programmatic
Raji Mangat, Senior Legal Consultant, holds a law degree from the University of Victoria, British Columbia. After graduation, she clerked for the Honorable Justice Frank Iacobucci at the Supreme Court of Canada. Prior to joining Ensaaf, Raji practiced litigation at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP from 2004-2009, where she developed a robust pro bono practice with a focus on public interest advocacy. A member of the bars of Ontario (2004), New York (2005) and British Columbia (2011), Raji also worked at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague and with the International Secretariat of Amnesty International in London, UK. She earned her B.A. in political science at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver and an M.A. in international development studies at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Ottawa.
Satvinder Kaur Dhaliwal, Program Associate, recently graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a B.S. in anthropology. In college, she volunteered with the Jakara Movement, sitting on the nonprofit’s undergraduate conference committee, and serving as the project lead for Jakara Juniors, an initiative that organizes children’s camps focusing on Sikh history, values, and culture. Post-graduation, Satvinder traveled to Punjab to volunteer with Pingalwara, a charity that provides shelter and services to the needy, and with Baba Nanak Educational Society, a nonprofit that offers financial assistance and vocational training to disadvantaged rural youth in Punjab.
Amritpan Kaur, Program Associate, is a recent graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, holding bachelor’s degrees in political science and public health. While in college, Amritpan interned with Amnesty International, expanding its presence and membership in California, and organizing its 2010 conference in San Francisco. She also co-launched the Saanjh Scholarship, establishing funding sources and managing a marketing strategy. Most recently, Amritpan was a member of JusticeCorps, and worked in a California Superior Court, working with people to ensure the proper navigation of court procedural systems.
Pali Nijjar, Program Associate, worked as a community organizer at Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana prior to joining Ensaaf, building both community coalitions and communication channels between the city government and underserved residents of downtown San Jose. She also developed life skills presentations and ran bilingual parent and youth support groups while at the Alum Rock Counseling Center. Additionally, Pali—along with Manpreet Kalra—founded Kaurista, the first online lifestyle magazine targeted at young Sikh women. Pali received a B.S. degree in political science from Santa Clara University in 2004, and received a bilingual teaching credential from San Jose State University in 2011.
Administration
Christina Cusolito, Office Manager, holds a bachelor's degree in English from Western Washingon University, and has also completed coursework in grant writing, professional writing, and technical writing. Soon after graduating, Christina worked as the Administrative Assistant at Pyramid Communications, the leading Seattle public relations firm dedicated to serving non-profits. There she gained a solid understanding of public relations and organizational operations. In addition to administrative and accounting tasks, she managed special projects, such as coordinating after-hours fundraisers and recruiting for focus groups. Prior to joining Ensaaf, Christina also worked as a Legal Assistant.