Deepak Raj, an IIT-Kanpur alumnus, is the founder and managing director of New Jersey-based private investment firm Raj Associates with investments in real estate and public and private securities. He has had extensive experience in the investment sector with a 24-year career with Merrill Lynch where he held several leadership positions, including director of global equity research, and was elected chairman of the New Jersey State Investment Council in 2019. But he is best known for his pivotal role in philanthropy in the Indian American community including serving as first chairperson of Pratham USA, where he continues to be on the board and chair of the Indian Philanthropy Alliance. He spoke to Ishani Duttagupta about his different charitable ventures. Edited excerpts from the interview.
Q: You are one of the leaders in the Indian American community in philanthropic initiatives. What was the motivation behind these efforts?
A: The philanthropic journey started for me about 10 years back. I had done my BTech in electrical engineering from IIT-Kanpur where we received a world class education in return for almost nothing. I also went to school in Kanpur where we had a huge class and the most amazing teachers. The thought was that I wanted to give something back. Around 2014-15, I started by looking at several institutions and found Pratham. Having spent some time with Pratham, I was impressed with the great governance; the leadership; what they were trying to accomplish; the clear vision and how rapidly it was scaling up and I decided to support the organisation financially. I was the first chair of Pratham USA, a position that I held till recently. It is gratifying that Pratham has become increasingly established as an organisation making an impact. For me the journey has been about looking outside my own world and doing something for others.
Later in 2015, I thought we could do something in the US on a cross-border basis and, with my wife, established the Deepak & Neera Raj Center on Indian Economic Policies at The School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University, with well-known and brilliant economist Dr Arvind Panagariya at the helm.
Q: You are a co-founder of Indian American IMPACT, an organisation that works to empower members of the community politically. What is its mission?
A: I felt that there were some gaps for members of our community in the US who were looking for a career in the political arena. For young Indian American men and women who wanted to be in politics and public life; there was no system of mentorship within the community like there was in other sectors such as investment banking or the legal profession. We felt that as a community we were punching below our weight and so IMPACT was launched in 2016 in Philadelphia. Since then, we have five representatives of Indian origin in the US House and we are incredibly proud of Vice President Kamala Harris. At the states and local level, too, there are many more representatives, senators and other elected officials now than when IMPACT was launched. The number has increased substantially to about 50. While we are catching up in the political and public service arena; we still have a long journey ahead.
It is gratifying to see people from our community represented in a big way in the Biden administration and also in the states; you cannot go to any significant discussion without interacting with someone from our community. Our organisation has helped many of them and been a launching pad. IMPACT is also going beyond the Indian American community and supporting other candidates as well in areas where there are a large number of voters from our community. Different ways to get the community more engaged in political processes are also being explored.
Q: As a bipartisan organisation, will IMPACT be looking at supporting Republican candidates too in future?
A: We usually send a questionnaire to the candidates because we are looking for certain values which we filter down before offering support. Though a large percentage of our candidates are Democratic, we would like to find more Indian Americans to support in the Republican side as well who reflect the values of the community. In the coming years, we feel there will be more bipartisan candidates. We have also broadened our base to support other South Asian candidates because it was a natural extension to work with people who share similar values.
Q: Do you still have connections with IIT-Kanpur?
A: I went to IIT-K from a Hindi medium school and it was very special, challenging and interesting for me with many new dimensions. Where else can you get an education like you do at the IITs? I was the first person to fund a chair at IIT-K back in 2004. We had a alumni golden jubilee reunion meet last February and I have been honoured with the Distinguished Alumnus Award 2022. While Indian institutions have become more aspirational and global in thinking; I feel there is scope for many more alliances between the IITs and American universities, especially in areas such as clinical research.
Q: Do you see the next generation of Indian Americans going into many new fields such as social work and philanthropy?
A: Yes, I feel energised to see young Indian American women and men making an impact in different spheres such as public service and education. But this is just the beginning, while some members of our community are doing great work in new fields, we still have a long way to go and would like to see many more. I was concerned earlier about how Indian American parents would react when they sent their kids to Ivy League colleges, but instead of investment banking they decided on a career in public life. But it’s refreshing to see our kids going into unconventional areas such as NGOs and philanthropy. Personally, both my children are on the board of our family foundation.
Q: You are one of the leaders in the Indian American community in philanthropic initiatives. What was the motivation behind these efforts?
A: The philanthropic journey started for me about 10 years back. I had done my BTech in electrical engineering from IIT-Kanpur where we received a world class education in return for almost nothing. I also went to school in Kanpur where we had a huge class and the most amazing teachers. The thought was that I wanted to give something back. Around 2014-15, I started by looking at several institutions and found Pratham. Having spent some time with Pratham, I was impressed with the great governance; the leadership; what they were trying to accomplish; the clear vision and how rapidly it was scaling up and I decided to support the organisation financially. I was the first chair of Pratham USA, a position that I held till recently. It is gratifying that Pratham has become increasingly established as an organisation making an impact. For me the journey has been about looking outside my own world and doing something for others.
Later in 2015, I thought we could do something in the US on a cross-border basis and, with my wife, established the Deepak & Neera Raj Center on Indian Economic Policies at The School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University, with well-known and brilliant economist Dr Arvind Panagariya at the helm.
Q: You are a co-founder of Indian American IMPACT, an organisation that works to empower members of the community politically. What is its mission?
A: I felt that there were some gaps for members of our community in the US who were looking for a career in the political arena. For young Indian American men and women who wanted to be in politics and public life; there was no system of mentorship within the community like there was in other sectors such as investment banking or the legal profession. We felt that as a community we were punching below our weight and so IMPACT was launched in 2016 in Philadelphia. Since then, we have five representatives of Indian origin in the US House and we are incredibly proud of Vice President Kamala Harris. At the states and local level, too, there are many more representatives, senators and other elected officials now than when IMPACT was launched. The number has increased substantially to about 50. While we are catching up in the political and public service arena; we still have a long journey ahead.
It is gratifying to see people from our community represented in a big way in the Biden administration and also in the states; you cannot go to any significant discussion without interacting with someone from our community. Our organisation has helped many of them and been a launching pad. IMPACT is also going beyond the Indian American community and supporting other candidates as well in areas where there are a large number of voters from our community. Different ways to get the community more engaged in political processes are also being explored.
Q: As a bipartisan organisation, will IMPACT be looking at supporting Republican candidates too in future?
A: We usually send a questionnaire to the candidates because we are looking for certain values which we filter down before offering support. Though a large percentage of our candidates are Democratic, we would like to find more Indian Americans to support in the Republican side as well who reflect the values of the community. In the coming years, we feel there will be more bipartisan candidates. We have also broadened our base to support other South Asian candidates because it was a natural extension to work with people who share similar values.
Q: Do you still have connections with IIT-Kanpur?
A: I went to IIT-K from a Hindi medium school and it was very special, challenging and interesting for me with many new dimensions. Where else can you get an education like you do at the IITs? I was the first person to fund a chair at IIT-K back in 2004. We had a alumni golden jubilee reunion meet last February and I have been honoured with the Distinguished Alumnus Award 2022. While Indian institutions have become more aspirational and global in thinking; I feel there is scope for many more alliances between the IITs and American universities, especially in areas such as clinical research.
Q: Do you see the next generation of Indian Americans going into many new fields such as social work and philanthropy?
A: Yes, I feel energised to see young Indian American women and men making an impact in different spheres such as public service and education. But this is just the beginning, while some members of our community are doing great work in new fields, we still have a long way to go and would like to see many more. I was concerned earlier about how Indian American parents would react when they sent their kids to Ivy League colleges, but instead of investment banking they decided on a career in public life. But it’s refreshing to see our kids going into unconventional areas such as NGOs and philanthropy. Personally, both my children are on the board of our family foundation.
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