Shefali Razdan Duggal, an Indian-American gets most powerful woman of California award

WASHINGTON: Shefali Razdan Duggal, a top Indian-American fundraiser at President Barack Obama's re-election campaign, has been conferred with the "Most Powerful and Influential Women of California" award.

The award was presented to 40-year-old Shefali, also a member of Obama's Presidential Partners, National Finance Committee and Northern California Finance Committee, at a ceremony last week in recognition of her leadership in the State.

National Diversity Council, an NGO which champions diversity in workplace and communities, had chosen Shefali as one of the "2012 Most Powerful and Influential Women of California".

Early this month, the Obama Campaign identified her as one of its top fundraisers for this year's presidential bid.

Originally from India, Shefali, a mother of two, has been raised in Cincinnati, Chicago, New York and Boston and received an MA in Political Communication from New York University and an BS in Mass Communication from Miami University .

She had been active in Senator Obama's 2008 Presidential campaign and had also been associated with Senator Hillary Clinton's Presidential campaign where she was a member of the campaign's Northern California Steering Committee and the Women for Hillary Committee.

In her professional career, Duggal worked as a political analyst at Staton Hughes, a political strategy firm, and also worked for Senators Ted Kennedy and Dianne Feinstein.

Apart from being committed to political advocacy,Shefali has worked towards bridging the gap between India and the US and her focus is on invigorating the South Asian Community to become increasingly involved and devoted to the political process.