We wanted to focus on real issues faced by women and politicize ourselves, and society around us... Read more

About Sakhi

Sakhi's Staff

Executive Director

Tiloma Jayasinghe, Executive Director, joined Sakhi staff in February 2010.  She was formerly a Social Affairs Officer at the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women where she was responsible for analyzing and identifying policies and practices eliminating violence against women from an international perspective.  Prior to that, she was the National Advocates for Pregnant Women’s first Baron Edmond de Rothschild Staff Attorney Fellow where she focused her legal, educational, and organizational skills on the intersection of the war on reproductive rights and the war on drugs. She is a graduate of New York University and the George Washington University School of Law. Ms. Jayasinghe's diverse legal background includes litigating bankruptcy and financial restructuring cases, filing Habeas Corpus appeals, VAWA petitions, and preparing amicus curaie briefs before state and federal appellate courts throughout the United States. As an associate at the international law firm Mayer, Brown, Rowe and Maw, LLP, she spearheaded a pro bono project supporting the development and creation of the Asian University for Women. She is also a birth doula and a founding member of With Woman Doula Coopertiva.  Ms. Jayasinghe has served as the New York Chapter Representative to the Board of Directors of NAPAWF (National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum). She can be reached at 212.714.9153 ext. 101 or tiloma.jayasinghe@sakhi.org.

Direct Services Program Staff  

Sakhi’s two Domestic Violence Program Advocates respond to requests for assistance from survivors of violence. They provide ongoing support, services, resources (shelter, health, and legal referrals, etc.), accompaniments (to courts, police precincts, and law offices, etc.), and translation services within Sakhi's Domestic Violence program for both new callers and approximately 200 women on an ongoing basis. The Domestic Violence Program provides services in Bengali and Hindi.

Sakhi’s Economic Empowerment Coordinator assists survivors in their journeys to financial self-sufficiency: in addition to navigating access to public benefits, school/technical programs, grants, and job training and placement referrals, she coordinates Sakhi’s financial literacy workshops and yearly tax clinic, plans computer classes, enables individual sessions for skill development, and manages the Swarna Chalasani Economic Empowerment Fund. The Economic Empowerment Coordinator is fluent in Hindi and Punjabi.

Community Engagement and Support Staff  

Sarah Crist, Senior Development Associate, joined Sakhi in November 2008. She will focus on fashioning and implementing a comprehensive program of annual individual giving – a pivotal aspect of ensuring the sustainability of Sakhi’s much-needed programs and services. She will play a critical role in campaign execution, event planning, major gifts procurement, and volunteer development committee coordination. Sarah possesses a B.A. with a double major in Telecommunications and a minor in Gender Studies from Indiana University. Her past positions have helped her develop valuable skills including event planning, donor stewardship, and securing corporate involvement in the non-profit sector. She can be reached at 212.714.9153 ext. 102 or sarah.crist@sakhi.org.

Danielle Reydon, Program and Development Associate, joined Sakhi in May 2010. She received a BA from Brooklyn College, majoring in Anthropology and History, with a focus in colonial South Asian Women’s Studies. Danielle will play an integral role in facilitating the diversification of funding sources, supporting the organization in both areas of work through fundraising and program management, as well as liaising with community partners and building relationships with funders, donors, community agencies, service groups, schools, health departments and other potential resources. She can be reached at 212-714-9153 ext. 106 or danielle.reydon@sakhi.org

Shazia Muhammad, Operations and Outreach Coordinator, joined Sakhi staff in July 2007. Shazia leads Sakhi’s day-to-day operations including our complex administrative, financial, program, technology, and human resources work. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science in 1997 from NYU and brings to us a significant background in the non-profit sector, especially in technology-related capacities.  This includes experience updating websites, supporting a help desk, and responding to inquiries. Shazia possesses conversational fluency in Punjabi and Urdu. She can be reached at 212.714.9153 ext. 110 or shazia.muhammad@sakhi.org.