Dr. Shefali Mehta serves as the Deputy Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. An environmental and agricultural economist and statistician, she comes to USDA from Open Rivers Consulting Associates, a science & technology and management consulting firm she founded and led. In her role as Founder and Principal, she helped clients intertwine innovation, data and science, compassion, diversity of perspectives and the importance of the environment for overall health into their skills and values.
Dr. Mehta has worked in roles across private, public and non-profit sectors including McKinsey, Syngenta, the Soil Health Partnership, amongst others. She has served as a Board member for various groups including Bountifield, Pheasants Forever, Minnesota Invasive Terrestrial Plants and Pest Center (MITPPC), the School of Statistics at University of Minnesota, and The Gates Scholar Advisory Council, amongst others.
Dr. Mehta received her PhD in Agricultural and Applied Economics and MS in Statistics from the University of Minnesota, MPhil in Economics from Cambridge University and a BA in Economics from New York University.

Amit Mital was appointed as the Senior Director in the National Security Council and Special Assistant to the President. Prior to joining the Government, he was the CEO and Founder of Kernel Labs, a start-up with expertise in machine-learning, computer vision, and security. He was later appointed as the strategic advisor of eSentire.
As eSentire’s Strategic Advisor, Mital played an integral role in supporting the advancement of the company’s MDR services and cloud-native Extended Detection and Response (XDR) platform, eSentire Atlas. With his support, eSentire has positioned itself to solve one of the CISO’s greatest challenges, achieving security at scale, by delivering expert level threat disruption, containment and response through cloud-based integration, with redundancy and reliability, on demand. Mital is the founder and CEO of Kernel Labs, an incubator for creating startups in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. He previously served as Executive Vice President, General Manager, and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Symantec Corporation and spent 20 years at Microsoft in various positions with the last being Corporate Vice President for the Startup Business Group.
He has earned his Master of Science degree in Computer Engineering from Dartmounth College.

Nand Mulchandani is a serial entrepreneur who has co-founded and been CEO of multiple successful startups – Oblix (acquired by Oracle), Determina (acquired by VMware), OpenDNS (acquired by Cisco), and ScaleXtreme (acquired by Citrix).
He started his service in the Government by joining the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center at the US Department of Defense. Now, he will be assuming his new position as the first ever Chief Technology Officer of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Dr. Vivek Murthy is the 21st Surgeon General of the United States, serving under President Joe Biden. Dr. Vivek Murthy has been confirmed as the 21st Surgeon General of the United States in March 2021. He was confirmed by the Senate in 2014 to serve as the 19th Surgeon General of the United States and currently serves as co-chair of the President-elect’s COVID-19 Advisory Board. A renowned physician, research scientist, entrepreneur, and author of the bestselling book Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World, Dr. Murthy is among the most trusted voices in America on matters of public health.
As “America’s Doctor,” Dr. Murthy helped lead the national response to a range of health challenges, including the Ebola and Zika viruses, the opioid crisis, and the growing threat of stress and loneliness to Americans’ physical and mental wellbeing. Prior to his tenure as Surgeon General, Dr. Murthy co-founded VISIONS, a global HIV/AIDS education organization; the Swasthya Project, a rural health partnership that trained women in South India to become community health workers and educators; TrialNetworks, a technology company dedicated to improving collaboration and efficiency in clinical trials; and Doctors for America, a nonprofit mobilizing physicians and medical students to improve access to affordable care. His scientific research has focused on vaccine development and the participation of women and minorities in clinical trials. And as an internal medicine doctor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Murthy cared for thousands of patients over the years and trained undergraduates, medical students, and medical residents.
Raised in Miami, Dr. Murthy received his bachelor of arts degree from Harvard, his masters in business administration from the Yale School of Management, and his MD from the Yale School of Medicine. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife, Dr. Alice Chen, and their two children.

Dr. Vivek Murthy has been confirmed as the 21st Surgeon General of the United States in March 2021. He was confirmed by the Senate in 2014 to serve as the 19th Surgeon General of the United States and currently serves as co-chair of the President-elect’s COVID-19 Advisory Board. A renowned physician, research scientist, entrepreneur, and author of the bestselling book Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World, Dr. Murthy is among the most trusted voices in America on matters of public health.
As “America’s Doctor,” Dr. Murthy helped lead the national response to a range of health challenges, including the Ebola and Zika viruses, the opioid crisis, and the growing threat of stress and loneliness to Americans’ physical and mental wellbeing. Prior to his tenure as Surgeon General, Dr. Murthy co-founded VISIONS, a global HIV/AIDS education organization; the Swasthya Project, a rural health partnership that trained women in South India to become community health workers and educators; TrialNetworks, a technology company dedicated to improving collaboration and efficiency in clinical trials; and Doctors for America, a nonprofit mobilizing physicians and medical students to improve access to affordable care. His scientific research has focused on vaccine development and the participation of women and minorities in clinical trials. And as an internal medicine doctor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Murthy cared for thousands of patients over the years and trained undergraduates, medical students, and medical residents.
Raised in Miami, Dr. Murthy received his bachelor of arts degree from Harvard, his masters in business administration from the Yale School of Management, and his MD from the Yale School of Medicine. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife, Dr. Alice Chen, and their two children.

Seema Nanda served as Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff, and Deputy Solicitor at the U.S Department of Labor in the Obama – Biden Administration.
Before that, Seema spent over 15 years in various roles as a labor and employment attorney, mostly in government service. She led the now named Office of Immigrant and Employee Rights Section of the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, served as a supervisor attorney in the Division of Advice at the National Labor Relations Board, and worked as an associate in private practice in Seattle. After the Obama – Biden Administration, Nanda led the Democratic National Committee as CEO and served as COO and Executive Vice President at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
Seema is presently a fellow at Harvard Law School’s Labor and Worklife Program. She grew up in Connecticut and is a graduate of Brown University and Boston College Law School.

Deputy Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) within the Department of Homeland Security Nitin Natarajan works to support the CISA director in overseeing the Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Security, and Emergency Communications Division, and the National Risk Management Center. He ensures a holistic approach to infrastructure protection in physical and cyber risk activities.
Nitin had served as an executive at consulting firm providing expertise on IT, cybersecurity, homeland and national security, and critical infrastructure protection, among many other things. He had prior held several federal government roles such as the Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency Management at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Director of Critical Infrastructure Policy at the White House/ National Security Council, and as the Director at US Health and Human services overseeing continuity of operations, medical logistics, and infrastructure.He also spent the first 13 years of his career as a first responder in New York including service as a flight paramedic.
Nitin holds an undergraduate degree from the State University of New York and a graduate degree from the United States Naval Postgraduate School.

Raj Nayak has been appointed as a Senior Advisor at the Office of the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Labor.

Sonali Nijhawan has committed her career to developing leaders and growing national service. Most recently, she developed and served as the executive director of Stockton Service Corps, a six-year, $12 million initiative to address local needs through AmeriCorps. Her professional background also includes extensive experience in education, beginning as an AmeriCorps member with City Year Chicago. Inspired by the students, families, and AmeriCorps community she met, she then went on to help found City Year Sacramento and launch the organization’s 22nd site with 50 new AmeriCorps members. Sonali also served as the California Director of Education Pioneers where she recruited, placed, and supported managers in urban school systems and education nonprofits, empowering people to challenge the status quo of our public education system.
She earned a bachelor’s in education and psychology from Marquette University and a master’s in social work from the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

Director of the Office of International Affairs Suyash G. Paliwal advises Chairman Tarbert on cross-border issues and leads the CFTC’s international regulatory initiatives. Suyash has previously served at the Federal Reserve Board where he developed international and domestic policy for the supervision of systemically important financial institutions and certain financial conglomerates, and oversaw the supervision of large financial institutions.
Before his service in the government, Suyash spent over 5 years working in a private practice where he advised clients on complex international legal issues and derivatives regulations. He also worked for more than four years in the financial services industry.
He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BS and MBA in 2002, and obtained a JD from Columbia Law School in 2010.

Confirmed in June of 2020, Director Sethuraman Panchanathan, known informally as “Panch,” has since been serving as the 15th director of the National Science Foundation in the United States. “Panch” as he is popularly called, has over 30 years of experience in the field and has furthered research innovation, global development, and economic growth amongst much else. He has mentored many of the members of current leadership in academia and the STEM field. Panch has also received awards including the Distinguished Alumnus Awards and the Governor’s Innovator of the Year for Academia award, recognizing his developments. He also currently serves as a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Canadian Academy of Engineering, the Association for Computing Machinery, the Institute of Electrical adn Electronics Engineers and the Society of Optical Engineering.
Previously, Panch was the chair of the Committee on Strategy on the National Science Board, and was a member of the External Engagement and National Science and Engineering Policy committees. He has many other significant leadership positions in the science and technology field in addition to the above. Panchanathan has also served as the executive vice president of the Arizona State University (ASU) Knowledge Enterprise, he was also chief research and innovation officer. He was the founder and director of the Center for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing there as well, and helped ASU earn recognition and as the fastest growing and most innovative research university in the US.
Panch earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Madras in Physics, then received a B.E. in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the Indian Institue of Science in Bangalore. He completeted his M.Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in Electrical Engineering, and received his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Ottowa in Canada.

Chirag Parikh was formerly the director of space policy at the National Security Council and has been named executive secretary of the White House National Space Council chaired by Vice President Kamala Harris.
He previously worked at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, where he served as deputy director for counterproliferation. He also served as deputy national intelligence officer for science and technology within the National Intelligence Council and spent a decade as an aerospace engineer within the U.S. Air Force’s national air and space intelligence center.

Deven Parekh is Managing Director of Insight Partners, where he manages investments in application software, data, and consumer internet businesses globally. He is a global investor, who has also worked with investments in Europe, Israel,China, India, Latin America, and Russia. He has also served as a member of the Advisory Board of the US Export-Import Bank, and the Technical Advisory Council of the FCC. Deven was selected as a Top 100 Venture Capitalist by CB Insights in 2016, 2018, and 2019. In 2020 he was named to GrowthCap’s Top 25 Software Investors of 2020. In 2016 he was nominated and confirmed by the US Senate to serve on the Board of Directors for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and when the agency transformed into the US International Development Finance Corporation he was renominated and confirmed to serve in 2020.
Deven previously served as a Principal at Berenson Minella & Company, a merchant banking firm based out of New York. He has also worked with The Blackstone Group where he worked with both M&A advisory and principal activities.
Deven received a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Chief Information Officer and Chief Data Officer Smita Patel provides leadership and oversignt for the Office of Special Counsel’s information and technolog programs. She has previously served 18 years at the Department of Justice, and in 3 different US Attorney’s Offices.

Vedant Patel has been appointed as Assistant White House Press Secretary, and is now the Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the US Department of State. He is the first Indian-American to hold the US Department of State’s daily briefing.

Head of President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI)

Sandeep Prasanna is an Attorney Advisor in the Office of Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Department of Justice and an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center.
He was previously the Staff Director for the Subcommittee on Intelligence & Counterterrorism under the House Committee on Homeland Security. In this role, Sandeep advanced legislation and oversight on counterterrorism, national security, armed conflict and detention, civil rights and civil liberties, privacy, and DHS intelligence and law enforcement functions.
Sandeep holds a JD from UCLA School of Law, where he received the Morris Greenspan Prize for best performance in international law; an MPP from UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, where he received highest honors for his applied thesis and was named Student of the Year; and an AB with distinction from Duke University.

Arti Rai, Elvin R. Latty Professor of Law and Faculty Director, The Center for Innovation Policy at Duke Law, is an internationally recognized expert in intellectual property (IP) law, innovation policy, administrative law, and health law.
Rai has been appointed to serve as a senior advisor in the Office of General Counsel in the U.S. Department of Commerce. In this role, Rai will be advising on a range of issues involving innovation and technological competitiveness. The Department of Commerce comprises bureaus including the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the National Institute of Standards and Technologies, and the International Trade Administration.

Gautam Raghavan has been promoted from Deputy Director of the Office of Presidential Personnel to its Director.

Bharat Ramamurti has been appointed as Deputy Director of National Economic Council.