Shefali Duggal Confirmed as New Envoy to The Netherlands
India-West News Desk
WASHINGTON, DC – Razdan Duggal, 50, has been confirmed by the US Senate by a voice vote.
Duggal is an experienced political activist, women’s rights advocate, and human rights, campaigner. She served as National Co-Chair of Women for Biden, and as a Deputy National Finance Chair at the Democratic National Committee.
A Kashmiri Pandit, Razdan Duggal was born in Haridwar and moved with her family to Pittsburgh, PA at the age of two and then moved to Cincinnati, OH where she grew up. She is a graduate of Miami and New York universities.
“I was born in India, but I was made in the United States,” Duggal told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during her confirmation hearing in July.
“I have full confidence that kindness, empathy, honesty and sweat equity mean something in our country. It is the reason why people from all over the world see us as a beacon of hope and freedom. While my story is not unique, it is one that represents the infinite possibilities of the American spirit and the American Dream,” Duggal said.
During her confirmation hearing, Razdan Duggal said as an immigrant, she represents the diverse face of the United States and the generations of people throughout its history who found an opportunity in the US.
She was raised by a single mom in Cincinnati who worked two minimum wage jobs to support the family. “My father left us when I was very young and that in this profoundly and permanently affected the direction of my life,” she told lawmakers. “Rather than dwell upon what I did not have, I embraced the boundless opportunities that we are given here in the United States. I attended college and graduate school with the help of loans, grants, and scholarships. As I faced some of my own challenges of being a minority woman with limited resources, I became attuned to the values of diversity and inclusion that continue to inspire me today,” the Indian American said.
Duggal is the recipient of numerous civic awards.
