Anju Bhargava
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Anju Bhargava is a retired federal executive, a former senior banker and a pioneering community builder who served as a founding member of the New Jersey Corporate Diversity Network under Governor Christy Whitman, community builder fellow in the Clinton administration and a member of President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
's inaugural Advisory Council on Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnership. She has provided thought leadership in the public and private sectors, locally and nationally, published papers and received many awards.


Education

Bhargava is a graduate of Stella Maris College,
Madras University The University of Madras is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and most prominent universities in India, incorporated by an ...
, India, Rutgers University (MBA), with training at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and
American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...
.


Professional Work

Bhargava served, in 2014 as the first Chief Risk Officer for Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and, in 2015, as Deputy Chief Strategy Officer for Social Security Administration, retiring in 2020. Bhargava began her career as a banker and has held senior-level positions in corporate America, focusing on global business transformation, organizational development, and risk management, including credit and operational risk. Her research on NatWest USA's Loan's loss experience was published by The RMA Journal, and received recognition from the
Office of the Comptroller of Currency The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is an independent bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury that was established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to charter, regulate, and supervise all natio ...
. She worked with
Rutgers Business School Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...
as a Fellow of Department of Accounting, Business Ethics and Information Systems on risk assurance and
Enterprise Risk Management Enterprise risk management (ERM) in business includes the methods and processes used by organizations to manage risks and seize opportunities related to the achievement of their objectives. ERM provides a framework for risk management, which typi ...
issues. She has held senior positions at
Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...
,
Bear Stearns The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. was an American investment bank, securities trading, and brokerage firm that failed in 2008 during the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession. After its closure it was subsequently sold to JPMorgan Chas ...
, BB&T Bank,
IBM Global Services IBM Consulting, rebranded in 2021 from IBM Global Business Services, is the professional services and consulting arm of IBM. It provides services to companies, global government organizations, Nonprofit organization, non-profits and Non-government ...
, Fleet/NatWest Bank and
Chase Manhattan Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase, is an American national bank headquartered in New York City that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of the U.S. multinational banking and financial services holding ...
. She has developed the executive education program Chakravyuhu, also known as the Labyrinth, a program for mentoring women in India and the U.S. to make the "step change" in their careers in the global corporate world. She previously taught organizational management and Diversity at Rutgers Graduate School of Business.


White House Appointment

Bhargava was appointed to President Obama's Inaugural Advisory Council in April 2009. ''Bhargava "a Livingston community leader has made her way onto the national stage and works on panel for President Obama"'.'' Shortly thereafter Bhargava founded a pioneering Hindu American organization advancing
sevā (also known as , Sanskrit: wikt:सेवा, सेवा) is the concept of performing selfless service without expecting any reward. It holds significance in both Hinduism and Sikhism. Sevā is a Sanskrit term meaning 'selfless and meani ...
, interfaith collaboration, pluralism,
social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...
and sustainable
civic engagement Civic engagement or civic participation is any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern. Civic engagement includes communities working together or individuals working alone in both political and non-political actions to ...
to ignite
grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...
social change and build healthy communities. As stated in May 2023, By Religion News Service, "''Bhargava is among a rising cohort of American Hindu leaders becoming more public about their spirituality. They're inspired by the Hindu concept of "seva" — selfless service.''" As the only member of eastern tradition on the council, she brought to the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
more awareness of the issues facing the
Dharmic Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold'' or ''to support' ...
communities. She saw a need for greater integration of America's cultural and religious diversity and leveraging their skills to strengthen America domestically and globally Hence, along with the Council recommendations, with the HASC team, she wrote a community assessment report “Call to Serve” and presented it to the President and Senior Administration officials. She served on the
Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...
’s Faith-based Advisory Council and assisted the President's Interfaith Campus Challenge (Department of Education). Bhargava played the central role in co-hosting four conferences with the White House to energize Dharmic Seva. She developed tools for a faith-based, in-culture approach to development for the Hindu/Dharmic community to serve, such as UtsavSeva. This approach has received widespread support from key spiritual leaders, including the
Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣 识一切 瓦齐尔达喇 达赖 喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...
, Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati,
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (born 13 May 1956) is an Indian guru and spiritual leader. He is also referred to as Sri Sri or Gurudev. From around the mid 1970s, he worked as an apprentice under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of Transcendental Meditatio ...
,
Mata Amritanandamayi Sri Mātā Amritānandamayī Devi (born Sudhamani Idamannel; 27 September 1953), often known as Amma ("Mother"), is an Indian Hindu spiritual leader, guru and humanitarian, who is revered as 'the hugging Hindu saint, saint' by her followers ...
,
ISKCON The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement, is a religious organization that follows the Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. It was founded on 13 July 1966 ...
,
Chinmaya Mission The Chinmaya Mission () is a Hindu religious and spiritual organization that disseminates Vedanta, the science of the self as described in the Vedas, particularly the Upanishads, and other Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita. Followers ...
and others. In this interview with Georgetown University's Berkeley Center, Bhargava discusses her perspectives on Hindu identity and social justice and describes the work of Hindu American Seva Communities.


Prior Community Building Experience


Community Builder Fellow

Bhargava was the only
Indian-American Indian Americans are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from India. The terms Asian Indian and East Indian are used to avoid confusion with Native Americans in the United States, who are also referred to as "Indians" or "Am ...
to serve in the Community Builder Fellowship, President Clinton's White House initiative (1998–2000). During this time, she conducted the 1st study of Asian American immigrants needs in
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
which became the foundation for many government and community organizations programs (2000). She was an advisor to Community Foundation NJ which brought diverse parents (the New Americans) in Elizabeth and Jersey City together to breakdown cultural barriers. She educated diverse communities on HUD programs and worked to identify ways to empower communities, increase affordable housing and homeownership, reduce homelessness, promote jobs and economic opportunity and fight for fair housing. She was recognized by the Partnership for New Jersey and Governor Whitman.


Asian Indian Women in America (AIWAUSA)

Anju Bhargava was one of the founding members of the 1st Indian women's organization in North America formed in 1981 to create a voice and support for the new immigrants settling in their adopted country, USA. In 1985, AIWAUSA supported the formation of Manavi, the 1st shelter for victims of domestic violence as its own chapter. AIWAUSA's founding members, including Bhargava, attended the 1st briefing of Asian Women in 1983, when President Reagan recognized Asian American women as a constituency. With the City of
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
, AIWAUSA played a key role in co-organizing the 1st job fair for underserved communities in 1986. The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, published ''Sitayanam: A Woman’s Journey of Strength'' as part of a collection addressing the nexus of women, religion, and the family.


Asian Indians in Livingston

Recognizing the importance of integration, Bhargava formed Asian Indians in Livingston in 1981 to integrate celebrate our own cultural/ethnic identities and also to become part of the fabric of the larger community. She was the 1st Indian American in Livingston to participate in the political process. She was the 1st Hindu to become part of Livingston's Interfaith Clergy Association and served as a Chaplain at St. Barnabas Hospital. She advised Livingston Township, Board of Education, Clergy in developing diversity and inclusion strategies to integrate global, multicultural residents while enhancing the Township's image and resulting property values.


Other Community Based Initiatives

# She has organized community-based affinity groups (the first networking forum for South Asians in Corporate America – 1988–1995) and has created a language and cultural education infrastructure to facilitate adaptation and integration. # Worked with Asia Society to form Leadership Initiatives for South Asian American Women in 1998. # In 2006, she initiated Utsava, the 1st Festival of India in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, an event linked with Winston-Salem's strategic direction to revitalize downtown and enhance bio-science workforce development, and with North Carolina's global education vision and goals for school children. The Indian community provided an in-culture, first hand, global education to the people of Winston-Salem; the world in America. # She was a founding member of NJ Corporate Diversity Network, an initiative formed with Partnership for New Jersey to "maximize effectiveness of diversity initiatives to enhance business results and positively affect our communities and the economy".


Vedantic Teacher/Hindu Chaplain

Bhargava is a Vedantic teacher and an ordained Hindu minister/Chaplain. She strives to combine philosophy and practice from a contemporary view and is active in interfaith collaboration.


Recognition

Anju Bhargava was on the board of trustees of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions, and the Odyssey Network. Bhargava has frequently blogged for the Huffington Post and the Washington Post. She is a frequent speaker at many forums, including The Conference Board, Universities, Corporations, Risk & Regulation. In 2011, the
Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...
named Bhargava was one of 10 Inspiring Women Religious Leaders. In recognition of her contribution, in 2012 Bhargava was invited to introduce Vice President Biden at the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
Diwali event.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhargava, Anju Living people American political consultants Harvard Kennedy School alumni Indian emigrants to the United States Stella Maris College, Chennai alumni Rutgers University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women American businesspeople American people of Indian descent