Maxwell School alumna Sandhya Bathija ’03 B.A. (Hist) is returning to Syracuse University on Wednesday, April 17, to talk about her career as a lawyer, journalist and advocate in Washington, D.C.

Hosted by the Syracuse University Office of Multicultural Affairs, the luncheon event celebrates Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Bathija, who also majored in magazine at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, is a child of immigrants from India. She has led grassroots campaigns for Washington, D.C.-based organizations, including the Center for American Progress, the American Civil Liberties Union, Asian Americans Advancing Justice and Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Currently, Bathija leads the communications efforts for Campaign Legal Center, a national nonpartisan legal organization committed to advancing democracy through law. Among other roles, she oversees the team that produces the two-time Webby-award winning podcast, Democracy Decoded.

Prior to working in nonprofits, Bathija was a reporter for The National Law Journal and practiced law for a small civil rights firm in Detroit, Michigan. She has a law degree from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. She has also worked on behalf of her own community while at Asian Americans Advancing Justice.