Posts, often including videos or photos, of speeches and presentations given by Manisha Bewtra.
Starting in June 2020, the Town of Arlington, Massachusetts hosted a series of community conversations on racism and reforms. The series was co-sponsored by the Arlington Human Rights Commission. On July 7, 2020, the town hosted this conversation on the intersection of race and housing and how government policies have created inequities. Residents were encouraged […]
The decennial (every ten years) complete population count Census is incredibly important. Early in the pandemic, I recorded this video of me filling out Census 2020 online for my household. To fill yours out, go to: https://my2020census.gov/.
You Count! Fill out Census 2020 while you’re quarantining! Read More »
Trish Fontanilla, Founder and CEO of BOSFilipinos and owner of Trish of All Trades, moderated a panel with Nancy A. Lee, Owner/Real Estate Attorney at Lee & Associates, P.C., Courtney Pong, Owner and General Manager of CSz Boston, home to ComedySportz, and me. I spoke about my experience in elected office as well as as
Asian American Women in Leadership Diversity in Careers Panel, November 16, 2019 Read More »
I was invited to return to my alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania City and Regional Planning Department, for a panel discussion with fellow Master of City Planning alums Samantha Whitfield and Jamie Gauthier, and panel moderator Helen Horstmann-Allen, Emerge Pennsylvania board member, to share our experiences about running for office and bringing a planning perspective to politics and policymaking. Samantha Whitfield is now a Councilwoman in the Township of Willingboro, New Jersey, and Jamie Gauthier is now a Philadelphia City Councilmember. I was able to offer my perspective from my 2017 campaign and from serving as a Councilor from 2018-2019, as well as share some of the experiences and lessons of my run for Mayor in Melrose, MA in 2019. It was wonderful to return to Philadelphia, albeit for only 24 hours!
Christine Madore, AICP, Salem, MA City Councilor, Jennifer Berardi-Constable, Hull Select Board Chair, and I discussed our experiences of serving in elected office, using our lens as planning and community development professionals. The session was moderated by Kathleen Onufer, AICP, LEED AP ND, Goody Clancy. Session description: “Planners and community development professionals quickly become experts at policy, local government, and regulation in the communities they work in, but decision-making ultimately falls to elected officials. Through an actively-facilitated panel discussion and audience question and answer, this session will explore what happens when planners become the decision-makers by running for elected office in their home communities and in many cases, winning. CM: 1.25”
I spoke on a panel with with Arati Kreibich, Srilekha Palle, Usha Reddi, Hiral Tipirneni, and moderated by Nisha Ramachandran, in Washington, DC on September 19, 2019. My fellow panelists were all amazing Indian-American women who ran or were running for office across the US at the I AM IMPACT: Indian Americans Making Impact Summit in Washington, DC on September 19, 2019.
I was invited to speak at the Asian and Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies’ inaugural Women’s Collective Summit in Washington, DC on July 25, 2019. I spoke on the “All We Do Is Win: Squad Goals” panel with former San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Jane Kim and Kentucky State Representative Nima Kulkarni, moderated by Anna
Desis for Progress and the South Asian Asian American Women’s Political Alliance hosted Montgomery Township Mayor Sadaf Jaffer, Kentucky State Representative Nima Kulkarni, DC Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Trupti Patel, and me at a meet and greet in Washington, DC. I had a great time meeting so many politically engaged, progressive South Asian Americans!
Desis for Progress Meet and Greet with Desi Elected Women, July 24, 2019 Read More »
Speech transcript [Approximate transcript of opening:] Thank you for that introduction, Anuj. I was just noting with Manisha that it’s funny to be in a room with another Manisha with a last name that starts with B, and very cool as well. Before I begin my prepared remarks – I just wanted to ask how
I was honored to be invited to give remarks on behalf of the City of Melrose at the installation of Rev. Dr. Susanne Intriligator at the Melrose Unitarian Universalist Church on March 31, 2019. These are the remarks I gave.