National Consumer or Public Interest Representative
Executive Director
National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development
Washington, DC
Seema Agnani (she/hers) serves as Executive Director of National CAPACD (pronounced “capacity”), a coalition of more than 100 community-based organizations that advocate for and organize in low-income Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities. She has more than 25 years of experience in community development, capacity building and immigrant rights. She was a founder and Executive Director of Chhaya CDC working in the South Asian community of New York City, leading the organization during the great recession and the aftermath of the attacks of 9/11. At Asian Americans for Equality in New York City she managed affordable housing and economic development projects, neighborhood planning and helped to establish one of the country’s first CDFIs serving the Asian American community. She previously coordinated the Fund for New Citizens at The New York Community Trust. She previously served as a member of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Community Advisory Board. Seema is originally from the Chicago metro area where her parents emigrated to from India.