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Asian Family Support Services of Austin (AFSSA)

24-HOUR CRISIS AND SEXUAL ASSAULT HOTLINE: 1-877-281-8371

Staff and Board of Directors

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors gives generously of their time and leadership on a voluntary basis. They lend expertise and oversight in our governance, and embody our mission, vision, and values.

Kirtana Banskota
President

About Kirtana

Lily Huang
President Elect

About Lily

Adrián Rizo
Treasurer

About Adrián

Sandy Eapen
Secretary

About Sandy

Neeta Ganguly

About Neeta

Justin Ong

About Justin

Community members interested in serving on the board should contact
Darlene Lanham at

Leadership

The agency has 40 staff members, guided by our team of directors, who provide direct services, community outreach, prevention education, and administrative support to the agency.

Headshot of Darlene Lanham

Darlene Lanham
Executive Director

About Darlene

Samira Ghosh
Director of Advocacy

About Samira

Zahra Shakur Jamal
Director of Community Education, Outreach, Prevention

About Zahra

Nirmala Krishnamurthy
Director of Finance

Jordan Lueker
Director of Operations

Fund Development

The development team can be reached at .

Lin Le Quach
Fund Development Associate

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Kirtana Banskota

Kirtana Banskota is an award-winning, first-generation Nepali- American filmmaker and filmtrepreneur who loves applying her global-grown work ethic to the world of film and media. She thrives in working with underrepresented communities alongside women, people of color, and the LGBTQ community while seeking to promote themes of passion, social impact, and integrity in all of her work. She is a Producer, Director, Actor, and Philanthropist. She is the founder of Banskota Productions an entertainment and film Production company, and the co-founder and  Producer of the South Asian House, the very first representation of the South Asian Diaspora in such a large global capacity at SXSW ( South By Southwest). She is the co-founder of the Nepal America Film Society and the Nepal America International Film Festival. Banskota has two feature films- Premonition( A Psych Thriller Drama) and Where The Stars Are ( An AAPI Romantic Dramedy with Original music) along with several short films focused on various social impact premises and music videos set to release in the year 2023. Kirtana also serves as a Board Member at the Women in Film and Television ( WIFT) Austin chapter. WIFT is an International organization that hosts various competitions. 

Lily Huang

Lily Huang is in-house legal counsel at eBay Inc., advising the company on mergers and acquisitions, venture capital investments and other strategic transactions. Prior to moving to Austin in 2022, she lived in New York City for many years where she practiced at a law firm after graduating with her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. Lily received her undergraduate degree in economics and philosophy from Duke University. Lily lives with her husband and young son, and enjoys baking, playing piano and traveling in her free time.

Adrián Rizo

Adrián comes to AFSSA with extensive experience in financial services and technology. An immigrant from Mexico, Adrián's work in the U.S. has focused on financial inclusion, expanding opportunities and access to financial services for communities that are traditionally underserved. Adrián's volunteer work has previously focused on immigrant communities and arts education. He lives with his family in Austin, TX.

Sandy Eapen

Sandy Eapen is an ESG & Sustainability Advisor and Strategist with 20 years of diverse impact-oriented career experiences across the corporate, public, and nonprofit sectors and multiple industries.

As Founder of Eapen Impact, Sandy partners with companies to build and advance ESG, sustainability, and social impact strategies that drive more impact and business + stakeholder value. She was Head of ESG, Sustainability, & Corporate Social Responsibility at Coupa Software, where she launched the company’s ESG program, led the strategy, governance, stakeholder engagement, and reporting, and advanced various strategic initiatives, including climate change, volunteerism & philanthropy, and sustainable business spend management products.

Prior to Coupa, Sandy worked as a sustainability consultant at BSR. She’s also had various strategy, sustainability, and international development roles at American Express, Dow, and the UN Development Programme.

Sandy holds an M.B.A. and Master of International Affairs from Columbia University and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. She currently sits on the leadership teams of the Texas Exes Sustainability Alumni Network and the Columbia Business School (CBS) Austin Alumni chapter. Sandy has also served on advisory boards for Literacy, Inc. and the American Red Cross of Greater New York.

Neeta Ganguly has a PhD in Computer Engineering from Syracuse University. After graduation, she spent the next 30 years in the technology industry, most recently as a Senior Director in Intel Corporation leading a team of 200 people across various sites in the US and Malasia. Her main focus at Intel was chip verification. Both in her mixed-race childhood in India and in her work, she has been exposed to many different cultures and is aware of the nuances. She has been a donor to AFSSA for several years and is excited to be on the board to continue to help the team aid families in need. Post-retirement, she and her husband travel for several months during the year. Besides traveling, she enjoys reading, solving puzzles, hiking and delivering meals to needy seniors. She has two grown daughters who are making their own way in the world

Justin Ong brings extensive experience in outreach and community engagement in the tech industry to his role at AFSSA. With a strong background in connecting diverse audiences and fostering meaningful relationships, he is eager to apply his expertise to support AFSSA’s mission and strengthen the Asian community in Austin.

Photo of Darlene Lanham

Darlene Lanham, Executive Director

Darlene Lanham is Executive Director of Asian Family Support Services of Austin (AFSSA), serves on the Board of Texas Council on Family Violence which serves survivor-focused organizations across Texas, and is a Board Trustee at University of the West in California, where higher education is informed by Buddhist wisdom and social justice. 

Darlene's vision is to end domestic and sexual violence. Along with her team at AFSSA, she educates, advocates, and empowers Asian and immigrant communities to break the cycle of violence. 

AFSSA is the only Asian/immigrant-focused organization that offers a 24/7 in-language hotline for people who experienced abuse, long-term support for survivors of violence, supportive housing, economic empowerment, and prevention efforts in ten counties in Central Texas. AFSSA is creating an environment built on the values of Prevention, Advocacy, Responsiveness and Transformation -- where we can all live our lives with peace, dignity, and joy rather than oppression and violence.

Darlene served on the Capital Area Council of Governments Criminal Justice Advisory Committee for 12 years, helping to prioritize victim services funding and projects in the 10-county region. She formerly worked for a statewide law enforcement association and through a consultancy she founded, served a number of business-member associations and created CAFRDATA to help people leverage the power of government comprehensive annual financial reports.

Darlene currently serves as the Secretary of the Board for Texas Council on Family Violence and is also on the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault (TAASA) Survivor Advocacy Board. She is an inductee of the 2024 City of Austin Women's Hall of Fame for Health and Safety, and is an active leader in diversity and inclusion practices of National Coalition Building Institute.

As a survivor herself, and as a bi-racial woman of Han Chinese ethnicity and national origin of Taiwan, who immigrated to Texas by adoption, she knows the level of power and resilience – and essential supports—that it takes to create a life of basic safety, dignity, and independence. 

Samira Ghosh found out about AFSSA in 1992 as a survivor seeking services. The support she received helped her process trauma, recognize control, and find her voice. After experiencing the transformative power of culturally grounded advocacy, Samira discovered her “purpose” in changing survivors’ lives. Samira joined AFSSA twelve years ago and now leads the Sexual Violence, Domestic Violence, and Economic Justice teams. She uses her experience and position as a trusted Bengali community leader to provide mentoring to direct service advocates, guidance and historic knowledge to leadership, and lifts voices of survivors of domestic violence and the Asian community.

Zahra Shakur Jamal was born in Karachi, Pakistan, and immigrated to the U.S. at 18. She has engaged in extensive civic and youth volunteer work with Asian communities and, after passing the California Bar, in legal aid representing survivors of domestic violence and those seeking legal status under the Violence Against Women’s Act Provisions. Zahra has served as Director of Outreach, Education and Prevention at AFSSA for 8 years. She and her team conduct trainings on barriers faced by immigrant survivors, provide in-language outreach to Asian and immigrant communities, and engage families on violence prevention to break cycles of abuse.