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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 value.

Rajina Pradhan
President

Kirtana Banskota
President Elect

About Kirtana

Adrián Rizo
Treasurer

About Adrián

Sandy Eapen
Secretary

About Sandy

Katie Bombra

Neeta Ganguly

About Neeta

Lily Huang

About Lily

Charles Lu

About Charles

Justin Ong

About Justin
Picture of Lorrayne Ward, AFSSA Board Member

Lorrayne Ward

About Lorrayne

Paul Yin

Community members interested in serving on the board should contact
Darlene Lanham at dlanham@afssaustin.org

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

Valen Chavez
Director of Government Grants, Compliance and Quality

Fund Development

Friday Genung
Fund Development Manager

Lin Le Quach
Fund Development Associate

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Our free, confidential helpline is available 24 hours a day.

1-877-281-8371

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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. 

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

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.

Charles Lu

Dr. Charles Lu is an accomplished leader and educator with expertise in strategic initiatives, organizational change, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) within the education, public health, and government sectors. Currently, he serves as the Branch Director for Strategic Diversity & Inclusion at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Prior to joining NIH, Dr. Lu held administrative and academic positions at research-intensive universities, including Johns Hopkins University, University of California, San Diego, and The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Lu has made substantial contributions to the field of education through a diverse publication record that includes academic journals, book chapters, policy papers, and popular media outlets. He holds a Ph.D. in Education Leadership and Policy, a B.S. in Psychology from The University of Texas at Austin, and an M.A. in Secondary Science Education from Loyola Marymount University.

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.

Picture of Lorrayne Ward, AFSSA Board Member

Lorrayne Ward, MBA, MPP is the Executive Director of Planning and Business Development for UT Austin’s Dell Medical School. In this role, she leads strategy development and business partnerships for Dell Medical School and its clinical enterprise, UT Health Austin. She has been at Dell Medical School since its inception in 2015, serving the organization in various leadership positions. Prior to moving to Austin, she served in an internal consulting role at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center. Lorrayne started her career at McKinsey & Company, and worked in global health organizations in Switzerland and Tanzania for several years before pursuing her Masters in Business Administration and Masters in Public Policy at Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School. She also holds a BA magna cum laude in Social Studies from Harvard College.

Lorrayne was inspired to join the AFSSA board based on her own personal experience as an immigrant from Asia to the United States who helped her family manage through challenges acclimating in a new country. She enjoys cooking, hiking, traveling and spending time with her partner and two dogs.

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. 

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.