Community Conversation
with Farooq Mitha
Shaini Abeyaratne was born and raised in Colombo Sri Lanka and came to the United States to attend College at Cornell University in Ithaca NY. She has lived and worked in New York City for the past twenty five years. Shalini is a licensed architect with over twenty years of experience with a focus in public interest design.
As a lifelong learner and committed city dweller with a deep interest in urban studies, she is particularly interested in understanding the forces that have shaped our cities and committed to finding solutions to making cities and society more sustainable, accessible, equitable and resilient.
Shalini is also dedicated to creating a more equitable, diverse and impactful community through mentoring, outreach, and community service. Shalini is a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the National Organization for Minority Architects (NOMA) and is on the Associate Board of Rebuilding together NYC.Shalini is a registered Democrat!
Mihiri Kotikawatta is a senior at the University of California San Diego where she is studying Political Science with a concentration in International Relations and Global Health. She was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka but grew up in California. Mihiri is also the President of the Sri Lankan Student Association at UC San Diego and has also been involved with other South Asian organizations on campus.
Her professional interests include education reform, women's issues, economic development, and foreign policy. Mihiri is passionate about ensuring that students from marginalized communities have equitable access to higher education. Mihiri hopes to pursue a career in public service.
Mihiri kotikawatta
Digital Strategist,
Sri Lankans for Biden
ANN ratnayake Macy
Advisor,
Sri Lankans for Biden
Thiru Vignarajah is a current Partner at DLA Piper, a former federal prosecutor, a Baltimore City prosecutor, and Supreme Court clerk. Thiru served most recently as Deputy Attorney General for the State of Maryland. His practice focuses on complex trial and appellate litigation, white collar and internal investigations, and global regulatory compliance.
Thiru attended Yale University and Harvard Law School, where he was elected president of the Harvard Law Review. He subsequently clerked for Judge Guido Calabresi on the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Justice Stephen G. Breyer on the United States Supreme Court. After practicing at a firm in Washington, DC, Thiru served as an Assistant US Attorney for the District of Maryland, was selected as Chief of the Major Investigations Unit in the State's Attorney's Office for Baltimore City and was then appointed Deputy Attorney General for Maryland.
Thiru also teaches courses on constitutional law, crime policy, and law and education at The Johns Hopkins University, the University of Baltimore School of Law and the University of Maryland School of Law, where he has repeatedly been voted outstanding professor of the year.
Thiruvendran VignarajaH
Advisor,
Sri Lankans for Biden
Ann Ratnayake Macy JD/BBA is the Executive Director and founder of the National Center for Child Abuse Statistics and Policy (“NCCASP”). NCCASP champions child safety by introducing innovations in law, technology, and science into the U.S. child protection system. NCCASP’ exposes gaps in the U.S. child protection system and introduces solutions to save lives.
Ann began her career working on children's issues at the National District Attorney’s Association’s Child Abuse Unit. As a Senior Staff Attorney, she worked strategically as a liaison between state prosecutors and federally funded child abuse initiatives. Ann assisted front-line prosecutors on functioning as a subject matter expert. She has drafted legislation, reports, and memorandums on child abuse, neglect and other criminal justice issues. Ann supervised attorneys, communicated with stakeholders and configured grant applications to meet the needs of the field. She also managed and tracked deliverables, and wrote the final, progress, and semiannual reports for 5.9 million dollars of Department of Justice grant funding.
She managed complex trial advocacy trainings, conferences, and wrote for NDAA's publications. Her primary area of research focuses on addressing family and domestic violence within the in the framework of the criminal justice system. Her articles include: U.S. v. Jones: Signaling Change to Search and Seizure under the Fourth Amendment, Juvenile Sex Offenses: Finding Justice, and Berghuis v. Thompkins: Invocation and Waiver of the Miranda Right to Remain Silent, The Confrontation Clause After Ohio v. Clark: The Path to Reinvigorating Evidenced-Based Prosecution in Intimate Partner Violence Cases was co-published by NDAA and the George Washington Law Review, and a Precarious Gap in U.S. Criminal Codes for Cases of Child Torture published in the Journal of Child and Youth Review. She has also written three chapters for the American Bar Association's State of Criminal Justice Book Series.
For 2019-2020, Ann co-chairs the victim's committee for the American Bar Association, serves on the criminal justice section council and is a member of the Commission on Youth at Risk. In 2019, she won the American Bar Association’s Top 40 Under 40 “On the Rise” Lawyers in America award. Ann was also honored to be accepted into the class of 2018 for the prestigious Presidential Leadership Scholars Program as an agent of change. Ann has also worked on Capitol Hill for the Texas 17 District, at the International Trade Administration, and for the Western District of Texas – Waco Division, Federal Court. She is licensed to practice law in both Texas and the District of Columbia Bar. She graduated summa cum laude from Texas A&M University Mays School of Business in 2005 where she received the Ford Foundation Scholar Award, and from Baylor University Law School in 2009 where she was awarded the Alice Gist Dunaway Foundation Professional Responsibility Award and the Dean's Academic Excellence Award. Ann is an advocate for policies that eradicate family violence.