Manjusha (Manju) P. Kulkarni is Executive Director of the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council (A3PCON), a coalition of more than forty community-based organizations that serves and represents the 1.5 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Los Angeles County. She co-founded Stop AAPI Hate, the nation’s leading aggregator of COVID-19-related hate incidents against AAPIs. Additionally, Manju is a Lecturer in the Asian American Studies Department at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Manju was recently recognized by TIME magazine as one of the 100 most influential individuals in 2021 with the co-founders of Stop AAPI Hate, Cynthia Choi and Russell Jeung.

Manju’s work has been featured in the New York Times, and on CBS News and CNN, as well as in numerous ethnic media outlets. Manju is a member of the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission and was recently appointed to the California Racial and Identity Profiling Adivsory Board by CA Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon.

In 2014, she received the White House Champions of Change award from President Barack Obama for her dedication to improving health care access for Asians American communities. In March 2021, she testified before Congress at the House Judiciary Committee on the issue of anti-Asian hate.

Manju holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University and a Juris Doctor degree from Boston University School of Law. Manju lives in Los Angeles with her daughters Vaishali and Meghana and her husband Shai Halbe.