Anjali Bhasin
As the Civic Engagement Director, Anjali works on reducing institutional barriers to voting, leads a large-scale voter registration project focused on communities of color, and works with the Native Vote program. She works in collaboration with other organizations to protect against voter suppression and make sure historically marginalized groups have their voices heard.
My story
I have a strong sense of social justice which grounds my daily work. As the child of Indian immigrants, the inequities in the world were apparent to me when we traveled back to India and it was impossible to ignore large disparities in wealth. My work as an activist was originally grounded in that and in experiencing gender inequities in the world.
My appreciation for conservation came later in life. While I love biking and riding my bike outside, I grew up in Houston and went to high school in Las Vegas. While I definitely enjoyed hiking in Red Rocks in high school the natural world was not part of my everyday life (my parents put a tent up in the backyard once and then returned it because they claimed it was broken. As an adult, I realized they probably did not know how to set it up).
My commitment to conservation is grounded in a commitment to public health and the belief that regardless of race or socioeconomic status all people deserve clean air, clean water, and to be able to live in an environment safe from flooding and impacts from climate change.
In addition to having a strong commitment to conservation, I am deeply passionate about civic engagement and committed to ensuring that all individuals – particularly those disproportionately impacted by voter suppression – have fair and equal opportunities to vote. I have pursued this passion for many years as a librarian and I am excited to be able to pursue this work on a deeper level as the Civic Engagement Director.
Background
The University of Texas at Austin, Master of Science in Information Studies
The University of Arizona, Bachelor of Arts, Creative Writing, magna cum laude
Served on numerous boards and in public services roles as a librarian, on city and county committees, and professional associations
Former library director and librarian
Interests
I love biking, swimming, running, dancing, reading ( I mean, I am a librarian), trying new things, and spending time with friends and my new dog Jac.
I'm a conservation voter because I believe that having clean air, clean water, and a place to live safe from flooding and other issues brought on by climate change is a basic human right.
Favorite Place in Wisconsin: The Eagle River chain of lakes and anywhere in the Driftless.
Email: anjali@conservationvoices.org