
Manjusha (Manju) P. Kulkarni, Esq. is the Executive Director of AAPI Equity Alliance, a coalition of over 40 community-based organizations which serves and represents the 1.6 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Los Angeles County. Manju is also a Co-Founder of Stop AAPI Hate, the nation’s largest reporting center tracking anti-AAPI hate acts.
Alongside fellow Stop AAPI Hate co-founders Cynthia Choi and Russell Jeung, Manju has been recognized on the prestigious TIME100 Most Influential People in the World and Bloomberg 50 lists. In 2021, Manju, Cynthia and Russell were recipients of the 2021 Webby Social Movement of the Year award. More recently, Manju was honored with the 2024 James Irvine Leadership Award.
Manju’s work has been featured in the New York Times, NPR and CNN, as well as in numerous local and ethnic media outlets. As part of her advocacy work on behalf of AAPI communities, Manju has shared her expertise with countless individuals and entities including the Aspen Institute, the World Bank and the United Nations. In January 2024, Manju gave a Tedx talk at University of California, Berkeley.
Manju serves on the Board of Directors of LA Voice and is a member of the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission and the California Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board. Prior to joining AAPI Equity Alliance, Manju served as Executive Director of South Asian Network and Senior Attorney at National Health Law Program. Early in her career, she was a member of the pro bono legal team representing Japanese Latin Americans kidnapped by the US government and incarcerated in camps alongside Japanese Americans during World War II; as a result of the class action lawsuit, hundreds of Japanese Latin Americans received $5000 in reparations and an apology from President Clinton.
Manju holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University and a Juris Doctor degree from Boston University School of Law.
Contact Manju at MKulkarni@AAPIEquityAlliance.org.