US President Barack Obama has nominated Indian-American woman Nisha Desai Biswal to head the South Asia Bureau in the US State Department.
Nisha Desai Biswal, who is currently the Assistant Administrator for Asia at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), will replace incumbent Robert Blake.
Nisha became an Odia Bohu after her marriage to an Odia, Subrat Biswal, and they have two daughters. Nisha is the daughter-in-law of Nilambar and Anu Biswal, who are based in Maryland.
Nisha Desai Biswal was sworn in as USAID Assistant Administrator for Asia in September 2010. Prior to this, she served as the majority clerk for the State Department and Foreign Operations Subcommittee on the Committee on Appropriations in the US House of Representatives, which has jurisdiction over the State Department and USAID, as well as other aspects of the international affairs budget. In this capacity, she provided staff support to Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey and Subcommittee Chairwoman Nita lowey in managing the appropriations and oversight of the US international affairs budget.
Nisha has served as the Director of Policy and Advocacy at InterAction, the largest alliance of US-based international humanitarian and development nongovernmental organisations. She also previously served on the professional staff of the US House of Representatives International Relations Committee, where she was responsible for South and Central Asia policy as well as overseeing of the State Department and USAID.
She has also worked with the American Red Cross, both in its Washington headquarters and overseas as an international delegate in Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia.