About

Purva Chhibar, MD
Purva was born and raised in Mumbai, India. She completed medical school in India and moved to the United States to pursue her residency and fellowship. Purva is a practicing rheumatologist in West Los Angeles. She has made valuable contributions to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive space in healthcare free of subconscious bias. She is passionate about creating a safe space for the South Asian LGBTQIA+ community so that they can thrive. Her priorities include creating awareness and addressing mental health and medical care needs. Her chosen family is her strength and is very precious to her. Purva encourages and practices self-care and fosters an attitude of gratitude. She enjoys spending quality time with her loved ones, walks on the beach with her dog, yoga, meditation, traveling, painting, music, and broadway

Ambar Riat (they/them) is a nonbinary Punjabi multidisciplinary artist, actor, and writer. Their love for storytelling began at a young age and they hope through their art they can uplift minority voices and share stories that impact their audiences. They joined Satrang last year and were overjoyed to discover so many LGBTQ+ south Asian folks celebrating so joyously and creating a safe environment for members like them who may feel ostracized from their community of origin. Ambar can't wait to share their skills and interests with this incredible committee and expand our magical community!

Shivani Desai (they/them) is a CalArts Music Technology graduate based in Los Angeles, specialized in merging Indian Classical music theory with modern electronic music practices.

Since the age of 5 Shivani has been studying music under Hasu Patel, one of very few female Indian classical music sitar performers who dedicates her life to traditional music of ancient India. Their deep-rooted connection to sound informs a boundless communication not only to their inner self, but to generations prior. Motivated by love and pure curiosity, Shivani creates music that reflects a life in tune; an endless pursuit of greater understanding, self-realization, and interconnectedness.

Shubha (she/they) is a 2nd generation American whose parents are immigrants from Bangalore, India. By day, Shubha works as a software engineer at Kickstarter, where in addition to writing code, she helps advocate for artists and creators from underrepresented communities. Shubha is also a writer and spoken word artist who performs at open mics across LA. In their free time, Shubha enjoys doing anything hands-on and creative, and cuddling with her cat, Missy. Shubha hopes to bring her previous experience in nonprofits, education and community organizing as well as her passion for inclusion and accessibility to her role as a Satrang committee member, and is incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to give back to Satrang, a community that welcomed her with open arms and helped her reconnect with her culture and embrace being both queer and Desi.

Ishani (she/her) is an artist, lawyer, and androgynous trans woman from Chicago. She is obsessed with using art and community to bring out the truths of queer and trans people of color - and she's excited to contribute to Los Angeles' LGBTQ+ South Asian community.

Nisha Venkat is a podcast producer, poet and a couple of other things that start with the letter P. They live in Los Angeles with their cat.