Samir Mehta

President

Samir has served on the Board of the Foundation since 2022 after completing his term as the President of SABA North America. Professionally, Samir is Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at MiTek, a global company on a mission to transform the building industry with better building solutions. Samir obtained his J.D. at Washington University in Saint Louis, School of Law. A St. Louis resident for the past 15 years, Samir helped found SABA Metropolitan St. Louis and served as its President before joining the SABA North America Executive Committee. He served SABA North America in many roles before ultimately becoming its President in 2021-2022. Samir has devoted a great part of his attorney life to supporting his community. He has received awards for his pro bono work and has championed that work in SABA. Personally, Samir is a proud husband of a smarter lawyer and better human being, Heather Mehta. He is also a father of Bennett and Anika, who he fears and expects will surpass him in every way. Samir studied at Duke University and worked in technology before becoming a lawyer. In his shockingly limited free time, Samir loves running, reading, and travel.

Elizabeth Chatham

Vice President

Elizabeth Chatham is Vice President for the SABA North America Foundation. Liz understands the dynamic hiring environment in which her clients operate. She works with clients to obtain temporary work visas (H-1B, L-1, O, P, TN, E-1, E-2 and R visas) and permanent residence options (EB-1, Outstanding Researcher, Extraordinary Ability, Multinational Manager, National Interest waivers, PERM labor certifications, and EB-5 Immigrant Investor), in addition to counseling on individual consular processing and naturalization.

John Mutchler

Treasurer

John H. Mutchler is a partner at Robinson+Cole LLP and he advises clients on their intellectual property rights with specific experience in patent, trademark and copyright prosecution, patent appeals before the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and intellectual property litigation and licensing. He is experienced in and is the author of an article on patent subject matter eligibility for software and artificial intelligence inventions. His practice includes patent prosecution and reexamination proceedings, licensing, U.S. government and private company contracting, copyright and trademark consulting and litigation, portfolio management, and intellectual property due diligence in bankruptcy proceedings, asset purchase and sales agreements, business formation, and mergers and acquisitions.

Keerthi Sugumaran

Secretary

Keerthi is a principal in the Boston, Massachusetts, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. and is a co-leader of Jackson Lewis' Asian American resource group. Her practice focuses on representing and defending employers in a variety of workplace legal matters, including claims for discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour violations, and FMLA violations. In addition to her litigation practice, Keerthi strategically advises clients on ways to effectively minimize legal risk through workplace training, policies and procedures. Keerthi is also the former President of SABA North America and SABA Greater Boston and has held a variety of leadership roles within both organizations. Keerthi studied at Bowdoin College and Suffolk University Law School. In her free time, Keerthi enjoys cooking and traveling.

Rittu Kumar

Immediate Past President

Rittu owns her law firm, Kumar Law, in Beverly Hills, California. She practices extensively in the areas of employment law, business law, and estate planning. She is a former senior partner and trial attorney of a Downtown Los Angeles law firm, having successfully tried cases in both federal and state court. Rittu is also a former Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law for Appellate Advocacy and Moot Court. She has served on the Board as a Trustees since 2021, including the previous roles of President-Elect and Secretary (two terms). She is involved in community service for the South Asian community in the legal, academic, and theatrical arts communities. She gives particular importance to speaking with and mentoring our youth on issues of diversity and inclusion, and has done so with students in elementary school through law school. She previously served as the Law Student Outreach Chair for the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California and co-founded the SALSA chapter at her law school where she served as Vice-President. Rittu is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business and Loyola Law School, Los Angeles.