Sarina Govindaiah

Age: 22

Home Town: Springfield, Illinois

Education: B.A International Studies with a focus on South Asia at American University

Specific Field Interests: Arts education, Development, Community engagement

Placement: Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya, Kalkeri Village, Dharwad, Kanataka

Area of Focus: Communications for impact, Arts, Education, Development, Youth Livelihoods

Fellowship Project: Developing communication strategies to support the organization's strategic expansion through donor outreach, partner engagement, and creating a recognizable brand identity.

Highlights: Sarina Govindaiah is an American India Foundation (AIF) Banyan Impact Fellow with Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya, where she merges her passion for arts education with community upliftment. She is a 2025 graduate from American University where she majored in International Studies with a focus on South Asia. Her senior thesis, titled “Screening Partition: Violence Against Women and Its Intersection with Communal Violence” explored the relationship between violence against women in Indian films on the Partition and how those trends aligned with changes in communal violence. Throughout her undergraduate education, she was a Legislative Intern with IL-08 Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi in Washington, D.C., a Communications Intern for Hindus for Human Rights an Intern with The First Ask, a PAC dedicated to increasing women's representation in state and local politics, a Programming Intern with the D.C. Environmental Film Festival, and an Intern with Visit Films at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. Sarina is excited to bring her unique background of research and hands-on experience in the arts and with policy to Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya, where she will be working to develop external communication strategies with donors and partners at a critical point in KSV’s growth.