Kalpana joined the Forward Together team in March 2013 as the Policy Director. Working from Portland, Oregon, Kalpana will be helping to develop and implement Forward Together's policy shift and civic engagement strategies. Most recently, Kalpana spent eight years as a field director at Western States Center focusing on building the racial justice and gender justice programs at the Center. She served as the primary author of the Oregon and Nevada legislative report cards on racial equity. She helped to develop and lead the Uniting Communities work, which works to help organizations of color meaningfully engage their own LGBT constituents of color.