NORTHERN CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY RECEPTION
- San Francisco, CA
- October 26, 2025
- 5PM Reception | 6:30PM Program
- Location given upon registration
- Hosted by StandWithUs Northern California


Keynote Speaker
LUAI AHMED
Luai Ahmed is a 31-year old Yemeni journalist and content creator. He was born and raised in the capital of Sanaa, and moved to Sweden when he was 20 years old in 2014 where he has been living since. He worked as a columnist and journalist at the local Swedish newspaper Bulletin where he focused on integration, migration, and radical Islam. In 2024, and after he started making content in English, he started working as a host for Builders of the Middle East, an online content hub that fosters interfaith kinship, and fights extremism, radicalization, fake news, antisemitism, and racism on the internet.
Honorees

Ramya
Ramakrishnan
About:
Ramya Ramakrishnan
Ramya Ramakrishnan serves as the National Director of Community Outreach and the law enforcement liaison at the Hindu American Foundation. She is an integral part of HAF’s policy team and has been closely involved in addressing legislation that directly or indirectly impacts the Hindu community. Ramya is a frequent speaker and moderator at national Asian American events and a visionary leader in her community who has successfully organized conferences, summits and other events. She routinely partners with multiple Jewish organizations to put together interfaith community events to build Hindu-Jewish unity. She stands up for the rights of the Jewish community and serves as their voice in spaces they are not present. In 2024, she was privileged to receive an invitation from President Biden to attend the Diwali celebration at the White House.
Ramya loves to write and publish blogs about topics she is passionate about and is a trained classical music singer. She loves solo travels and nature. Ramya has a Masters in Communications from the Ohio University, Athens, OH and a Bachelors in Visual Communications from Loyola College in India. She is also board certified in holistic nutrition from the National Association of Nutrition Professionals.

Sangeetha
Shankar
About:
Sangeetha Shankar
Sangeetha Shankar is the California Regional Director for the Hindu American Foundation ( HAF). Based in Sacramento, she holds a Bachelors in Engineering from Government College of Engineering, Pune University, India and a Master’s in Human Resources Management from Rutgers University, NJ. She has over 15 years of experience in education, HR, talent acquisition, DEI, and training across several industries. As an educator, she has supported K-12 families through webinars, conferences, and workshops in the US and India. Lastly, she is a trained Indian classical dancer and an avid writer, contributing to the HAF blog, Medium and LinkedIn on Hindu advocacy and practicing Hinduism.

Shaya
Keyvanfar
About:
Shaya Keyvanfar
Shaya Keyvanfar is a junior at UC Berkeley majoring in Global Studies with a concentration in Peace and Conflict in the Middle East and North Africa. She is deeply involved in representing the Zionist community on campus and previously served as one of twenty elected UC Berkeley student government senators, where she advocated for over 40,000 students with a focus on Jewish student life. Shaya currently serves on the leadership council of Students Supporting Israel and Chabad at Berkeley, and recently completed a summer internship at the Jerusalem Institute of Justice, where she conducted research on international law. As a StandWithUs Emerson Fellow in the 2024-2025 school year, Shaya led the pro-Israel community at UC Berkeley in planning over 20 events that advocate for and educate about Israel, Zionism, and the Jewish people. Through her work and collaboration with StandWithUs and Zionist leaders on campus, Shaya reached over 5,000 students to positively change their hearts and minds about Israel, displaying her deep commitment to advocacy and community service.

Brody Jake Friedeberg
About:
Brody Jake Friedeberg
Brody Jake Friedeberg is a senior in high school and a Kenneth Leventhal High School Internship alumnus from the Peninsula. He is passionate about politics, cultural projects, and advocacy through community organizing. He also works as a social sciences research assistant and enjoys positions volunteering with his NFTY temple youth group, a Yiddish culture nonprofit, and a municipal youth commission to leave an impact in the communities around him. In his free time, he likes to bake and discover new hiking trails.

Dr. Michael
Harris
About:
Dr. Michael Harris
Dr. Michael Harris was one of the founders of San Francisco Voice for Israel and now serves as a lay leader for StandWithUs in the Bay Area. He has spoken about Israel at synagogues, churches, political groups and senior citizen centers, as well as standing up for Israel against anti-Israel demonstrators on the streets of the Bay Area. He has appeared on radio and television news reports as a local spokesperson for StandWithUs and SF Voice for Israel. In his spare time, he was a pediatrician in Marin County but he is now happily retired and living in Sonoma County. His book, ‘Winning a Debate with an Israel Hater’ was first published in October 2015 with a second edition in November 2018.