Maitrayee Bhattacharyya

I assumed the position of Vice-President of the Class of ’91 after our 15th Reunion in May 2006. I am a founding and current member of the Asian/Asian American Alumni Alliance (A4) and a liaison to the Multicultural Alumni Committee of the Brown Alumni Association. Since 1999, I have been working for the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, an independent state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and currently serve as the Council’s Grants Director overseeing awards in support of humanities programs in Rhode Island.

Prior to working with the Council, I helped administer grant projects, conduct research, and prepare publications for a non-profit human development consulting firm focused on diversity issues and educational reform. During my junior year abroad at Brown, I earned a C.E.P. from the Political Science Institute in Paris, France. After Brown, I earned a Ph.D. and M.A. in Sociology from Princeton University. My areas of research included the study of race, ethnicity, immigration, cultural adaptation, and higher educational achievement. As a graduate student, I was a member of the Race Relations Task Force and the President’s Standing Committee on the Status of Women. Although a native of Burlington, VT, I now live in Pawtucket, RI with my husband, Christopher W. Kahler ’91 and our sons, Kailas and Ishan.