Harry Kamdar prefers his pop watered down.
It’s a holdover from a childhood spent growing up in a poor immigrant family in Columbus.
“I remember watching Buckeye football games on a Saturday here in the Columbus area and eating ketchup sandwiches and diluted pop,” said Kamdar, who was born in Kenya to Indian parents.
As the new CEO of Asian Services in Action, Kamdar knows organizations like ASIA are essential to the immigrant community. When his family immigrated to the United States in 1980, there were few resources available to them.
The transition was not easy for the family of five.
Kamdar translated for his parents when they tried to open bank accounts — he spoke more English than them. At 16, he worked at Kmart gathering carts during an Ohio winter. He gave his paychecks to his father to help with family expenses.
As Kamdar aged, he began to recognize his parents’ commitment to giving. They made sure anyone who knocked on their door around dinnertime got a plate. And they donated — even when they had little themselves.
Kamdar’s parents died several years ago, but their influence on him, as well as his own experiences as an immigrant, influenced his decision to join ASIA.
Kamdar began his tenure as CEO on Monday, armed with a list of goals for the agency, which serves the Asian American and Pacific Islander community of Northeast Ohio. Chief among them is expanding ASIA — which has offices in Akron and Cleveland — to other parts of Ohio.
“I’d like to perfect our Akron model, get Cleveland to be at that same level, and then we want to replicate these models around the state — and maybe even beyond,” Kamdar said.
For Kamdar, his new role isn’t just a job; it’s a calling to create a welcoming community for other immigrants.
“The lens that I’m looking at things through is not a red lens, not a blue lens,” he said. “It’s a clear lens with a humanitarian heart.”
