Meet the desi lawyer who will lead Hillary's presidential campaign

Hillary Clinton has named a prominent Indian-American civil rights lawyer to lead a team of senior policy advisers who will be charged with moulding her presidential campaign agenda.

Maya Harris, 46, a former senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, will lead the team that will also include Ann O’Leary, a former legislative director to Clinton when she was in the Senate; and Jake Sullivan, a top aide to Clinton while she was Secretary of State.

The announcement of the team has set the stage for a series of policy roll-outs that campaign officials hope to begin late next month after her early phase of road trips to meet voters, Politico reported.

The unveiling policy team heavy on expertise in foreign policy, children and families, and global human rights is an early indication of the kinds of policy themes she could emphasise as she launches her campaign for presidency in 2016.

Harris has a background in human rights, having served as vice president of Democracy, Rights and Justice at the Ford Foundation, where she led a team that promoted effective governance, democracy and human rights around the world.

She is the younger sister of Kamala Harris, the Attorney General of California.

The three policy leaders will be the official top wonks, but they aren’t the only Clinton advisers with policy backgrounds.

John Podesta, the campaign chairman, headed US President Barack Obama’s executive action agenda until earlier this year and was the founder of the Center for American Progress.

Clinton also likely to keep getting informal advice from Neera Tanden, the current president of CAP and a longtime adviser. 

Image: Maya Harris, a former senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, is the younger sister of Kamala Harris, the Attorney General of California.