Asian Services in Action, the largest healthcare and advocacy organization in the Asian community of Northeast Ohio, today announced the appointment of Harry N. Kamdar as its new chief executive officer.
Kamdar will succeed Scott Piepho, who has served as interim CEO since August of 2023. The board of ASIA thanked Piepho for his dedication and service and welcomed Kamdar, who brings years of executive management experience as well as cultural insight to a non-profit agency growing in size and impact.
ASIA offers a broad range of programming to help immigrants and refugees to assimilate and prosper in Northeast Ohio as it advocates for a growing community of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, or AAIPs. Most notably, ASIA runs two federally qualified health clinics that offer culturally responsive care in Cleveland and Akron. Each year, ASIA staff and caregivers serve about 58,000 people in more than 55 languages and dialects.
Kamdar comes to ASIA from the Ohio State Dental Board, where he has served as executive director since 2015. Previously, he was the deputy director of the Ohio Department of Health and, before that, deputy director of the Ohio Department of Youth Services. He’s also the immediate past president of the Dublin Community Foundation, which supports non-profit organizations in the Columbus suburb.
“We are excited to welcome Harry to ASIA, and we think he is the right person to lead ASIA into the future,” said Brant Lee, the president of ASIA’s board of directors and a professor of law and assistant dean at the University of Akron Law School. “Harry brings to ASIA a history of empathetic leadership, organizational management, and strong communication skills.”
“We considered many qualified candidates, but Harry demonstrated a high level of poise and vision for ASIA,” said board member Tamara Mora, the head of the search committee. She’s the executive director of Biomedical and Translational Sciences Development at Case Western Reserve University.  “The committee was extremely thorough in their interview process and included opportunities to meet the board, leadership team, and staff,” she added.
Kamdar will administer an $8.5 million annual budget and oversee a staff of 120 people in offices and clinics in Akron and Cleveland.
Born in Kenya to parents from Gujarat, India, Kamdar immigrated to America as a boy with his parents. He earned his bachelor's degree and MBA from Franklin University in central Ohio, where he lives with his wife Christine, a literacy specialist in a suburban school system, and their 15-year-old son, Gavin. The family will be moving to the Cleveland-Akron area.
Kamdar, who describes himself as a “servant leader,” said he sees his life in many of the families that ASIA helps and advocates for.
“I know what it’s like to be in a new country and have no friends, no money, having to struggle to learn to speak a new language and figure out a complex healthcare and social service system–and yet somehow put food on the table, have a roof over your head, and do it all with a smile on your face,” he said. “I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge my beloved parents who were the true visionaries, having spent their life savings to courageously bring us to the land of opportunity so that we could have a better future.”
While he starts his new job October 21, Kamdar intends to introduce himself to the ASIA community at the organization's annual gala–October 18 at The Tangier at Fairlawn. Kamdar will be available for interviews at the gala. Please contact Anna Chen, AChen@asiaohio.org, to schedule an interview.
Asian Services in Action was founded in Akron in 1995 by four Asian immigrant women who saw a need to improve the quality of life for Asians in their community. Today ASIA is the largest health and human services agency that serves, supports, and advocates for the Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) community of Northeast Ohio. The non-profit agency operates two federally qualified health clinics in Akron and Cleveland and provides a broad range of culturally centered services for immigrants and refugees. Each year, ASIA serves about 58,000 people in more than 55 languages and dialects.
Contacts:
Brant Lee: brant.lee.asia@gmail.com; 330-475-4061
Tamara Mora: mora.tamara@icloud.com; 216-402-1119
