As a teen, Harry Kamdar was invited to attend a Halloween party by a co-worker. Just two days later, he was no longer welcome. “His parents found out about me, and they said I did not fit the profile of the kind of people they would want in their house for the party. So that was very hurtful,” Kamdar recounts. “That has really helped define a lot of what I do in terms of being kind, compassionate and understanding of other people.”
Born in Kenya to Indian immigrants, Kamdar first came to the U.S. at age 7 and completed the move — arriving in Columbus — at age 16.
“I didn’t know I was any different until we actually immigrated to the United States,” says the now Norton resident. “I was shunned by other people because I was different. I looked different. I spoke a different language.”
Though they moved to America in search of stability, Kamdar’s parents didn’t have much. Kamdar worked while attending school, handing his paycheck to his father to assist the family. To watch Ohio State University football games on weekends, his mother served ketchup sandwiches and diluted pop.
“I never forgot the sacrifices they made. They gave up all their friends, their family, everybody back in Kenya and India,” says Kamdar. “I wanted to make sure that their story of moving to the United States was not in vain, that I was going to try and make a difference — not just for myself, but for other people. And that brought me to ASIA.”
Kamdar previously worked as the deputy director of the Ohio Department of Health, the superintendent of the Circleville Juvenile Correctional Facility, the executive director of the Ohio State Dental Board and more. In 2024, he became the CEO of Asian Services in Action, a nonprofit in Cleveland and Akron that offers wraparound social, medical and legal services to immigrants and refugees from all over the world, including the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. It also serves native-born Americans. Legal services include providing immigrants, refugees and others with an opportunity to apply for green cards or citizenship. ASIA also serves survivors of human trafficking, domestic violence and sexual assault. In addition, the nonprofit operates two International Community Health Centers. The Jin Huo Community senior center is part of the ASIA network. Serving approximately 40,000 people annually, ASIA provides services to individuals like Kamdar’s parents, making the transition to American culture easier.
“I was the one translating for them as a 9-year-old,” Kamdar recalls.
“Growing up, we didn’t have any kind of help, any social services or anything at all. And so it was at that early age that I started developing an empathy for people that were less fortunate, people from other parts of the world, refugees, immigrants and so on. And that shaped up my career.”
From providing behavioral health counseling to offering interpreting and translation services, ASIA does lifesaving work. Its clients — such as one female survivor of human trafficking — are often in need of multiple avenues of assistance.
“This young woman came to us … we had interpreters available, we had our legal team available, and we had our counselors available to do a triage on her and then to immediately move her to a safe house,” says Kamdar. “This person is now living a life where they have regained their self-worth. They’ve regained their dignity.”
Amid uncertainty surrounding federal funding, ASIA is persevering. Since Kamdar’s tenure began, ASIA has implemented a program evaluation system, is in the project phase of opening a dental clinic in the fall, is in the exploratory phase of opening a pharmacy around the fall and more.
“I see the potential for us to once again be the greatest country in the world by including everybody, because America is essentially a collection of people from all over the world,” he says. “That’s what’s made America so great.”
Mal McCrea
Mal McCrea
