Nayana is the Executive Assistant to the President and Executive Director of the Applied Research Center. A graduate of Michigan State University, Nayana received her degree in Postcolonial and Diasporic Literature, with specializations in Asian Pacific American Studies and Women, Gender and Social Justice Studies. Prior to ARC, Nayana worked in film programming, running an independent film festival in Michigan. She has protested forced deportations and the expansion of the federal 287(g) program, and organized at anti-trafficking campaigns in India, teaching indigenous art therapy, English literacy and rehabilitation skills to youth. In her spare time, Nayana writes and performs creative short fiction and poetry.