NATIONAL COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT COALITION
Vivek Kumar

A student from the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India, Vivek Kumar also attended the National College of Aligarh in India where he was pursuing a Masters of business administration as well as a bachelors degree in law. In addition, Vivek studied at the College of Aligarh, which is affiliated with Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University in Agra, India. He and his sister Swati Saxena applied to the Washington Internship Program in late February of 2006. Vivek had been running a family business, Gaillard Textiles and Securities, for which he handled negotiations, strategic planning, mortgages and banking, real estate, legal and investment management, and a portfolio of more than two million rupees. Vivek requested an internship in security analysis and investment management. Within a month, the Washington Internship Program placed Vivek in a paid internship at Linsco Private Ledger where he started work in the summer, but Vivek had difficulty adjusting to the American work ethic and advanced computer skills while he was struggling to find housing on his own. Although Vivek lost this internship, he learned there what was required for success in the U.S. workplace. In early September WIP placed Vivek in an unpaid internship at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a nonprofit organization dedicated to economic justice for minorities and under-served populations. Here Vivek excelled.

Swati was placed in an unpaid internship at the Wildlife Society where she worked for six months, after which she found a paid position at U.S. Kids. Vivek and Swati were so pleased with the Washington Internship Program that they encouraged Vivek’s sister-in-law, Richa Saxena, to apply to WIP as well. Richa was placed at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services where she will start an unpaid internship in March of 2007. As with all international interns, WIP helped these three siblings obtain J1 visas, and Vivek and Swati arranged to participate in the Washington Internship Program for sixteen months. On the very day that Swati arrived from India, she and her brother boarded WIP’s bus for a weekend retreat on “Ethnic Identity amid Globalization” held at Wintergreen Resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia where this brother and sister actively participated in all lectures and discussions as well as boating, swimming, hiking, group meals, and other activities. Throughout most of their time in the Washington, D.C. area, they lived in Springfield, Virginia.

Located on Fifteenth Street, N.W., the National Community Reinvestment Coalition has a staff of over forty people working on three floors. Vivek first reported to the vice president of the Research and National Policy Department. He conducted data analysis related to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act for minorities like blacks and Hispanics. Using Excel spreadsheets, Vivek performed mathematical calculations. Later he was assigned to the Global Fair Lending Department where he reported to the assistant secretary for the chief executive officer. Vivek was given a central banking project that involved 175 foreign countries, and Vivek’s research was used by the Information Technology Department to create a website on this topic. He also worked on ramifications of the Freedom of Information Act and processes analogous to FIMA in thirty-five democracies around the world. Vivek considered organizations similar to NCRC in England and Eastern Europe. When Wal-Mart applied for a banking license, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition studied its policies toward minority groups to prevent patterns of discrimination from spreading into the economic sphere. NCRC studies credit, interest rates, loans, and other policies used by particular banks with minority groups. Vivek described NCRC as an “amazing organization” where he learned an enormous amount and made a significant contribution to the important work being done there. He dealt with three budgets and the development of revolving funds.

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