Meet our team
Shay Singh (he/him)
Chair and Co-founder
I am passionate about creating a safe space for the Indian origin rainbow community – something we desperately need
I want to connect with our community to help make sure we all feel connected and supported.
As the Chair of Indian Origin Pride New Zealand, I will lead a team that puts rainbow people of Indian origin in Aotearoa at the forefront of our work. We will strive to make sure we can be proud of our genders, sexualities, cultures and heritage – so these things do not have to exist in isolation.
I was born in Fiji and moved to New Zealand when I was 13 years old. I lived in Auckland until my mid-20s and I have spent most of the last 20 years in Australia. I moved back to New Zealand 2021.
I have 15 years’ experience across the fields of sustainability including green buildings, sustainability finance and working with local governments. I have worked in senior management roles for the past five years, focusing on organisational development and growth as well as working with and advising boards.
Arrun Soma (he/him)
Co-founder and Board member
Welcome to Indian Origin Pride New Zealand, whānau – I am so excited to help support rainbow Indian people in Aotearoa.
I went through an identity crisis and brain battle in my teens and twenties as I navigated accepting being gay and also being proud of my Gujarati heritage. A decade on, my family’s experiences saw me launch Wellington Indian Pride in early 2021 which then became Indian Origin Pride New Zealand.
Today, I am proud to be gay and Indian - and my family is wonderfully supportive. I will say though, it took us time to get there. I live in Wellington with my husband Jake, son Niko who was born via surrogacy, and our two small Maltese pups Snow and Minnie.
I'm passionate about supporting people who are navigating journeys like mine. I want to help raise up Indian communities in New Zealand so they are equipped to support our rainbow people. Professionally, I spent 12 years working as a television news reporter and producer, and I now work as a communications and media consultant. I also MC events and dabble in video presentation work.
Moushumi Das (she/her)
Board member
I moved to Aotearoa New Zealand from Malaysia 15 years ago to study medicine and I have been living in Hamilton for the past four years.
I am half Bengali and half Punjabi, which has given me insight and understanding into both communities and cultures. I have previously been involved in LGBTQIA++ groups overseas, in particular with Sarbat and Desi Rainbow Parents and Allies, by volunteering with them for the past one and a half years.
I have a strong passion for advocacy, inclusion and working with communities to improve the understanding and acceptance of LGBTQIA++ people.
Sam Malage (he/him)
Board member
I was born and raised in India, I moved to Aotearoa New Zealand in 2010 as an international student and now this is my home. Aotearoa is place that helped me realise who I was and navigate my journey to being the out and proud Indian gay man I am now.
I have always been passionate about being part of this fabulous rainbow community and contributing for the betterment of the community. However, I have noticed there is lack of space for queer Indian folks within our community. It is hard for some of our Indian community folks to freely express themselves in many situations. IOPNZ creates this safe space for everyone, and I am looking forward to supporting this amazing kaupapa for our community.
My professional background is event management and planning within the education sector. Currently, I work in the public service advising on strategic event planning. I have worked with youth with providing pastoral care support, career progression support and supporting the key milestones of student journeys. I hope to utilise these skills to support IOPNZ in whatever form I can.
A Māori whakataukī that I resonate with is “He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata he tangata."
"What is the most important thing? It is people, it is people it is people."
I will continue to work on the ethos of this whakataukī, to ensure our community and our people are well supported in their journey.
