State College Borough Council has a new member.
Nalini Krishnankutty was appointed on Monday night by a 5-1 vote of council members to replace Richard Biever, who was elected in November and announced in March that he would be stepping down this summer because his family is moving out of state. Monday marked his final day in office.
Because the vacancy occurred less than 18 months from the start of Biever’s elected term, Krishnankutty’s interim term will expire on Jan. 1, 2024 and the position will be on the ballot in the 2023 election.
Krishnankutty, a 30-year resident of the Greentree neighborhood, has served as inaugural chair of the Community Oversight Board for the State College Police Department since December and is Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Program manager in Penn State’s Office of Human Resources. A chemical engineer with a Ph.D. from Penn State, she is now a writer, speaker, educator and diversity, equity and inclusion advocate.
A swearing-in ceremony will be scheduled for later this week, Borough Manager Tom Fountaine said. Following her appointment to council, Krishnankutty will be required to step down from the COB.
Council selected Krishnankutty over two other applicants: former council member Katherine Yeaple and Greentree Neighborhood Association President Matthew Kwapis.
After each candidate gave presentations at prior meetings and discussion by council last week that indicated Krishnankutty was the front-runner, council members followed a previously established procedure for nominations and voting. Council members names were drawn at random to establish an order for making nominations and the first nominee to receive a majority of yes votes would be appointed.
Gopal Balachandran was selected first and nominated Krishnankutty. He along with Jesse Barlow, Deanna Behring, Divine Lipscomb and Peter Marshall voted yes. Janet Engeman voted no.
During her presentation on May 31, Krishnankutty said she was committed to carrying on the issues Biever had made central to his campaign and time on council.
“I would consider it obligatory on my part to work toward some of the goals that [Biever] had that were endorsed by voters,” Krishnankutty said. “That includes a safe, sustainable and equitable community where residents can have access to affordable housing, among others.
“To this I would add a vision that I would work for for State College, which is of a thriving, healthy and connected community where everyone belongs — and more importantly where they feel collectively empowered and engaged to make a difference.”
She outlined a vision for an empowered and engaged, diverse and inclusive community with a “collaborative, proactive, transparent, accountable government.”
“When we support diverse and inclusive neighborhoods and foster collaborations between local governments, town and gown, governments and local communities, we begin to reduce duplication of effort and leverage resources collectively,” Krishnankutty said.
Council member Deanna Behring said she was most taken with Krishnankutty’s alignment with Biever’s goals.
“What really stood out to me was Nalini’s acknowledgement that she was coming into an open position left vacant by Rich Biever, who was duly elected,” Behring said. “She acknowledged that her role was to carry forward the vision that he had spelled out in his campaign. To me that really struck home and I think is a really important acknowledgement to honor an elected official’s role in the community by following the lead.”
Council member Gopal Balachandran cited Krishnankutty breadth of community service.
Since arriving at Penn State as a graduate student in 1987, Krishnankutty has been an active community volunteer.
She has volunteered in the Office of International Students, for efforts to increase the number of women in STEM fields and at the Centre County Women’s Resource Center, now Centre Safe. She worked on grassroots efforts to retain Corl Street Elementary School and keep State College Area High School in the borough. She served on the election board for her local precinct from 2013-19, and was a member of the Osaze Osagie Scholarship Committee.
Krishnankutty has been deeply involved in efforts locally and statewide to foster diversity, inclusion and unity, from school and community events to providing educational resources. In 2019, she was appointed to the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs, working on projects at the state and local level to support and elevate the voices of the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American community.
“I … was really impressed with Nalini Krishnankutty not only for the depth of her experience and her involvement in the community. I don’t think there would be any kind of learning curve for her despite the fact that she has not served on council before,” Balachandran said. “If that’s a determinant then there would be no first-time candidate that would ever be elected onto council, even myself.
“I think that the experience for her is compensated by the fact that she has been involved so heavily in the community, has been involved as part of the [Governor’s Advisory Commission]. She has been involved in the COB, has been involved in the planning of the COB and I think that at any sort of community event, she’s there.”
