Shilpa was irrevocably drawn to the cries of "Strange-a-lujah!" and "Change-a-lujah!" that she heard shouted through the streets of New York City soon after she moved there in 2003; though, at the time, she did not know who the strange preacher man was who shouted them.  After attending a performance of the Stop Shopping Choir in the halls of St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery and witnessing Reverend Billy perform an exorcism on a Starbucks coffee cup, Shilpa could no longer be a stranger to this strange community. Shilpa is a civil rights attorney, representing those seeking to vindicate their rights to live authentically, to work and to enjoy public space free from discrimination. She is a dedicated defender of the First Amendment and a staunch advocate for the emancipation of imagination everywhere. She lives with her partner, her two children, three cats, and a bunch of quail in Brooklyn.