To have had a life with meaning. That is Subha Lembach’s ultimate goal. Subha is the Director of the Juvenile Justice Community Planning Initiative. She staffs a collaborative initiative focused on juvenile justice system reform. The work includes everything from program development to policy and procedure analysis and review. While this is Subha’s full-time job, she has a passion to volunteer. To list all of the organizations she has or does volunteer for would be a whole separate page in itself but she currently volunteers with the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Franklin Park Conservatory, Columbus Museum of Art, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and the Junior League.
Subha was born in India and came to the U.S. with her parents when she was only two years old. “English was a second language for all of us. Being a first generation immigrant made life really interesting. We really struggled. My dad had less than $10 when he came to the United States. Both my parents worked really hard to establish good lives for their kids and to make sure we each received a good education. This early childhood experience taught me the importance of hard work, having dreams, and setting goals and working toward those goals.”
In 2004, Subha and her husband Michael, decided to leave some great opportunities in New York to move to Ohio. “I described it and still do, as my ‘leap of faith,’ where I took a huge chance and moved without a job or even an idea where we would live. It took work and changing my expectation, but I cannot picture living anyplace but Columbus.” Subha gives her husband Michael a lot of credit when it comes to her keeping balance in her life and supporting her and her efforts. “He has done everything from volunteering side-by-side with me in the pouring rain doing Zoofari setup to signing letters for me to building shelves to working in soup kitchens. More importantly, he always makes sure the home fires are burning, whether its laundry or dinner, he always makes sure things get done.” Subha is also most proud of her daughter Elizabeth. Much of her work is dedicated to making sure the world is a better place for her. “I also want to be a good role model for her so that she can see that women can do so, so much and that her purpose in the world should be to do good.”
Subha has become really passionate about conservation and through her involvement with the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is able to play a small role in supporting conservation efforts. She says that she plans to keep working to forward this cause. “With so many important issues, from conservation to sustainability to women’s issues to taking better care of all our kids, we have so much work to do. I really just want to leave the world a teeny bit better than I found it. I want my child to live in a diverse, inclusive world that recognizes the value of all life….a world full of magic and beauty.”