Conference on Points of Connection: South Asians and the Diaspora – Biographies

Thomas Abraham has been serving the NRI/PIO community for the last 32 years. He served as the first president of the Federation of Indian Associations of New York and the National Federation of Indian American Associations. Dr. Abraham currently serves as the Chairman of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) which he founded in 1989 and as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Indian  American Kerala Center in New York. Dr. Abraham also served as the Co-Chairman of the fund raising campaign to institute a chair for Indian studies at Columbia University. Two other groups initiated by Dr. Abraham are National Indian American Association for Senior Citizens (NIAASC) and South Asian Council for Social Services (SACSS). A materials scientist by profession, Dr. Abraham is Vice President of Business Communications Co., a leading industry and market research firm based in Norwalk, CT, USA.

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Mohammad Ali was born in Pakistan and raised in Queens, New York.  He graduated from Polytechnic University in Brooklyn, New York with a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering and obtained his Masters in Mechanical Engineering from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).  Mr. Ali obtained his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from St. John’s University School of Law and is currently licensed to practice law in New York State.  Mr. Ali works as an engineer during the day and at night maintains a community based law practice. In his law practice, Mr. Ali deals primarily with the South Asian community and with issues related to domestic violence, business and corporate law, real estate and immigration.  Mr. Ali is an active member of the South Asian American Political Action Committee (SAAPAC) and is engaged in increasing the political and civic awareness of the South Asian-American community.

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Rao S. Anumolu is currently the President and CEO of ASR International of Hauppauge, New York, is an Indian American CEO of a world renowned high technology company (ASR) engaged in providing Engineering, IT, QA, Logistics and Management Support Services to global Fortune 500 companies and government agencies. Using its patent pending business process methodology, ASR provides high quality but cost-effective services in all the 50 states of USA and in 40 countries around the world.

Mr. Anumolu has the unique distinction and the rare privilege of being the only Indian to have been cited by the US Congress in June 2003 for the contributions made by him and ASR International Corporation towards providing first-rate security systems for homeland security in USA. ASR is recognized for its ability to use technology and processes for improving the performance of facilities and bases – commercial and government- leading to cost reduction, improved productivity, and efficiency. ASR has already won contracts worth more than $100 million. These contracts were won in open competition against larger companies like IBM, EDS, Northrop Grumman, CSC, Lockheed Martin etc., Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy said of him: “Rao has been a shining example of what it means to be a successful businessman, a good neighbor, a caring and generous individual and certainly a loyal and patriotic American citizen “.

Mr. Anumolu is the recipient of several awards and honors which recognize his business acumen, professional achievements, contributions to the community and his philanthropic activities. He often interviewed by the media to elicit his views on business related issues and is quoted extensively in the local, national, and international media as an authority on several high technology and management areas. He has made several guest appearances on appeared on CNN, News 12 and has been quoted extensively in Newsday, LI Business news etc. He serves on the advisory board of leading academic institutions in NY – Adelphi and SUNY- Stony Brook. His wife Rajeswari’s total support in all his endeavors is the primary reason for Mr. Anumolu’s success.

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Manu Bhagavan is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of History at Hunter College-The City University of New York.  He has previously taught at Carleton, St. Olaf, and Manchester Colleges, the University of Texas at Austin, and Yale University.  His research interests include comparative colonialism and nationalism, postcolonial studies, diversity and pluralism, globalization, and resistance politics.  He has published numerous articles, essays, and reviews on South Asian history and politics, and is the author of Sovereign Spheres: Princes, Education and Empire in Colonial India (Oxford University Press, 2003).

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Wellington Z. Chen is a member of the Board of Trustees of the City University of New York, and a Senior Vice President of TDC Development Corporation. A long-time community leader, he graduated from the School of Architecture and Environmental Studies at City College. He was the first Chinese American in Queens to serve on a community planning board, where he chaired the cultural affairs, housing, landmarks and zoning committees and helped to bring about the revival of downtown Flushing. More recently, he was a commissioner of the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals which reviews zoning variances, special permits and other land use appeals.

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Nehru E. Cherukupalli (a.k.a. C.E. Nehru) is Professor of Geology at Brooklyn College, CUNY. He hails from South India, had his schooling in Madras, India, and earned a Ph.D. in geology from Madras University. He also has a Master’s degree from Columbia University, New York. He has been teaching at Brooklyn College, City University of New York for over four decades and has been the past Chairman of the Geology Department. He has field experience in many places in India and in the United States and Canada. He has worked in mining operations in copper and iron ore mines in India. He has also worked on Moon rocks and he works on Meteorites and is a Research Associate at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. He has considerable experience in teaching all levels of students at Brooklyn College and at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Prof. Nehru has authored more than a hundred research papers in geology. He is also interested in environmental geology and teacher education. He has taught geology to ESL (English as Second Language) students and published on this subject. More recently he has taken part in the CUNY Chancellor’s relief efforts of the victims of the December 2004 Tsunami of South Asia. In November 2005 he Chaired the Tsunami session held by Association of Exploration Geophysicists in Poona, India.

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Upendra Chivukula is the first Asian-Indian American elected to the NJ State Assembly and the fourth Indian- American in the US to be elected to state office. He is currently serving his third term in the NJ State Assembly, representing the 17^th district.

Upendra is the Chair of Telecommunications & Utilities Committee and a member of the Commerce and Economic Development Committee in the Assembly; a member of the Science and Technology, and Commerce and Business Expansion Commissions for the State of New Jersey; also he serves as Assembly Representative for the Council of State Governments (CSG) /Eastern Regional State Conference on Energy and Environment, the World Languages Instruction Committee, and the Board of State Canvassers.

Most recently, Upendra co-founded the NJ Legislative Science & Technology Caucus, as well as the World Languages & International Studies Caucus in the Legislature. He is also serving as a member of the NJ International Education Task Force.  He serves as Vice-Chair of the Communications, Technology and Interstate Commerce Committee and most recently, as a member of the Task Force on Homeland Security for the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). On a local level, Upendra served as Franklin Township 5th Ward Councilman from 1997 to 2005. He also served as Mayor of Franklin Township in 2000 and as Deputy Mayor in 1998. During this time he was involved in several Committee activities.

Upendra’s extensive public service and political accomplishments have also included participation in the Delegation to the Democratic National Convention in 1996, 2000, and in 2004.  Also, the Governor of New Jersey appointed him to be a Public Member of the New Jersey State Board of Social Work Examiners.

Upendra is a ‘Leadership New Jersey Fellow’ (1998), ‘Flemming Institute Fellow’ (2003), and the Past President of Franklin Township Lions Club and Zone 2 Chairman in District 16-D; National Committee Member of the Association of Indians in America; Past Secretary of NJ Chapter of Indian American Forum for Political Education and Past President of Asian American Political Coalition.

Upendra’s leadership has been recognized by the NAACP (Metuchen-Edison Area Branch) with the Adam Clayton Powell Award (2004); also received Legislative Advocate for Technology Award (2003), Anti-Defamation League’s Americanism Award (2004), and the NJ Small Business Development Centers’ Legislative Award (2004); also inducted into the High-Tech Hall of Fame in 2004.  Most recently, he received the 2005 Legislator of the Year award from the NJ Small Business Development Centers and was also named Leader of Innovation in 2005 by the New Jersey Policy Research Organization.  He received the 2005 Chairman’s Award from the Research and Development Council.

Upendra has a B.E.E. from Guindy’s Engineering College, Madras, India and Masters in Electrical Engineering from City College of the City University of New York.  He is Managing Director – Antarctica Group, New York and has drawn extensive technical and business experience working at AT&T Bell Laboratories.

Upendra Chivukula is a longtime resident of Franklin Township. He has been married to Dayci Chivukula for 29 years. Together they have raised two children, a son, Suraj and daughter, Damianty.

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Jewel Chowdhury is a Bangladeshi Community Leader in New York. Since his arrival in the USA, Jewel Chowdhury started organizing Bangladeshi community through various organizations like Bangladesh Association of New York Inc. and Jalalabad Association of American Inc. To represent his community, culture and work in a better and effective way, later he co-founded Sylhet Sadar Thana Association of America Inc. of which, at present, he is the president.

As a leading organization of Bangladeshi immigrants in New York area, Sylhet Sadar Thana Association of America Inc. holds the biggest Bangladeshi cultural meet Bangladesh Mela~ every year. This ~Mela~ (fair) has already become a showcase for Bangladeshi culture in our multicultural atmosphere. The event, through participation of cultural and political leaders from Bangladesh, is also regarded as a bridge between native land and the land of present residence. The Association, in collaboration with SACC (South Asian Community Council), has held a number of support-projects for new immigrant families to help them develop their language and job skills, and to grow their awareness about issues related to child education, domestic violence and immigrant rights.

Mr. Chowdury also happens to be a director of the NY-based organization for South Asian Americans and Americans with South Asian Heritage, SAAPAC.  As a community board member of Queens Community District Board one, he is also vocal for the citizens of the City.  In addition, he is a vice president of NY-based international non-profit organization ~The Optimists~, which is running wonderful child-welfare projects in Bangladesh. At his job, he is also the Assembly Member of Hotel, Motel and Restaurant Employees and Bar Tenders Union, Local 6, under AFL-CIO.

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Mallika Dutt is the founder and executive director of Breakthrough.  She has been a human rights activist for over two decades, working passionately on transforming attitudes and approaches towards human rights.  Until December 2000, Mallika was the Program Officer for the Human Rights & Social Justice Program at the Ford Foundation’s New Delhi office.  She focused on addressing the rights of marginalized communities like dalits, adivasis, and women.  Dutt also served as the associate as the Associate Director of the Center for Women’s Global Leadership, where she held the first US meeting to create links between human rights domestically and abroad.  Mallika authored the widely-referenced With Liberty and Justice for All: Women’s Human Rights in the United States.  She was also the co-author of the globally utilized manual, Local Action Global Change: Learning About the Human Rights of Women and Girls.

While studying law at New York University, Dutt co-founded Sakhi for South Asian Women, combating the violence against women in the New York community.  She was also an Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Rights Fellow, and worked at the Center for Constitutional Rights and the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project.

Mallika has served on several boards and committees, including the Human Rights Watch Women’s Rights Project, Sister Fund, Asian American Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy, Lt. Governor Committee on Public Police Relations, Committee on Sex and Law, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, and the India Abroad Person of the Year jury.  Mallika is also an active member of the US NGO Coordinating Committee for the UN World Conference Against Racism and currently is on the Board of WITNESS.  Mallika graduated from New York University School of Law with a JD in 1989 and is a member of the New York State Bar.

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Vrinda Grover obtained her law degree from Delhi University in 1988. Practicing in India as a lawyer since 1989 she has represented diverse clients, women survivors of sexual and domestic violence, trade unions, political activists and refugees. She has been associated with landmark cases including the Indian Parliament attack case which was the first major trial under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002, the trial of industrialists accused of murder of labour leader, Niyogi, of Chattisgarh Mukti Morcha 1991,the Commission of Inquiry  into the Bhilai Police Firing,1992. She was an Assisting Counsel in the Justice Wadhwa Commission of Inquiry, inquiring into the killing of Christian missionary Graham Staines in Orissa, 1999. She is currently representing the victims of communal custodial killings by the P.A.C in 1987 in Meerut, in North India .

From 1999-2002, she was the Lead Consultant for Law, Judiciary and the Policing of Conflict. From 2003-2005 she was the Portfolio Manger for AMAN Trust on Human Security, Citizenship and the Law. She is a founding member of the Citizens Campaign for Preserving Democracy, which has been advocating the cause of undocumented migrant workers, in a globalized economy. She is also a member of the All India Committee Against Death Penalty. She was engaged in the drafting of the new Domestic Violence law and is a member of the Steering Committee to draft Rules for the new Domestic Violence Act.

She has undertaken pioneering research on the response of the Indian legal system to the anti Sikh state sponsored communal massacre of 1984. Her other areas of research and publication include an interrogation of the Public Prosecution system in India; documentation and analysis of the interface between the labour movement and the legal system, 1990-2002, in Bhilai, Chattisgarh; review of mechanisms of police accountability; addressing urban poverty within the human rights framework; expanding the scope of the Right to Information law  to embrace accountability of security forces; challenging counter terrorism laws and policies and a critique of the proposed Communal Violence Prevention & Control Bill. She is presently at the NYU School of Law on a Global Public Service Law Scholarship (2005-06).

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Amita Gupta is currently Assistant Professor of Education in the School of Education at The City College of New York. She is a native of New Delhi, India and has been in the U.S. since 1992. Amita Gupta earned her Doctorate from Columbia University in early childhood teacher education. The early education of children and the preparation of their teachers has been at the core of her inquiry both in her field-based professional experience as well as in her academic research over the last 18 years.

Professor Gupta has extensive cross-cultural experience in classroom teaching, school administration and teacher development in both India and the U.S. Prior to joining CUNY she was the Educational Director of a school on Manhattans’s Upper West Side for ten years.  She continues to offer professional development workshops for teachers and school administrators in India and the U.S.

As City College faculty, Professor Gupta teaches courses in program and curriculum design, theories of development and learning, observation and recording of children’s behaviors in classroom contexts, and teaching of social studies to young children. Her research interests include culturally relevant pedagogy, international and comparative education, postcolonial theory, socio-cultural-historical constructivism in teaching and learning, and the place of implicit beliefs and practical knowledge in the pedagogical practices of teachers from “non-western” backgrounds.

Professor Gupta has published several articles in journals of education, and is the author of the recently published book Early Childhood Education, Postcolonial Theory and Teaching Practices in India: Balancing Vygotsky and the Veda (Palgrave Macmillan, 2006). This book is based on her doctoral research which won a national award for outstanding doctoral dissertation. She is currently completing another book titled Schooling in South Asia (Greenwood Publishing Company) which includes a brief examination of the influence of social, cultural, political, historical and religious forces on the development of schooling and education in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bhutan and the Maldives.

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Rafia Hamid is a doctoral candidate in Clinical Psychology at Adelphi University, New York, currently working full time on her dissertation: “Perceived Parental Acculturation and Psychological Well-being of South Asian College Students.” Ms. Hamid has worked in various mental health settings in the New York metropolitan area particularly with adolescents and children.  She has also worked extensively with South Asian families and other minority groups.  Ms. Hamid’s other research interests include the issue of gender inequity in South Asian and Muslim families and she has presented her findings at various regional and national conferences. Ms. Hamid is a co-chair of Domestic Harmony Committee of the Islamic Center of Long Island, an organization that works for the advocacy of battered Muslim women.  She is also a member of Long Island Safe Havens Advisory Committee that implements safe exchanges and supervised visitation services in domestic violence cases.

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Niloufar Haque is an Assistant Professor of Physical and Biological Sciences at New York City College of Technology, CUNY. Dr. Haque received her Ph.D. in neurochemistry from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India. She has previously worked at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland, and at the Department of Pharmacology at Georgetown University, before moving to the Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Diseases in Staten Island.

Dr. Haque’s research interest is in Neurodegenerative Diseases and Related Disorders, with a special focus on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases. She also mentors women at the Neuroscience Society in Washington, DC; initiated a Student’s Summer Research Program at NYC College of Technology; and initiated collaborative research on the Gowanus Canal, which received coverage in the New York Times.

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Sambhavi Lakshminarayanan is currently a faculty member in the school of Business at Medgar Evers College. Earlier she had been a faculty member at Stern School of Business, NYU. She had taught in the areas of Management and Operations Management. Her research included Intergar programming models (in Operations Research) as well as developing and applying student grouping methods to create diverse groups. Some of her current research is in the area of Diversity with particular emphasis on elementary schools.

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Terrence F. Martell is Director of the Weissman Center for International Business in the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College. Prior to his appointment, he served as a Fellow in the Weissman Center. Dr. Martell is the Saxe Distinguished Professor of Finance, where he teaches and conducts research in the area of derivative markets. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Dr. Martell serves on numerous committees at the College. He is Chair of the Graduate Curriculum Committee and Chair of the Faculty Senate. Dr. Martell is a Public Governor of the New York Board of Trade where he also is a member of the executive committee. Prior to joining Baruch College, Dr. Martell was Senior Vice President of the Commodity Exchange in New York City. Dr. Martell serves on a number of civic boards and committees. He is currently President of the Pelham School Board.

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James L. Muyskens became the ninth president of Queens College on July 29, 2002 after having served as CEO and Dean of the Faculty for the Gwinnett University Center/University System of Georgia. Dr. Muyskens’ senior-level and extensive administrative experience includes serving as Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for the University System of Georgia . The appointment to Queens College marks Dr. Muyskens’ return to the City University of New York. From 1984 to 1987 he served as Associate Provost and Acting Provost at Hunter College and spearheaded a revision of the undergraduate curriculum, among other efforts. Dr. Muyskens also served as chairman of Hunter College ‘s Department of Philosophy and Director of the Religion Program.

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Ved P. Nanda is the Thompson G. Marsh Professor of Law and Director of the International Legal Studies Program at the University of Denver College of Law. Since 1992 he has served as the John Evans University Professor, and since 1994, as Vice Provost for Internationalization at the University of Denver. He is Past President of the World Jurist Association and now its Honorary President, former honorary Vice President of the American Society of International Law and now its counselor, and a member of the advisory council of the United States Institute of Human Rights. He was formerly the United States Delegate to the World Federation of the United Nations Associations, Geneva, and Vice-Chair of its Executive Council, and serves on the Board of Directors of the United Nations Association of the United States of America. He also serves as an elected member of the American Law Institute and as a council member-at-large for the American Bar Association Section of International Law and Practice.

In February of this year, Professor Nanda was awarded the ³Gandhi, King,Ikeda Award for Community Peace Building² from Soka Gakkai International and Morehouse College. In 1990 in Beijing, China, Professor Nanda was presented with the ³World Legal Scholar² award by the World Jurist Association. He was also the recipient of the United Nations Association Human Rights Award in 1997. He has received honorary doctorates from Soka University in Tokyo, Japan and from Bundelkhand University, Jhansi, India. He is widely published in law journals and national magazines, has authored or co-authored more than 20 books in the various fields of international law and over 150 chapters and major law review articles, and has been a Distinguished Visiting Professor and Scholar at a number of universities in the United States and abroad.

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Gita Narayanan is Director of Business Marketing at BellSouth. She has been with BellSouth for six years. Starting in Marketing Research, she later moved to Strategic Planning, Product Development, and finally to Segment Marketing.  Prior to working at BellSouth, Gita worked at United Parcel Service in Global Marketing Research and Corporate Strategy. She holds an MBA in Marketing and a Ph. D in Sociology from the University of Pittsburgh.

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Vinit Parmar was born in the State of Bihar, India, in 1967, and was educated and lived in New York City.  He is fluent in English, Hindi, Gujarati, and French.  Educated in a myriad of backgrounds in medicine, law, film and theater, he began practicing law in New York City and has worked in the areas of corporate, banking, commercial real estate, insurance, landlord tenant, family, immigration, criminal, and entertainment, including copyright and contracts. Vinit has diverse work experiences in New York’s theater and independent film industry where he worked in various capacities as an actor, stage manager, and assistant director for several off-Broadway theatrical shows.  In film, he works as a sound mixer and editor for a variety of genres in both documentary and fiction films, many of which have received regional and national awards and accreditation, and other awards or nominations at festivals such as Sundance, Slamdance, United States Super8 Film + Digital Video Festival, and the Fringe Festival.  Vinit enjoys teaching full time as an Assistant Professor at Brooklyn College’s Film Department, and he writes, produces, directs, shoots, and edits short films and documentaries.

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Sylvia Pedder-Khanna has been an entrepreneur for several years. She has successfully run a production business making house ware products and supplying to designers. Her products have been sold at major retailers such as Fish’s Eddy and Crate $ Barrel. She has a Bachelor of Arts from India and an MBA from American University. Her interests are traveling and music.

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Vrunda Prabhu is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Bronx Community College, CUNY.  Prior to teaching at BCC, Dr. Prabhu taught for 10 years at a predominantly women’s college in Missouri.  She is a teacher-researcher, a person who while teaching engages in a scientific investigation of her students’ thinking and through the cycle of design of instruction – implementation – assessment – analysis and redesign arrives at a higher understanding of the difficulties faced by students and of a deeper understanding of the subject matter by students.  Her project in the tsunami-affected area of Tamil Nadu is a teaching-research project among the Dalit communities.

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Manawendra Roy, Associate Professor of Computer Information Systems at Borough of Manhattan Community College, is the Co-Director of Teaching Learning Center. He has many years of experience in teaching and industries in different countries. He is also on the Board of Directors of Information Systems Security Association, New York and a member of NYECTF, IEEE and DFWG. He is PI and Co-PI of NSF grants. He is also actively involved in relief work with the disaster victims of Tsunami.

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Rifat Salam is currently completing her PhD in Sociology at New York University.  Her doctoral dissertation, entitled Second Generation South Asians: Dating, Mating and Becoming American, explores the link between dating and marriage choices and the assimilation process.  Her research interests are currently focused on the experiences of South Asians in the United States and South Asian American identity but she is also more generally interested in the family, gender and immigration and ethnicity in American life.   In Fall 2005, she joined the Social Science Department at the Borough of Manhattan Community College.

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Parmatma Saran came to the United States from India in 1967 on a full scholarship to do graduate work at the City University of New York and received his PH.I. in Sociology in 1975.He has been teaching at Baruch College of the City University of New York since 1969 and at the Graduate School beginning in 1987. He was promoted to the rank of full professor in 1989 and currently serves as chairman of the Sociology and Anthropology department, as well as heads the Asian and Asian American Studies program at Baruch College. He teaches courses both at the Graduate and Undergraduate level focusing on race relations, ethnicity, minority groups, new immigrants, and India. His writing and research is on Asian communities in the United States and India. He is the author of four books and a large number of articles both in professional journals and magazines. Two of his books are on experiences of Asian Indians in the United States and are widely quoted in journals, magazines, and newspapers including the New York Times, Daily News, Time Magazine, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, National Geographic, India Today, India abroad, News India, India Monitor, and many others. Saran is the recipient of grants and awards from many prestigious organizations which include the Smithsonian Institution, the National Endowment for Humanities, the American Anthropological Association, the American Sociological Association, the International Congress of Sociology, Columbia University, the City University of New York, and the University of Pennsylvania. Parmatma Saran has been active in many professional and community based organizations. He has served as president of the New York State Sociological Association, chairman of the Asian American Higher Education Council, vice-president of the National Association for Interdisciplinary and Ethnic Studies, and chairman of Columbia University’s faculty seminars on India and cultural pluralism. He is a founding member of the India Festival Committee, the Bihar Association, GOPIO, and the Indian American Democratic Club of Long Island and has also been associated with FIA, AIA, the Tagore Society and Various other organizations. Currently, he serves as a trustee of the Taraknath Das Foundation at Columbia University.

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Azra Shahidi was born in Agra, India. Her family migrated to Pakistan in 1950 and to the United States in 1960. She received her B.A. at the University of Karachi in Microbiology and Zoology. Her M.A. in Clinical Microbiology was earned at the University of Wisconsin. She received her PhD from the University of Missouri in Immunology and Biology. Dr. Shahidi completed her Post Doctoral work at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital and is a Diplomat of the American Board of Medical Microbiology. She has worked as the Director of Clinical Microbiology at Roosevelt Hospital in New York City. In addition, Dr. Shahidi taught as an Assistant Professor of Microbiology at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University. She continues to work at the Bronx Veteran’s Hospital as the Director of Microbiology for the past sixteen years.

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Samina Shahidi graduated from Fordham University with a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Political Science. She is pursuing a doctorate at the City University of New York in Composition Rhetoric, Post Colonial Literature and Women Studies. Ms. Shahidi currently teaches Composition and Literature at Lehman College. She is completing a collection of prose poems.

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Harendra Sirisena is a native of Sri Lanka. He graduated with a Bachelor of Sciences in Economics and Mathematics from the College of Staten Island and obtained a Master’s degree in Economics and International Affairs in Columbia University. Mr. Sirisena is also a Ph. D. candidate in Economics in the New School University. He is actively involved in relief work with the disaster victims in Sri Lanka.

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Zeeshan Suhail was the first Muslim and the first Pakistani to have been elected as Vice President of Student Government at Queens College – CUNY before pursuing an MA degree in International Relations at the CUNY Graduate Center. Aside from his commitment to Student Government, Zeeshan has also been actively involved in other extra-curricular activities on campus.

He is the Founder and former President of the South Asian Students Association (SASA). Still in its infancy, SASA managed to organize a variety of events that catered to the South Asian community on campus, most notable being the panel discussion on Politics and the Media and the most recent being the Desi Formal. Other clubs in which he has been an active member include the Forensics Society (debate team), the Pakistani Club, the Muslim Students Association, the Bangladeshi Students Association, the Environmental Club, and many others. He was also the Secretary for United People and the Society of Success and Leadership. He was also the Vice President of the Student Coalition against Racism, Exclusion and Division (SCARED), and the President of CUNY Watch, a grassroots organization designed to monitor the CUNY system and students involved in the university.

Apart from all his other on and off campus obligations, Zeeshan volunteers his time for the United Nations Association and the Foreign Policy Association. He is Campus Coordinator for Americans for Informed Democracy, a grassroots organization that builds support for a more globally informed student population. He is also professionally affiliated with the Association for Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (ALPFA) and the Young Professionals of New York City (YPNYC), and has received advanced leadership certifications from the Institute of Student Leadership at Paper Clip Communications as well as the National Conference on Student Leadership.

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Darrel Sukhdeo is a Business Coach, Entrepreneur and Journalist. During more than 15 years in Marketing and Management-across a variety of industries-he began Business Coaching as a necessity to support and improve his clients’ businesses. Over the years Darrel has owned, in part or in whole, several businesses and advised owners and executives in the Manufacturing, Hardware, Insurance, Mom & Pop and Driving industries. He is currently part owner in one enterprise and continues to own and operate his business coaching company. Darrel volunteers within his community and works to build bridges across ethnic communities in New York City.

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Zahid Ali Syed, a resident of East Meadow, Long Island, has been a political, labor and civic leader working to improve the lives of working class people for the last 15 years. Mr. Syed is proud of his South Asian heritage and his achievement of the American dream through hard work and sacrifice.  He presently serves as a Commissioner in the Nassau County Human Rights Commission and as a Labor Union Representative for one of the largest unions, RWDSU Local 338.

Mr. Syed in the past has actively fought to increase wages, union representation, and lower property taxes.  Mr. Syed also plays an active leadership role in many community and civic not-for-profit organizations that support causes of the disenfranchised working class, women and support victims of natural disasters across the globe.   Mr. Syed has the strong support of many of his neighbors, labor unions and elected officials.

Mr. Syed has a Bachelors of Arts in Business Administration and has been working towards another degree in Labor, Politics and Government from Dowling College.  Mr. Syed and his wife Uzma have three beautiful children, son Ahsan and daughters Nihan and Anusha.

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Thomas Tam, Executive Director of Asian American / Asian Research Institute, and Chairman of Asian American Higher Education Council, taught health administration and research at Columbia University, Lehman College, and St. Joseph University.  In addition, he is an avid movie maker.  A recent convert to Buddhism, he has completed a documentary video, “En Route to Lhasa”, and has given a talk on “The Diamond Sutra” at the CUNY Graduate Center last year.

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Prema Venkat is a vice-president of Relationship Management at Bank of America Securities.  She has a degree in Electronics Engineering from India and a Master of Business Administration from NYU. Prior to her work at Banc of America, she has worked at Citibank,American Express and a brief stint as an entrepreneur in Home Furnishings. Her interests include Traveling, Skiing, Reading and raising her Family!