WALTHAM, MA— Eight Indian-American achievers and two non-profit organizations will receive New England Choice Awards at a black-tie gala on Oct. 27 at Westin Hotel in Waltham, MA, INE MultiMedia announced. In addition, the husband and wife team of MITHAS founder George Ruckert and New England’s Kathak dance pioneer Gretchen Hayden Ruckert will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
About 400 entrepreneurs, corporate executives, philanthropists, educators and community leaders are expected to attend the New England Choice Awards gala, which is presented annually by the INE MultiMedia in collaboration with INDIA New England News, the region’s oldest and largest online, print and video magazine serving the South Asian community.
To buy a ticket to attend the event, please click here.
INE received 230 nominations for these awards. A jury of 11 individual selected the final winners. To read about the members of the jury, please click here.
“NECA honors outstanding people and organizations who have excelled in their profession and/or followed their passion and created a wonderful legacy,” said Dr. Manju Sheth, CEO of INE MultiMedia, a Waltham, MA-based (501c-3) non-profit organization devoted to promoting and supporting charitable organizations, art, culture, education and empowerment through workshops, seminars and multimedia. “It is our privilege to honor these extraordinary trailblazers who have inspired all of us with their work, dedication and extraordinary contributions to art, culture, society, education, business and technology. We would also like to extend our congratulations to all the recipients and thank all those who sent in their nominations.”Upendra Mishra, publisher of INDIA New England News and the IndUS Business Journal, said the list of 2017 New England Choice Award winners is stellar.
“The impact and work of this year’s winners echoes across the globe. They are pioneers in their field and we are very honored and privileged to have them in our community ,” said Mr. Mishra. “We are looking forward to a gathering of great minds and a great evening on Oct. 27.”
Here is the list of the winners in each category:
Academics
Anantha P. Chandrakasan (Photo: Patsy Sampson)
Anantha P. Chandrakasan
The Vannevar Bush Professor and Dean of School of Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Chandrakasan was recently appointed Dean of MIT’s School of Engineering. Prior to this, he served as head of MIT’s largest academic department and spearheaded a number of initiatives that opened opportunities for students, postdocs, and faculty to conduct research and explore entrepreneurial projects. Since joining the MIT faculty in 1994, Chandrakasan has produced a significant body of research focused largely on making electronic circuits more energy efficient.
His early work on low-power chips for portable computers helped make possible the development of today’s smartphones and other mobile devices. More recently, his research has addressed the challenge of powering even more energy-constrained technologies, such as the “internet of things” that would allow many everyday devices to send and receive data via networked servers while being powered from a tiny energy source.
Artist of the Year
Sandeep Das
Sandeep Das
Tabla Maestro and Grammy Winner
Mr. Das’s collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble “Sing Me Home” earlier this year won the Grammy in the Best World Music Album category. mr. Das, who had been nominated for Grammy twice before, has played tabla with the likes of the late Pandit Ravi Shankar, and has been associated with legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma and The Silk Road Ensemble since 2000.
In 2009, Mr. Das founded Harmony and Universality through Music, known as HUM, which provides a common platform in India for artists of the highest caliber from across the world to share their music, tradition and heritage and facilitate an interaction among them. Mr. Das, who settled in Boston about four years ago, teaches students tabla at his home, and maintains strong connection with his roots in India.
Art & Culture: Organization
Hindi Manch
Promotes Hindi through various cultural and theater activities
Hindi Manch, founded by Preetesh Shrivastava, has been one of the most active organizations on the New England socio-cultural scene over the last 10 years, hosting engaging and entertaining programs to pass on the heritage of Hindi and related languages like Urdu, Bhojpuri, Awadhi, etc. to the next generation through literary sittings, theater, cultural and musical events.
Hindi Manch, a non-profit organization, even had a singing competition before the movie SING made it ‘the thing’ to have singing competitions. At the core, Hindi Manch aims to bring together those who know or want to know about Hindi. This organization welcomes people from all religion, region and languages.
Business and Entrepreneurship
Zenobia Moochhala
Zenobia Moochhala
Co-founder of Care.com
Ms. Moochhala is co-founder of Care.com, one of the very few publicly-traded companies founded by an Indian-American woman in the United States. She is recognized as one of Boston Business Journal’s “40 under 40”, a “Pinnacle Award Emerging Executive” by The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, and the recipient of the “Asper Alumni Entrepreneurship Award” from Brandeis University.
As Co-Founder and Senior Vice President at Care.com, Ms. Moochhala is responsible for growing the company’s global footprint, as well as the full scope of consumer marketing initiatives. Today, Care.com is the world’s largest online destination for finding and managing family care, providing a sweeping array of services to support the 24 million members across more than 20 countries and approximately 1.2 million employees of corporate clients who have access to the company’s services.
Community Service
Girish Mehta
Founder
Indian Circle of Caring: Focusing on senior Indian-Americans
Mr. Mehta is founder and executive director of Indian Circle of Caring USA, which this year celebrated its 10th anniversary. Indian Circle of Caring, a non-profit organization, has undertaken a drive to inform, educate and empower the Indian-American community about the need for timely and thoughtful preparation of Health Care Proxy and Living Will.
Indian Circle for Caring is a grass root movement started in 2007 by Mr. Mehta and a few individuals to respond to an unfulfilled need to help community members as they may be going through emergency or urgent situations such as serious sickness, hospitalization, family crisis, accident or death / bereavement.
Healthcare Pioneer
Rakesh Jain in his lab (Photo: Harvard Gazette)
Rakesh Jain
Professor at Harvard Medical School and director of tumor biology laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital and recipient of the National Medal of Science
Mr. Jain is one of only five living U.S. scientists to be a member of the National Academy of Science, National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine. He was honored with National Medal of Science by President Obama. He is A. Werk Cook Professor of Radiation Oncology (Tumor Biology) at Harvard Medical School and Director of Edwin L. Steele Laboratory for Tumor Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Mr. Jain is regarded as a pioneer in the area of tumour micro-environment and widely recognized for his seminal discoveries in tumor biology, drug delivery, in vivo imaging, bioengineering, and bench-to-bedside translation. These include uncovering the barriers to the delivery and efficacy of molecular and nano-medicines in tumors; developing new strategies to overcome these barriers; and then translating these strategies from bench to bedside. He has received more than 75 awards from engineering and medical professional societies/institutions.
Leadership
Latha Mangipudi
New Hampshire State Representative
Ms. Mangipudi is serving her 2nd term in the New Hampshire House of Representatives. By profession, she is a Speech Language Pathologist and has worked in health care and human services at various hospitals and health care providers in Nashua, NH.
She has served on Criminal Justice & Public Safety Committee, is a member of Nashua Interfaith Council and a member of board of director of New Hampshire Mental Health Association and New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. The issues that Ms. Mangipudi is most interested include education and health services.
Non-Profit Organization
Gujarati Association of New England (Gurjar)
Gujarati Association of New England, popularly known as Gurjar, is a non-profit community organization, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.
Founded in 1977, is organizing year-round, educational and entertaining cultural events such Youth Program, Diwali, Navratri, Spring/Summer Mela, Scholarship, Charity fund-raising, grand-parents club, Drama, Musical concerts, and Poetry recitals, among others for more than 10,000 Gujarati speaking families in New England.
Philanthropy
Ramesh Motwane
Ramesh Motwane
Motwane Foundation is donating a large sum to Northeastern University and his alma mater in India
Boston entrepreneur Mr. Motwane, whose general contracting firm Eastern Contractors Inc. remained on the largest Indian-American-owned companies list in the United States for four years, has donated 40 percent of his assets to Northeastern University in Boston and 40 percent to his alma mater in India: Gandhidham Civil Engineering Institute, now known as Tolani Motwane Institute.
Mr. Motwane came to the United States in 1971 and did odd jobs. He worked as a machinist and as a numerical programmer. Then, he joined Northeastern University and received a bachelor’s degree. He also joined NU’s Master’s program, but soon after completing one semester he got a full-time job and never went back. Motwane is donating 40 percent of his assets to Northeastern University, and he sits on the university’s board of directors.
Youth Award
Sonika Vaid
Sonika Vaid
Ms. Vaid is an American Idol finalist. Massachusetts-native Vaid finished in 5th place on the 15th Season of American Idol. She is of Indian descent and her parents immigrated to the U.S. when she was a child. She began singing at the age of three.
Ms. Vaid graduated from Weston High School in 2013. Prior to entering Idol, she was studying biology and a regular performer at a local park near her home for special events. Vaid sang “Look at Me” by Carrie Underwood at her audition in Denver, Colorado and received high praises from the American judges, earning a golden ticket to Hollywood. Since American Idol, Sonika Vaid has opened at festivals and concerts across Massachusetts, and sang the opening National Anthem at a Red Sox game in Fenway Park.