Young Professionals Leadership Council

Amisha Patel

Amisha (Amy) Patel is an executive for corporate healthcare companies focused on orthopaedic surgery. Amy was on the clinical side working in sports medicine and completed a research fellowship in spine surgery, focusing on trauma and degenerative issues. She then migrated to the corporate side working in total joint replacement, pain management, and adipose tissue therapies for patients not ready for major surgery. Amy drives to bring new technologies to the US Department of Defense and Veteran Affairs Medical Centers. She has helped publish over 200+ articles and eight books. Amy resides in New York City, along with her multiple foster animals. She has been passionately involved with supporting underprivileged and orphaned children around the world.

Siddartha Rao

Siddartha (Sid) Rao is a Texan turned New Yorker, and has lived in Manhattan and now Brooklyn for over a decade. He is a data/technology and litigation partner at Romano Law PLLC and has practiced law for over a decade as well. He has been selected to Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star” in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018, and is a member of the New York City Bar Association, formerly serving as Secretary of its Information Technology and Cyber Law Committee. He was previously an editor of the Journal of Law and Cyber Warfare and has published articles in the areas of law and data, data privacy, and international patents. He is on the Board of the New York Asian FIlm Foundation and part of the Akshaya Patra junior Board. Sid enjoys spending time with his better half Emily, their cat Ashray, and their dog Tortellini. He is an occasional singer and sang for some time with “Ad Hoc,” a New York City based chamber/choral group. He has also participated in events and lectures through a New York City musician’s collective “theSoundshop.”

Sid was initially introduced to Akshaya Patra through his father who is very active in the Dallas, TX chapter. He has been involved with Akshaya Patra’s growth in the New York area for several years and is excited to be part of its growth story through the junior board and young professionals outreach.

Maitree Shukla

Maitree Shukla is an undergraduate student pursuing a B.S. in Industrial Engineering at Purdue University and plans to graduate in May 2022. Originally from Columbus, OH, Maitree launched the Columbus Chapter in 2013, and has continued to serve as the Co-Chapter Chair. Maitree is extremely passionate about Akshaya Patra’s mission, and is grateful for every opportunity that allows her to continue serving this noble initiative!

Shaleen Sheth

Shaleen Sheth is passionate about helping advance women and children from vulnerable backgrounds with the tools and skills they need for success. She is the co-founder of Women Who Win, a digital media platform and community, with thousands of members around the globe. In her role as co-founder, she spearheaded their key social initiatives including Mentorship & Career Guidance program for young professionals, and The Shoe Project, donating high quality shoes and educating communities on foot health in the U.S. and India. She is a business associate at Wayfair, and currently resides in Boston, MA. She studied Finance and Business at Babson College, where she was also a director of the Babson India Symposium, and graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2020. She was an Akshaya Patra Youth Ambassador for Massachusetts, and has worked with multiple local nonprofits such as Saheli and India New England Multimedia.

Amy Mehta

Amy Mehta is a Bostonian transplant in NYC, having lived in Manhattan and now Queens for 11 years. She is an ophthalmologist, glaucoma and cataract surgeon, in private practice in Long Island. She is on the Board of New York State Ophthalmological Society as well as on the American Glaucoma Society Patient Engagement Committee. Dr. Mehta recently received the Super Doctors Rising Star Award. Additionally, she teaches the next generation of residents at the prestigious New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. Outside of ophthalmology Amy enjoys spending time with her husband and baby girl. She is an avid runner having run in numerous NYC and Chicago Marathons.

Amy was initially introduced to Akshay Patra via her parents who have been very involved in the Boston Chapter. However, after visiting the Akshay Patra kitchen in Jaipur herself, Amy felt more strongly connected to the Akshay Patra mission in a personal way. She hopes to continue to be an active member on the Young Board of Akshay Patra, and continue to support its mission of food accessibility into the future.

Sameer Patel

Sameer Graduated with a BA in Economics and then received an MBA from Keller Graduate School. He has been working at Midwest Molding for the last 21 years. Midwest is his family business and they are a leasing supplier of automotive plastic injection molded components. Sameer started from the ground up and actually worked on the factory floor. He then moved into various positions and built each department he worked in. Currently, Sameer is the CFO of the company and part owner.

Poonam Kamdar

Poonam Kamdar is an Assistant Vice President at Citi Private Bank. As a member of the Direct Private Investments team, Poonam is responsible for sourcing, managing, and distributing private transactions, in partnership with leading financial sponsors and Citi Banking, Capital Markets & Advisory, to institutional private clients globally. Poonam joined Citi in 2018 as part of the Private Bank Analyst program, where she rotated across a relationship team, the private equity and real estate research team, and the portfolio analytics team. Poonam earned her BA in Economics from the University of Chicago.

Poonam first became involved with Akshaya Patra in 2011, when she started the “AP Coin Jar Program,” a successful grassroots campaign. Since, Poonam has been an active member of the Boston and Tri-State Chapters, along with the Youth Ambassadors and Young Professionals programs.

Medha Rishi

Medha Nicky Rishi Is A Seasoned HR Executive, And Has Held Leadership Positions At Prevalent Multinationals Such As Square, Woodruff-Sawyer, Mercer & Aon-Hewitt. She Is Passionate About Wellness And Community Service. This Is Captured In Her Leadership Experience For Healthcare Industries (Boards Of Twic, Formerly International Benefits Network & Global Benefits Association), As Well As For Non-Profits (Boards Of Pratham And American Indian Foundation, Former CFO United Nations-SF, And Former HR And Finance Chairman For Her City Councils). In Her Spare Time, She Holds A Private Pilot License, Enjoys Tennis & Golf. She Considers Herself A Global Nomad, Having Worked With 63 Countries And Traveled To About Half Of Them. Medha Holds A Triple-Degree In BioChemistry, Managerial Economics With A Masters In Fashion Design, And A GPHR (Global Professional In Human Resources) Designation.

Jackson Shembekar

Jackson Shembekar is a native of Tampa Florida and is a second generation Indian-American. He has been raised in the Tampa Bay Area by his mother Dr. Anita Jain Shembekar and also lives with his two brothers Preston and Colin. Jackson was introduced to cryptocurrency at the age of 14, and starting with just $20 has turned it into a seven figure portfolio by the age of 17. He did all of this while also being a straight A student, playing piano and violin at the competitive level, and even playing baseball which he now further pursues at the University of Tampa. Shembekar has been featured in ABC Action News, Bay News 9, 2x Tampa Bay Business Journal, and he even has a book coming out in December 2021.

Suruchi Ahuja

Suruchi Ahuja is a Managing Director at Tillman Global. In addition to her role, she is also the President and Chief Financial Officer of Tillman Infrastructure. She is also a board member.

Prior to joining Tillman, Suruchi worked as an investment analyst at MAST Capital Management, focused on the broader telecom and satellite space. Suruchi began her career at Citigroup in the Hedge Fund Services business.

She studied at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Columbia University and completed her MBA at INSEAD.

Abha Kulkarni

I have been involved with Akshaya Patra for 6 years as a founding member of the NJ chapter and have served as Chair of the Youth Ambassador Program and a member of the National Youth Leadership Council. I have now joined the Young Professionals Association where I hope to raise awareness of Akshaya Patra’s cause and continue supporting its efforts.

Chirag Hirawat

Chirag Hirawat is currently a Vice President at Gemspring Capital, where he focuses on buyouts of lower middle-market companies, and sits on the board of Zavation, a designer and manufacturer of spinal implants. Prior to Gemspring, Chirag has held various financial and investment-focused roles at Goldman Sachs in New York and Golden Gate Capital in San Francisco.

Chirag first began working with underprivileged children when he was a student at The Doon School in Dehradun. Since he came to the US, and after graduating from New York University with a degree in International Relations, Chirag has been involved with Akshaya Patra in multiple capacities since 2011.

Aditya Kulkarni

I liked Akshaya Patra’s combination of tackling childhood hunger and advancing education. They’ve established an expansive infrastructure and it’s easy to see how their work directly impacts so many people. Working with the Akshaya Patra NJ chapter has been a lot of fun. I hope you’ll join us!

Prateek Nigam

Prateek Nigam is a partner /director of Nigaam Jewels and the Oriental Gemco Group. HIs leadership has seen the brand grow into an international design house.

Prateek is also partners in other companies including Ultimate Investors, Gemistry, and Luxury Jewels to name a few.

Prateek is an avid golfer and Skier and loves his active lifestyle.

Akshaya Patras mission is something very close to my heart. No child should ever go hungry and to choose between food or work should never be an option for families. The work that Akshaya Patra is doing towards this cause and the scale it’s being done is commendable.

Nachi Chopra

Nachi is a Customer Success & Delivery Excellence executive for a Big-Tech Cloud Services firm. Nachi started his career working for top Investment Banking firms managing multi-million dollar transformational programs and recently moved into the Tech industry to help evangelize Cloud technologies for strategic customers. Nachi has been in the New York tri-state area for the past 15+ years. As a member of the Executive Committee of Indian Association of Greater Somerset County, Nachi has helped organize numerous cultural and social events for 1000+ community members for the last 7 years.

Nachi is passionate about educating and supporting underprivileged children around the world. Nachi is super excited to join the Young Professionals Leadership Council of Akshaya Patra and help further it’s mission.

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