The 20th anniversary of the India New England Woman of the Year Awards gala was held on April 14, 2023 at Burlington Marriott Hotel in Burlington, MA. An independent committee of nine judges awarded public policy advocate, serial entrepreneur, and innovator Gitanjali Swamy as Woman of the Year 2023.
“Gitanjali Swamy is an extraordinary individual. She has not only excelled in her field but has also championed solving global challenges, force for impact and women empowerment,†said Mr. Kamdar, chair of the judging committee. “We celebrate her outstanding achievements and eagerly anticipate the continued impact she will make in New England and beyond. May her story ignite a spark within all of us to pursue our dreams and create a brighter future for generations to come.†The nine members of the Independent Judging Committee were: Sheetal Acharya, Priti Chatter, Anu Chitrapu, Vaishali Gade, Radha Jalan, Rakesh Kamdar, Raj Melville, Navjot Singh, and Vikram Venkatasubramanian.
In addition to honoring 10 Outstanding Women of this year in various categories, Indian classical dance icon Neena Gulati, founder of the Brookline, MA-based Triveni School of Dance who has taught and performed dances during the last 51 years in the United States, received the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award.
Upendra Misra acknowledged the previous 20 recipients of the award in his speech. Susan Whitehead, a Lifetime Trustee of MIT and a founding and life board member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at MIT, was this year’s Chief Guest, and Nandita Bakshi, the very first Woman of the Year, was Guest of Honor.
Dr. Manju Sheth, MD and Mandy Pant this year were joined by Hufrish Sirohi to present the 20th Anniversary Woman of the Year Awards gala. Dr. Sheth, director of the Woman of the Year Awards Gala, served as hostess of the evening. Ms. Pant and Ms. Sirohi conducted the evening and awards processes as Masters of Ceremonies. The evening had a lovely dance by DFD academy and a Bollywood song presentation by Valentino Almeida.
The other nine honorees were
Sumeit Aggarwal: Entrepreneurship
Meena Bharath: Community Outreach
Dr. Ami Bhatt: Innovation & Healthcare
Manorama Choudhury: Art & Literature
Parul Doshi; Corporate Executive
Veena Handa: Community Service
Sunita Kanchinadam: Leading Entrepreneurship
Jharna Madan; Volunteer & Networker
Sahana Purohit: Political Leadership
Gitanjali Swamy: Public Policy Advocate.
It is always inspiring to hear about the wonderful women who are doing so much to make a difference in the world.
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