Geeta Bhide Aiyer was selected as the India New England Woman of the Year for 2014. Twenty finalists competed for the title. Shipra Shah, from Shishu Bharati received the lifetime achievement award for her work at Shishu Bharati. The event held at the Burlington Marriot on June 5, 2014, was hosted by Dr. Manju Sheth. After opening remarks by Upendra Mishra, the publisher of India New England News, and Dr. Manju Sheth, the MCees Aditi Taylor and Dr. Mandy Pant steered the program.
On a fabulous stage decorated by Shobha Shastry of Alankar Decors all the finalists where introduced and awarded certificates. The finalists were Geeta Bhide Aiyer, Boston Common Asset Management, Sneh Jaisingh, Clinical Nutritionist, Sunayana Kachroo, Author and Poetess, Swathi Kiran, Professor, Boston University, Sonali Lappin, Press Secretary, committee to elect Barry Finegold, Lata Mangipudi, State Representative for New Hampshire, Arti Mehta, Founder Artee Collections, Roshni Mirchandani, Teach for America Teacher, Savitha Rajiv, Zonal Coordinator, North South Foundation, Shuchita Rao, Hindustani Vocalist, Dr. Janini Saldanha, Anesthesiologist, Pratibha Shah, Ayurvedic Consultant, Nalini Sharma, AIF, Shefali Kalyani, We Care Charity, Dr. Meena Subramanyam, Biogen Idec, Gauri Adhlekar, Independent Film Maker, Sona Dutta, Curator, Jeyanthi Ghatraju, Bharatanatyam dancer, Neena Gulhati, Founder, Triveni and Priya Iyer, Chairman and CEO Anaqua Inc.
Geeta Bhide Aiyer was recognized for her success in her profession and for founding and supporting groups that care about the environment and prevent violence against women. She is the founder of DAWN, who first project is holistic care for survivors of gender based violence. Gaugarin Oliver, Anu Chitrapu, Usha Vakil, Jyoti Raghavan, Poonum Ahluwalia, Ash Ashutosh and Yash Shah were on the panel of judges that selected the winner.
The entertainment program for the evening was provided by Shankar Gangaikondan and Mouli Pal. Desh Deshpande, who was the chief guest for the evening applauded the women for their accomplishments and urged them to be ready to support the aspirations of India under the new leadership. Poonam Ahluwalia recounted her journey as the Woman of the Year 2013. In an emotional speech she recounted her bout with breast cancer and said she truly valued the love she had received from so many after becoming woman of the year.
The event ended with a thank you speech by Geeta and DJ dancing to the tunes of DJ Yogi’s music. Geeta Bhide Aiyer was the first woman to be featured in the Woman of Influence Section in Lokvani. Here is a link to her article.
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