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We are conducting a very brief survey to help us understand the travel patterns of our members as they travel back to India for a variety of reasons. Your help is greatly appreciated for this quick survey:
Thank you
Sept 2, 2011, Washington, DC
At the NetIP North America Board of Directors Meeting held at the Annual Conference yesterday, the executives for the 2012 term were duly elected.
Ashwin Janakiram was elected to his second term as President. Ashwin brings strong leadership, problem solving and quick thinking to the table.
Amit Varia was elected to his second term as Director of Operations. Amit’s role is key to smooth operation of all the departments of the North America team.
Ritu Singh was elected Vice President Internal Affairs. She has served as acting VP for Finance & Admin for a few months this year already along with continuing her term as Legal Counsel for NetIP North America.
Anisha Patel was elected Vice President External Affairs. Anisha is the current president of our Boston chapter and brings both experience and enthusiasm to this position. Her involvement with NetIP began in 2008.
Sameer Jain was elected Vice President Technology. He serves as the technology chair for our St. Louis chapter and also organizes events, gives strategic guidance on event management, public relations and marketing.
Congratulations to a well deserving team.
A very warm Washingtonian welcome to all our conference attendees from all over North America. We look forward to celebrating the 20th birthday of our flagship event with you this weekend.
Meet:
Super Model Saira Mohan
NYT Columnist and Author of “India Calling”, Anand Giridharadas
Top 10 Hero Narayanan Krishnan
Celebrity Chef Jehangir Mehta
Chef K.N.Vinod
We thank all our speakers and attendees for the value they add to our conference. A heartfelt thanks to our sponsors and supporters.
NetIP is a 100% volunteer run organization spanning North America. Our conference is the culmination of countless hours of dedicated work by a truly national team. Special thanks to our DC based conference team for an exceptional event.
Have a wonderful weekend with NetIP.
-Sincerely
The NetIP North America Executive Team
Ashwin Janakiram, President
Amit Varia, Director of Operations
Rita Bagai, Vice President Internal Affairs
Pooja Dhawan, Vice President External Affairs
Purti Bali, Co-Vice President Events and Conference co-chair
Venay Puri, Co-Vice President Events and Conference co-chair
Ritu Singh, Vice President Finance & Admin
Anish Mistry, Vice President Technology
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Masala! Mehndi! Masti! (Aug. 19-21)
A three-day festival connecting the diverse elements of South Asian culture
Harbourfront Centre, along with its lead summer partner The Toronto Port Authority, presents Masala! Mehndi! Masti! created and co-produced by Satya Arts Association, Aug. 19-21. The Masala! Mehndi! Masti! Festival, part of ‘Hot Spot Summer’ on downtown Toronto’s waterfront, is a celebration of incredibly diverse South Asian and South Asian-inspired culture. As a “Dor/Dhaga/Thread”, Masala! Mehndi! Masti! ties and binds diverse parts of the culture together, connecting and creating continuity, while not compromising the uniqueness of each part. It pulls and draws each element closer to the other or creates a link between them all. Sacred Threads abound in the day-to-day life of South Asians, and this festival weaves cultural threads that are just as powerful and important in many ways.
The film segment, MMMovies! features an exciting personality this year: the new face of Indian cinema and one of Bollywood’s 10 most desirable actors, Abhay Deol. His just-released film, “Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara (You Only Live Once)” has taken the planet by storm.
Winners of the reality TV show “India’s Got Talent”, the 17-member Shillong Chamber Choir from Meghalaya (a tiny north-eastern state of India) perform a repertoire of classical, jazz and musica sacra on the WestJet Stage. Sri Lanka’s biggest hip-hop stars, Bathiya and Santhush, fly in as festival closing headliners, and classical artistSnehasish Mozumder also performs with his double-necked mandolin, fusing gorgeous music with his unique voice. Part traditional and part contemporary, Bhanging by the Lake presents the best in Bhangra dance and music.
Dance takes over the Redpath Stage as some of the best choreographers come to Masala! Mehndi! Masti! to showcase the traditional and non-traditional dances of South Asia. Promising to excite the audience with fast-paced dance, Swar Sadhana is a group known for their traditional music; they present Dandiya Raas, inviting one and all to participate in this Gujarati community dance. GhuMMMo! is an hour-filled production of exceptional dance performances that highlights a range of dance techniques that include jazz, classical and ballet.
Actors take audiences on a journey through South Asian customs and culture in Sacrifice, by Nobel Prize winnerRabindranath Tagore, a tale about a king and queen in conflict with each other when religion dominates politics. Dirty Pakistani Lingerie has Pakistani-American women airing their dirty lingerie while trying to find their place among two very different cultures.
Join us this summer as we explore “Hot Spots” of intensity, artistic brilliance, connectivity, and regions of conflict that shape the impressions we have of ourselves and our world. This theme is programmed into each weekend festival to bring together rich artistic traditions from our own backyard and around the globe! It also presents a unique opportunity to experience top Canadian and international artists in a fun, family-friendly environment without ever leaving the city!
Western Union is a proud sponsor of NetIP’s stories of Cultural Heritage, Drops. Ripples. Waves. Join us at the NetIP Annual conference in Washington DC over labor day to celebrate your heritage.
Dr. Parveen Chopra is the first Indian American honored by the New York State Bar Association in the history of the organization to receive the Haywood Burnes Memorial Award for his commitment to the struggle for justice and the qualities that made him an outstanding advocate for civil rights and the empowerment of the powerless. He also was the first Indian American to ever receive the Liberty Bell award for the promotion of Justice from the Nassau County Bar Association ( Largest Suburban Bar Association in the United States), where he served on the Judiciary screening committee of Housing court judges to prevent discrimination in housing. He currently serves as President of the Asian American Coaltion with 14 member countries representing the needs of the broader Asian communities.
“I’m privileged to have a loving father who taught us to stand up for our beliefs, community and society – through the example of his life. Both my father and mother are highly educated and mentally strong individuals who worked for the betterment of our people. I remember as a child, when our community was the subject of violent attacks by local gangs in Jersey City ( Dot Busters). Instead of retreating away from the problem – they both leaned into it, to ensure a better life for all ethnic minorities. We have been blessed to have parents who are incredibly supportive of who we are as people, but also parents who have provided a tremendous amount of support to help realize the goals of our life and who instilled the values of higher education, hard work, discipline and perseverance. Our family has dedicated over 40 years to the growing community in the United States, hopefully we will still have the opportunity to serve.” said Dr. Praveen Chopra’s son, Samir Chopra who lives in New York with his wife and expecting their first child.
Dr. Parveen Chopra is an outstanding Asian-American who has excelled in academics, civil rights movement, regional and national leadership to community and has been widely recognized by leading Asian and American institutions for his outstanding contributions.
Dr. Chopra has excelled in academics by attaining five graduate degrees with honors and top ranks from prestigious universities and an MBA, and a Ph.D. in Business Administration. He has taught over seven thousand BBA, MBA, and doctoral students and has authored several books and articles in the field of Management in Business Administration and has been a member of the Academy of Management since 1976.
Dr. Chopra has lead, as the first Asian-American in the State of New York, as a Commissioner of Human Rights in Nassau County for the past seventeen years, vice chairman since 1996 and as acting chairperson since 2004. He has done a lot to mitigate discrimination in employment, housing and public matters. Dr. Chopra was also the first Asian to work as Commissioner of Planning from 1996 to 2002 and served it with great distinction in open hearings to public and improved the quality of life of 1.3 million Americans in Nassau County, New York in terms of land use, zoning, density, environment, transportation, population dynamics, urban planning and economy. Dr. Chopra was part of the team that prepared a master plan for the development of Nassau County for the next two decades based on his vision, experiences and input from citizenry based on hundreds of town hall meetings. Dr. Chopra also represented on the Decentralization Board of the Office of Cultural Development (1990-2002) promoting cultural heritage of many communities in New York and appeared before county legislature and state bodies for promotion of arts and culture in the state of New York.
Dr. Parveen Chopra addressing Indian Americans as President of Federation for the tri-state area during the period when Indian Americans were the target of racial crimes in 1987.
Ellis Island that beacons the Statute of Liberty in America and has been the landing point of many ancestry groups honored Dr. Parveen Chopra with the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for 2005 as an outstanding American for his great contributions to American life. This honor has been bestowed on many former Presidents like Bill Clinton, George Bush, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, and Richard Nixon; Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court William Rehnquist; Muhammad Ali; pioneer heart surgeon Dr. Michael E. DeBakey; Rosa Parks; Noble Laureate Elie Wiesel; Frank Sinatra; Bob Hope; Barbara Walters; Donald Trump; Quincy Jones; General Colin Powell etc.
The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA), with over 76,000 members, the largest voluntary association of attorneys in the United States founded in 1876. Decided to confer Dr. Parveen Chopra with the Prestigious Haywood Burns Memorial Award for his outstanding work in civil and Human Rights. Of major significance, Dr. Chopra was the first South Asian honored in the history of the 133 year old organization. Former Recipients include Federal Judge Honorable Cornelius V. Blackshear, Hon. Pam Badoria Jackman Brown of Jamaica and Prof. Randolph M. Scott-McLaughlin of Pace University School of Law.W. Haywood Burns, was a former dean of the City University of New York School of Law Mr. Burns joined the New York law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and later became law clerk to Judge Constance Baker Motley of United States District Court. From there, he became assistant counsel to the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund Inc and where he served as general counsel to Martin Luther King Jr.’s Poor People’s Campaign in 1968.
Dr. Chopra was Marshal of India Day Parade which he helped to organize in 1987-88 and succeeding years as President of the Federation of Indian Associations for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, considered as the largest umbrella organization in USA. He also organized many functions in major cities of USA as General Secretary of National Federation of Indian American Associations (1992-94) to preserve and enhance Asian Indian cultural heritage and promote the causes that strengthen the relationships between two strongest democracies of the world India and USA. Since then he has frequently acted as a liaison with many elected officials in the region and the White House in Washington, D.C.
In civil rights movement, Dr. Chopra has fought prejudice and discrimination against the Indian, Asian, and American community. In 1987-88 he spear headed the movement in Jersey City, New Jersey and in New York City by organizing community protests. He also participated directly in a debate at Columbia University with the Chief of Police of New Jersey. He led the delegation to meet the Attorney General in Washington, D.C. and also organized seminars at the Crystal City Inn to fight discrimination where entire EEO Commission was in attendance. In 1989-90 he took an active role in organizing demonstrations in Jackson Heights, Queens when Indian merchants and customers became targets of violence. With the assistance of Police Department, Mayor and the Borough President™s Office the situations were resolved.
Recently Dr. Chopra, was the first Asian to be honored with the prestigious Dr. Martin Luther King Award for 2005 at the Grand Ballroom of Marriott Hotel in New York, along with the current Police Commissioner which was attended by many supreme court judges and scores of elected officials and cross section of representation from Irish, Italian, Israeli, African, Hispanic and Asian communities. He was again the first Asian to be honored by The One Hundred Black Men Inc. at the Grand Ballroom of Crest Hollow Country Club New York in 2003 for his distinction in community service and efforts to promote understanding and relations between the African and Indian communities. He also worked with the Hispanic leadership on English Plus campaign successfully to retain English as a second language. He has received many prestigious awards from the highest elected officials like the Prime Minister of India, U.S. congressmen, N.Y. state senators, county executives, presiding supervisor of legislator, town boards and mayors and many prestigious associations and organizations in Indian and American community like Federation of Indian Associations, Sri Chinmoi Mission at the United Nations, H.H.H.Pramukh Swamy Maharaj of B.A.P.S., News India Times Group Inc., Nargis Dutt Memorial Foundation Inc., Jackson Heights Merchants Association, World Business Forum Inc., Shiromani Punjabi Puraskar-2002 by the International Council of Punjab, etc. His leadership and community activism has been covered by American newspapers like The New York Times, Newsday, The Herald, The Citizen etc. several times.
Dr. Chopra founded Jackson Heights Merchants Association (1988), Flushing Merchants Association (1989) which are the business hubs of Indian community in New York City. He worked to improve the neighborhood conditions for merchants, customers and citizenry. Dr. Chopra is also the founder of Asian American Coalition USA Inc. (1988) representing leaders and associations of thirteen Asian countries in America. Dr. Chopra is also the lifelong trustee of Hindu Center/Temple, Flushing, N.Y., and currently chairs the Election Committee.
Dr. Chopra has organized over thirty fund raisers to help elect officials like county executive, congressmen, senators, judges for Supreme Court, county court, family court and district courts, town supervisors, mayors, legislators and councilmen. This has greatly helped not only Indian community to assimilate in America but also benefited countless causes in mainstream America. Dr. Chopra has also represented New York City Mayor and Comptroller and the two county executives on Long Island at over three hundred functions over the past two decades welcoming such visitors as the Prime Minister of India, Federal Ministers, industrialists, ambassadors, consul generals, bishops, movie stars, and outstanding men and women of significant achievements by presenting them with a key to the city, a flag of Nassau County, a citation or a proclamation to mark various events, achievements and celebrations.
Dr. Chopra has been profiled and honored by America’s oldest and prestigious biographer Marquis’ (since 1894) WHO’s WHO IN AMERICA, WHO’S WHO IN FINANCE AND INDUSTRY IN AMERICA, and WHO’S WHO IN THE WORLD for his distinguished and singular achievements spanning over twenty five years.
Dr. Chopra has lived in United States for thirty five years with his wife Usha who is a Clinical social worker. They live with their two sons Samir a Managing Director on Wall Street and Dr. Sachin Chopra an Attending Physician. Usha and Parveen have graduated from Western Himalayan Mountaineering Institute Manali and Usha was Deputy Leader of the mountaineering expedition to Mount Weissorn in Himalayas. Both have taken part in marathons in New York and all of them love Punjabi folk dance Bhangra.
“I wish NetIP the best of success in their endeavors. It is a leading organization that is making great contributions to both Indians and Americans by providing a platform for learning, mentorship and leadership of future leaders in all professional fields as well as community service.” – Dr. Parveen Chopra
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Ullas Narayana, an artist from Bangalore, India, is fulfilling a dream beyond his expectations — and entertaining millions while he is at it. He is a senior animator at Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), synonymous with groundbreaking visual effects work and headquartered in San Francisco.
Last year, Ullas worked on not one, but two, hugely successful Hollywood franchises – Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides and Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon. He perfected several of the live-action animation sequences under the supervision of visual effects pros like Ben Snow, who has four Oscar nominations, including one for last year’s Iron Man 2. The amazing thing is, Ullas lives nowhere near California.
Ullas was one of the original 11 who started up Lucasfilm’s Singapore studio back in 2005. In the first three months, he was trained by none other than Rob Coleman – a two-time Academy Award nominee and Animation director of the three Star Wars prequels, The Phantom Menance, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Shawn Kelly, another leading name from ILM, was also a mentor.
This is quite an achievement for Ullas, who initially spent 3 years at university studying to become an accountant. His love for animation, combined with a natural talent for drawing and sketching, eventually led him to change career tracks.
When his chagrined parents tried to reason that animation should remain a hobby, Ullas convinced them to let him chase his dream instead. He went to learn animation at Vancouver Film School and eventually received a degree in digital arts from the Australian National University.
“I always knew I wanted to be in the animation industry and I had to work very hard to be able to do what I love today,” he said.
With more high profile movie projects coming through the pipeline, Ullas feels little need to chase jobs around the world to gain the necessary exposure. On the contrary, Singapore has attracted a growing pool of internationally experienced visual effects specialists. He notes that opportunities in Singapore’s animation industry are growing, and enjoys very strong public funding and support, but it is also very competitive and standards are climbing fast.
“Have a great showreel, even if it is short,” he said. “Companies wants to see your passion and that never fails to shine through, even in a shot that lasts just a few seconds.”
For information on working and living in Singapore, visit www.contactsingapore.sg or email Ms Chew Wee Ng or Ms Suzie Chiang at sanfrancisco@contactsingapore.sg
