Who Chose the 2026 Woman of the Year? Meet the Distinguished Judges Behind the Decision

BURLINGTON, MA — The selection of Amelia Singh as the 2026 Woman of the Year at the 23rd Annual Woman of the Year Awards Gala was the result of a rigorous and thoughtful process conducted by an independent panel of seven distinguished judges.

The gala, held on March 14 at the Burlington Marriott Hotel in Burlington, MA, brought together more than 400 community leaders, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, and professionals to celebrate the achievements of outstanding Indian-American and South Asian women.

The judging panel—composed of leaders across healthcare, entrepreneurship, technology, innovation, and community service—evaluated nominees based on professional excellence, community impact, leadership, and trailblazing achievements.

“Our judging committee assessed each candidate objectively and systematically,” said Navjot Singh, chair of the judging panel. “Some of the criteria we used were scale of impact, depth of impact, professional impact, community and public service contributions, and most importantly whether the candidates were true trailblazers and fearless leaders. Amelia Singh rose to the top among a distinguished group of candidates because of the remarkable work she has done across all of these dimensions. We are equally excited to see what she will accomplish in the future.”

The Woman of the Year Awards, organized by INDIA New England News and produced by the Mishra Group, have for more than two decades recognized women whose leadership and achievements are shaping communities across New England and beyond.

Below are brief profiles of the judges who served on the 2026 Woman of the Year selection panel.

Dr. Abha Agrawal

Abha Agrawal is a physician executive and nationally recognized healthcare leader specializing in health system transformation, hospital revitalization, and clinical excellence. She is the Founder and CEO of NorthStar Hospitals, an organization dedicated to strengthening hospitals and communities through strategic investments, management partnerships, and operational performance transformation.

Previously, Dr. Agrawal served as President and CEO of Lawrence General Hospital, where she led significant organizational transformation and built a reputation for guiding complex health systems through mergers, acquisitions, and operational turnarounds.

A physician trained in Internal Medicine and board certified in Clinical Informatics, Dr. Agrawal combines clinical insight with deep expertise in health information technology, artificial intelligence, and data-driven healthcare innovation. Earlier in her career she served as Chief Medical Officer at Humboldt Park Health in Chicago and as Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University.

Dr. Agrawal completed a fellowship in Medical Informatics at Yale School of Medicine and served as Chief Resident at SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn. She earned her MBBS from S.N. Medical College, graduating first in all professional examinations with honors in every subject.

Nish Acharya

Nish Acharya is a global leader in innovation, entrepreneurship, and public policy. He leads Equal Innovation, a global organization that connects entrepreneurs, investors, nonprofits, and governments to breakthrough innovations addressing major challenges such as climate change, global health, and education.

Acharya is also the Executive Producer of the award-winning documentary Give It A Shot, which focuses on innovation in women’s health. Over the years he has served as Global Advisory Board Chair for the XPRIZE Learning and Society Innovation Challenge, Visiting Scholar at the Atlantic Council, and economic lead at the Clinton Global Initiative.

Earlier in his career, Acharya served as Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Senior Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce during the Obama Administration. He also worked in the administration of President Bill Clinton and served as Executive Director of the Deshpande Foundation.

He is the author of The India-US Partnership: $1 Trillion by 2030, published by Oxford University Press, and holds degrees from Northeastern University, George Washington University, and the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Renu Gupta

Renu Gupta, the 2025 Woman of the Year, is a philanthropist and community advocate whose work bridges entrepreneurship and social impact.

She is co-founder of the Gupta Family Foundation, which focuses on expanding opportunities in education and healthcare for underserved children. Through the foundation, she has supported numerous initiatives in the United States and India, including the development of a kitchen at the Boys & Girls Club in Nashua, New Hampshire, and major support for the first Akshaya Patra Foundation kitchen in Bihar.

Gupta also plays a leadership role at RKS Ventures, an investment firm that mentors and supports innovative startups across multiple sectors.

Earlier in her career, she helped guide her husband’s company, GT Solar, through a period of significant financial challenge by stepping into a leadership role managing investors and lenders. Her efforts helped the company recover and eventually reach a valuation of $2.5 billion following its public offering.

Hetal Joshi

Hetal Joshi is a business leader, entrepreneur, and arts advocate who co-founded the Academy of Creative Arts and the Happy Life Adult Day Health Program with his wife, Java Joshi.

The Academy of Creative Arts focuses on nurturing creativity, artistic expression, and cultural appreciation among children and families, while the Happy Life Adult Day Health Program provides daytime care, wellness support, and social engagement for seniors. Both programs operate from an 18,000-square-foot facility in Burlington.

Joshi brings more than 25 years of experience in business strategy and consulting. He began his career at Deloitte and later held leadership roles across several global organizations, including Cognizant and Kuebix, where he helped guide the company through a successful acquisition.

He currently serves as Vice President of Professional Services at ClosedLoop.ai, a healthcare AI company. Outside of his professional work, Joshi has maintained a lifelong passion for theater and the performing arts, having acted in more than 50 plays and numerous productions.

Yash Shah

Yash Shah is an entrepreneur, technology executive, and global community leader dedicated to advancing innovation and entrepreneurship.

He currently serves as Chair of the Global Board of Trustees of TiE Global, one of the world’s largest nonprofit organizations supporting entrepreneurship through mentorship, education, networking, and funding access. Shah has been involved with TiE for more than 28 years and previously served as President of TiE Boston.

Professionally, Shah is the Co-Founder and CEO of Jeavio, a technology-enabled services firm that helps private equity firms accelerate value creation through engineering, digital transformation, and AI-driven solutions. He is also the Founder and Managing Partner of Indus Ventures, where he invests in and mentors early-stage technology startups.

Through his leadership and philanthropic engagement, Shah continues to build ecosystems that empower entrepreneurs around the world.

Navjot Singh

Navjot Singh, chair of the judging panel, is a seasoned business leader, innovator, and strategic advisor with deep expertise in technology, life sciences, and innovation ecosystems.

A Senior Partner Emeritus at McKinsey & Company, Singh spent nearly 23 years advising leading organizations across industries including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, semiconductors, and venture capital. During his tenure he served as Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Boston office and led the firm’s Innovation Practice.

Prior to McKinsey, Singh served as an R&D leader at General Electric, where he developed expertise in applying Six Sigma methodologies to product development and process design. He is also a co-inventor on more than 20 patents.

Singh remains active in civic and educational leadership, serving on several boards including Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the Massachusetts High Tech Council, and is Chair Emeritus of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.

Ramila Thakkar

Ramila Thakkar is a longtime community leader and advocate who has devoted decades to nonprofit service and civic engagement in New England.

She currently serves as Chair of the Saheli Advisory Board and is also on the advisory board of Friends of Indian Senior Citizens Organization (FISCO). A past President of the Gurjar Gujarati Association of New England, Thakkar served the organization for more than 25 years in various leadership roles before retiring from the board in 2019.

During her tenure as president, Gurjar received the New England Choice Awards (NECA) recognition as the region’s best community organization.

Professionally, Thakkar has spent more than four decades working with the finance team at Lahey Clinic Hospital in Burlington. A graduate of St. Mary’s College in Shillong, India, she later pursued accounting studies at Bentley College.

She credits her lifelong commitment to community service to a value instilled early in life: that giving is always greater than taking.

Together, these distinguished judges brought a wide range of expertise—from healthcare and public policy to entrepreneurship, innovation, and community service—to the selection process, ensuring that the Woman of the Year honor reflects both excellence and meaningful impact.