BURLINGTON, MA– Supriya Saurabh, a project engineering manager at the global health technology and electronics giant Philips, has been elected president of Saheli, replacing the organization’s co-founder Gouri Banerjee. Saurabh also becomes the third president of the organization in its 21-year history. Previous presidents included its co-founders Banerjee and Usha Vakil.
The change at the top is also a big generational shift in the leadership of Saheli, which has championed the cause of ending domestic violence in the South Asian community in New England for more than two decades. Co-founders Banerjee and Vakil will stay on the board of Saheli.
“Saheli is poised for strong growth in its vision to serve more South Asian people in the next five years,” Banerjee told INDIA New England News. “Under the leadership of the new President Supriya Saurabh, Saheli will serve 30 additional cities and towns in Massachusetts, offer more legal assistance to clients, and raise added funds from private foundations.”
Banerjee said that Saheli is poised to grow and serve South Asian girls and women.
“As I step down as President of Saheli Board after two and a half years, I am confident that ten board members, two co-executive directors, and four-part time staff members will steer Saheli successfully towards its ambitious goals of serving South Asian girls and women,” said Banerjee.
Saurabh, who serves as Project Engineering Manager at Philips, said she is excited to lead Saheli with her team and group of volunteers.
“We are excited to collaborate with South Asian organizations in the New England and team up with researchers, clinicians to study underserved South Asian communities,” Saurabh told INDIA New England News. “With the support of wonderful board and staff team together with our hard-working volunteers, I am convinced Saheli will grow leaps and bounds in next few years.”
Saurabh said that Saheli has made remarkable growth in the past year. Under the leadership of Banerjee, Saheli witnessed significant progress in 2017 from Department of Public Health grant, initiation of parenting and legal workshops to appointment of new Co-Executive Directors of Saheli.
“Usha Vakil, President Emeritus o, led our flagship fundraising event Nirbhaya and made it a huge success,” said Saurabh. “It is a proud moment for Saheli as we venture into new collaborations with state agencies, universities, and social organizations and expand our presence beyond Quincy in South Shore to far-flung towns in Western Massachusetts.”
During its fundraising gala earlier this month, Saheli raised about $90,000.
At its meeting in October, Saheli appointed new officers and directors. Here is the complete list:
Officers and Board of Directors
President: Supriya Saurabh, Governing Board Member
Vice President: Tanvi Devimane, Governing Board Member
Treasurer: Divya Chandra, Governing Board Member
Shweta Agrawal, Director, Board Member
Pooja Bakhai, Director, Board Member
Amrith Fernandes-Prabhu, Director, Board Member
Kiran Uppuluri, Director, Board Member
Usha Vakil, Director, Board Member
Gouri Banerjee, Director, Board Member
Maheen Shermohammed, Director, Board Member
Saheli Staff
Nadia Madden, Co-Executive Director, Financial Management, Strategic Planning and Development
Savitha Rajiv, Co-Executive Director, Community Relationships and Media Strategies
Rita Shah, MSW, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Senior Domestic Violence Advocate
Salita Mehta, Senior Domestic Violence Advocate
Renu Tewarie, Domestic Violence Advocate – South Shore Region
Usha Verma, Domestic Violence Advocate – Worcester Region
Advisory Committee
Anu Chitrapu
David Ludwig, Ph. D, MD
Jayashree Voruganti
Manju Sheth, MD
Neelam Wali
Rajendra Trivedi, MD
Ramesh Advani
Ranjani Saigal
Sweta Mepani
Trupti Patel, Esq.
