Our Story

Dr. Srilata Gangulee has been an Assistant Dean for Advising at the University of Pennsylvania for over 30 years. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from New York University and is particularly interested in welfare economics. She has developed and teaches courses for Asian American Studies and South Asia Studies.

Rajesh Godbole helped found Shadaj, a 501c3 with the mission to cultivate, nurture and promote Indian Classical Music in its most authentic form through intimate concerts, and music appreciation sessions, as a platform for cultural integration and community outreach. Shadaj events feature some of the world’s most revered and celebrated Indian classical virtuosos.

Monisha Kapila serves as Founder and Co-CEO of ProInspire. She founded ProInspire in 2009 to help individuals and organizations achieve their potential for social impact. Over the past 14 years, she has led ProInspire to grow from supporting five fellows to working with hundreds of organizations to advance leadership and equity. Prior to launching ProInspire, Monisha worked for Capital One, Accion, the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, CARE, and Arthur Andersen. Monisha has an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she received the Dean’s Award, a BBA from the University of Michigan, and a Certificate in Leadership Coaching from Georgetown University. She teaches about leadership and equity at Georgetown’s Center for Public & Nonprofit Leadership. Monisha serves as Vice Chair of the Board of the National Human Services Assembly and is an advisor to Fund the People. She has been published in Nonprofit Quarterly, Stanford Social Innovation Review, the Huffington Post, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Next Billion, and other publications. Monisha has been recognized as an HBS Leadership Fellow, American Express NGen Fellow, National Urban Fellows America’s Leaders of Change, and was named to The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s 40 Under 40 list.

Sankar Narayanan is an IT management professional and an ardent rasika, enthusiast, and patron of Carnatic Music and related Performing Arts. He has served as a Trustee of the Carnatic Music Association of North America (CMANA) for over 25 years, including as a President of the Board of Trustees. Sankar, over the last 3 decades, has been instrumental in hosting many Carnatic Music concerts, jugalbandhis of Carnatic & Hindustani music genres, youth programs & competitions, lecture-demonstrations, conferences, and panel discussions. Sankar advocates and encourages the next generation Carnatic musicians in the USA with a mandate to preserve traditional Carnatic Music coupled with judicious innovations. He currently advises CMANA in multiple capacities including as a Technical Advisor. Sankar lives in New Jersey with his wife and their two musically trained and talented daughters.

Srinaath Perangur is a versatile and passionate Carnatic violinist (Gurus -- Vidwan Vittal Ramamurthy and Vidwan Lalgudi GJR Krishnan), tutor, scholar and Sanskrit translator, and has performed over 200 concerts worldwide while being based in NJ. After graduating from Brown University with a dual degree in Chemical Engineering and Classics (Sanskrit), Srinaath relentlessly maintains his love for Carnatic music and Sanskrit while simultaneously pursuing a career in Chemical Engineering. He is also the Lead Cultural Content Editor for Mindful Kala, which aims to alleviate mental health and reduce implicit bias through Bharatha Natyam.

Arun Ramamurthy, a violinist, composer and educator based in Brooklyn, NY. Rooted in South Indian classical Carnatic music, Arun is a versatile musician, performing internationally in both traditional Carnatic and Hindustani settings, as well as blurring genres with his own innovative projects like the acclaimed Arun Ramamurthy Trio. He has shared the stage with luminaries like Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna and Sudha Ragunathan amongst a diverse group of others. He has performed and recorded with a wide range of musical genres including Jazz and other creative and improvisational styles. Arun's music has brought him to prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center and many more. Arun leads the Arun Ramamurthy Trio, an ensemble that brings a fresh approach to Carnatic classical repertoire and features Arun's original composition work. Arun is also founder and co-Artistic Director of Brooklyn Raga Massive, a progressive genre-bending collective of musicians rooted-in and inspired-by the classical music of India. Arun also is a dedicated educator, teaching Carnatic music privately to children and adult students, professional string players and instrumentalists from various genres. He conducts workshops and has held teaching-artist residencies working with student ensembles at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Brooklyn College’s Jazz & Big Band program, NYU, Yale University, Sarah Lawrence University, and many others.

Sarah Rosen is the Managing Director of Women@NJPAC at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark, NJ, where she raises funds to ensure all children have equal access to the arts at NJPAC. She previously served as Director of Development for NJTV, New Jersey’s public television station. During a 30-year development career, she has had leadership roles at Kent Place School, WNET, Union Theological seminary, the Episcopal Diocese of Newark and the Great Swamp Watershed Association. She has previously served on the boards of the Summit Area Public Foundation, Horizons Newark, Horizons National, Temple Sinai, and Bridges Outreach, Inc., where she served as President. Sarah graduated with an A.B. in History and Economics from Duke University.

Hari Sreenivasan is an Emmy award winning reporter, anchor, and executive producer with decades of experience at the intersection of television and digital platforms. From helping launch ABC News Now to anchoring the overnight and early morning programs World News Now for ABC, he leapt to be the Dallas based Correspondent for CBS News. Sreenivasan then began a long career in public media by becoming a nightly fixture on the PBS NewsHour, as well as launching and anchoring its weekend program for 8 years. Simultaneously, he also anchored programs on science and technology before focusing his efforts toward long form interviews for Amanpour & Company which is broadcast on both PBS and CNN International and creating a YouTube channel; Take On Fake which helps people learn about misinformation. His work has been recognized with National and Local Emmys, as well as a Webby award. Sreenivasan’s work overseas has ranged from exploring malnutrition in Guatemala, green energy technologies off the shores of Scotland, bombings in Jordan and France, and the plight of powerless rural villagers in India. Sreenivasan graduated from the University of Puget Sound in 1995 with a degree in mass communication and minors in politics and philosophy.

Ravi Srinivasan is a New Jersey-based classical violinist and arts patron who performs in both the Indian classical and Western classical styles. He began his music training career with l'Association des orchestres de jeunes de la Montérégie, graduated from the McGill Conservatory of Music and participated in various orchestras, including the Stanford Orchestra. He has studied and actively performs in the Carnatic, or South Indian classical music style after ongoing years of training and apprenticeship with several gurus in Ijndia and North America. Today, he performs in both solo and chamber music programs (with a vocalist and percussion) in India and in North America. He is a patron, has performed for and trains students for the Cleveland Aradhana, North America's largest Indian classical arts festival. He has received various awards, including the 2012 Lalgudi Jayaraman award from the Krishna Gana Sabha, a leading concert hall in Chennai, India. In New Jersey, he is also a patron of the Carnatic Music Association of North America (CMANA), the oldest Indian classical music organization in North America. He was a past trustee of CMANA and has worked closely with New Jersey's Middlesex County Cultural & Heritage Commission and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. He has trained students in New Jersey as performing violinists for solo, orchestras and concert accompaniment. Outside of the arts, he has had a varied career in technology and business and graduated from Princeton and Stanford in engineering.

Dr. Shriya Srinivasan is the disciple and daughter of Guru Sujatha Srinivasan, Artistic Director, Shri Kalaa Mandir. She has been practicing Bharathanatyam for the past 25 years and is known for her vibrant stage presence, emotive capacity and ability to blend sharp Nrtta with elegant grace. She has performed widely in the United States and India and was recently featured in the Madras Music Academy’s Midyear, Spirit of Youth, and HCLFestivals. She co-founded the Anubhava Dance Company, comprised of first-generation Indian-American Bharathanatyam dancers and musicians, and has toured over 14 cities with her new productions, winning great acclaim. An upcoming Carnatic vocalist, passionate about Sanskrit and yoga, she brings a holistic approach to her art. She recently co-choreographed Vivarta:Transformations- an original work on environmental conservation, which premiered at the Cleveland PublicTheatre for DanceWorks 2019. Shriya is a professor at Harvard University and aims to bring current social themes to life through the beauty and pristine form of the classical Indian arts. She applies her research in biomechanics and sensory feedback to develop better practices for dancing and enabling audiences to experience and interact with the complexity of Bharathanatyam.