on the occasion of 27th conference on seniors a …on the occasion of 27th conference on seniors a...

ON THE OCCASION OF 27TH CONFERENCE ON SENIORS A JOINT BROCHURE

NATIONAL INDO-AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR SENIOR CITI-ZENS

&

NOVEMBER 8 & 9, 2014AT

SHANTINIKETAN 2270 DAVID WALKER DRIVE

TAVARES, FL 32778

SPONSORS FOR 27TH CONFERENCE ON SENIORS

Fifty years after they began arriving from India, the first generation of Indian-Americans is retiring and finding itself in a quandary.

Although many have the resources to live comfortably in retirement, some still depend on their children and suffer from social isolation as they navigate old age in an adopted country.

The problem is likely to grow as the influx of Indian immigrants rises; the country’s estimated 2.8 million Indian Americans are second only to Chinese Americans as the nation’s largest Asian population.

“Indians came here in the late ‘60s mostly as professionals and focused on building their careers and educating their children,” said Rajeshwar Prasad, president of the National Indo-American Association for Senior Citizens. “They never really planned anything for their retirement.”

While numerous organizations have emerged to provide Indian-Americans with senior day care, in-home respite and adult education, such services are mostly temporary solutions.

Recognizing the problem, information technology professional Iggy Ignatius started a gated community in Orlando, Fla., developed specifically for Indian-American seniors. This community, called “ShantiNiketan,” or “abode of peace” in Sanskrit, has been his long-cherished dream.

The India-born Ignatius saw retirement housing communities mushrooming all over the country, especially those catering to specific health and lifestyle needs.

He also understood that Indian-Americans can feel out of place in many retirement communities. Their need for Indian food, Hindu prayer rooms or even companions who can speak their mother tongue could pose potential challenges.

So Ignatius bought land in Orlando, Fla., in 2008, and with the help of friends and veterans in the community, he started constructing Phase 1 of ShantiNiketan.

With 54 condos and a common clubhouse for dining and recreation, ShantiNiketan is a snug haven for seniors of Indian origin. Everything at the complex is Indian, starting with the food offered to the Hindu gods displayed in the prayer room.

“ShantiNiketan is the first retirement housing plan targeting a specific immigrant group in the country,” said Ignatius. “Or-lando was the obvious choice because of its tropical climate and proximity to tourist attractions like Disney World, giving children and grandchildren incentive to visit their parents in ShantiNiketan.”

A two-bed, two-bath condo costs approximately $160,000, with a monthly expense of $800 per person including food, housekeeping and taxes.

Resident Ashwin Pandya, a retired doctor from New York, describes life in ShantiNiketan as “mini India.” Pandya enjoys the social life and conveniences of the community.

Ignatius and his team have designed a schedule to keep occupants engaged and entertained with meals, yoga, music classes and Bollywood movies in the clubhouse. The staff makes it a point to celebrate all Indian festivals.

“After my daily activities, I just sit under a tree and chat with my friends,” Pandya said. “That happens only in ShantiNik-etan.”

The project has proven to be a financial success. All 54 condos in the first phase have sold; a second phase of 120 condos is under construction. Ignatius plans to have an assisted-living facility with round-the-clock nursing services within the premises by 2014.

“More and more people are entering the phase of life I am in now,” added Pandya, the retired doctor. “They have their chil-dren here, but their hearts are in India. ShantiNiketan is best suited for such people.”

MAJOR SPONSORS

Anonymous from Orlando Brand Inc., Madan and Monica Gupta, Manassas VA 20109New York Psychiatry & Cognitive Care P.C.

Nonprofit Organizations

Indian American Kerala CenterIndia Association of Long Isalnd

INDIVIDUAL SPONSORS

Jaya Bahadkar, RNSamir Dutta, MD

Iggy Ignatius, MBASatpal Malhotra

Satya Malhotra, RNRadhika Mohan

Ramaswamy Mohan, CPAVasundhara Kalasapudi, MD

Tara KotechaAlpa Pandya, Esq.

Anand Pandya, MDAshwin Pandya, MD

Rajendra PatelDaxa Patel

Ramchandra PatilPrem Prasad, PhDRajeshwar Prasad

Asha Samant, DDSAshok Sapre, PhDChandrakant Shah

Bhavani Srinivasan, MDAvinash Suri

Foreword by Iggy Ignatius, ShantiniKetan Founder Message by Dr. Aswhin Pandya, NIAASC

President Introduction by Rajeshwar Prasad, NIAASC Executive DirectorSECTION 1

Mission and Goals of NIAASCAccomplishments of NIAASC

Future Plans of NIAASCFinancial Statements for three years

SECTION 2NIAASC Conferences Held since 1998 to 2014

SECTION 32014 HONOREES

PREVIOUS HONOREES 2003 to 2013A: Community Leaders

B: Ongoing Indo-American Senior ProgramsC: Persons in an ongoing Indo-American Senior Program

SECTION 4COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS THROUGH PICTURES

SECTION 5NIAASC CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS

SECTION 6SHANTINIKETAN

APPENDICES: 1. Press coverage in News India Times of the first conference 2. Program of the first conference held on September 26, 1998 3. NIAASC Membership Benefits as well as Membership Form 4. Articles of Interest

CONTENTS

OFFICERS:

President: Ashwin Pandya, MD ([email protected]);

Vice Presidents: Sampurna Jain ([email protected]), and Jaya Bahadkar RN ([email protected]),

Secretary: Bhanu Ivatury, Ph.D. ([email protected])

Treasurer: Satpal Malhotra, ([email protected]),

Executive Director: Rajeshwar Prasad ([email protected])

BOARD MEMBERS:

President: Ashwin Pandya, MD ([email protected]);

Vice Presidents: Sampurna Jain ([email protected]), and Jaya Bahadkar RN ([email protected]),

Secretary: Bhanu Ivatury, Ph.D. ([email protected])

Treasurer: Satpal Malhotra, ([email protected]),

Executive Director: Rajeshwar Prasad ([email protected])

Due to other major responsibilities, PR Mohan resigned as President, but remained as member of the NIAASC Board. The Board of Directors appreciated his leadership role. The Board then elected Dr. Ashwin Pandya as President, and Jaya Bahadkar took over as Vice President. Dr. Gnanendra Sinha, due to his other professional responsibilities, resigned as a Board member.

2014 NIAASC BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Prior to ShantiNiketan, NIAASC played a pivotal role in starting the conversation about retirement communities for Indian seniors in the US. They had had a few conferences on this subject before ShantiNiketan came into the picture. In 2006, we were looking to move into an Indian retirement community. My search online was in vain. One day I happen to see a news item on a just concluded conference on “Housing for Indian Seniors” in New York. I was excited and contacted Rajeshwar Prasad to ask him where this community was. Of course, to my dismay, he told me that there was nothing that existed and the conference was more to bring awareness among the community that it was time to think about retirement issues, specially housing. I had a background in developing vacation homes in India and few small real estate ventures in New Jersey in the 80’s. I thought about it and decided that this was something that I can develop. I asked Rajeshwar how big the market was. Of course he indicated that no such statistics were available and I will have to get it from some other source. NIAASC invited me to a few senior meetings and conferences where I spoke about actually building the community. But I was not getting anywhere yet. So we decided to embark on a coast-to-coast market survey road trip. We started in the New York area and slowly drove across the country, stopping at many places where there was a sizeable Indian population. We met with small groups in temples and at peoples’ homes. By the time we reached San Diego, we had plenty of feedback on what was needed. We started searching for land in the New Jersey area and I took the NIAASC board members to show them one potential site. However, I started getting feedback from around the country that we should look more towards warmer places like Florida.And the rest is history! The next step is to start an Assisted Living Facility. We have started the construction of the first of the two buildings, each with 35 rooms. The first one will be ready for occupation in fall 2015. I had noticed during my travels around the country, that there is a small segment of the Indian community seniors, who need a more dignified place to spend their golden years. Many of them are persons who were brought here by someone, and once the need was over, they did not continue to take care of them. Keeping this segment in mind, we are starting ShantiNiketan Ashram, a completely charitable and philanthropic organization that will take care of deserving seniors, and this would be done through donations. The construction will start by mid-2015 and the first residents are expected to move in by end of 2015. We need NIAASC and all your support to help us achieve this noble goal. People from all over the country are requesting us to start ShantiNiketan communities in their areas. We have started an initiative to explore such projects and we are already moving forward with projects in New Jersey, Washington DC, Chicago, and California. It will take one to two years before these projects hit the ground. NIAASC has been primarily a New York based organization for a long time. Maybe it is time to take advantage of current technology and move to become a more virtual community and thereby including all the seniors from around the country. ShantiNiketan pledges its support to NIAASC towards this initiative.

FOREWARD by Iggy Ignatius, Founder, Shantiniketan

It is with great pleasure; we bring you this comprehensive informative brochure. About 15 years ago Indo-American retirees like us realized need to connect and share useful information. NIAASC has been accomplishing this through a very informative website (WWW.NIAASC.ORG), regular newsletters and seminars and conferences. Time has come when networking and information sharing is more effectively done through Internet. We are now steadily moving towards teleconferences, group Emails, and distribution of newsletter by Email subscription. In future I see using video conferencing, YouTube publishing, and much robust websites. and other electronic means. In the meantime face to face presentation like this annual program will be cherished.

With my experience of over 15 years in developing and leading Non Profit organizations, I can confidently say that there are numerous very capable retirees, and they will gladly share their talents to Non-profit organizations like this. Welcome to NIAASC. Let us grow together.

Seeds for NIAASC were sown in1998 with the involvement of NAPCA, GOPIO and Kerala Center at a dinner meeting where NAPCA Executive Director, Mr. Clayton Fong, and Project Director, Ms. Ellen Bhang, of NAPCA joined from Seattle, WA; with Dr. Thomas Abraham, GOPIO Founder, E M Stephen, Executive Director of the Indian American Kerala Center. Some three dozen community leaders from about a dozen organizations from tri-state area of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey also participated in this exploratory meeting to develop something for Indian Americans on the NAPCA model.

The National Asian Pacific Center on Aging (NAPCA) in Seattle, Washington State has been working for the last over twenty years in some 40 States of USA addressing issues primarily faced by Vietnamese, Koreans, Japanese and people from other eastern countries. So, their Board of Directors was primarily composed of eminent people (professionals and consumers) from these countries. In 1997-98, Mr. Inder Singh, a nationally well known community leader of Indian Origin from California was requested to serve on the NAPCA Board of Directors by virtue of his professional position and proximity to Washington State. While at NAPCA, Mr. Singh proposed that NAPCA should expand its program to people of Indian Origin – a well educated and professional community in USA. The NAPCA Board approved it and the ball started rolling.

In a conversation between Mr. Singh and Dr. Thomas Abraham, a well known Indian community leader on the East Coast and Founder of GOPIO (Global Organization of People of Indian Origin), they agreed to call a meeting of Indian community leaders in New York to interact with NAPCA leadership.

MESSAGE FROM NIAASC PRESIDENT: Ashwin Pandya, MD

INTRODUCTION by Rajeshwar Prasad, NIAASC Executive Director

Thus a dinner meeting was arranged in July 1998 in Manhattan restaurant which was attended by Mr. Fong and Ms. Bhang, along with some three dozen Indian community leaders, and discussed for about four hours the issues pertaining to seniors NAPCA has been handling and how it has been supporting the same. It was a very productive meeting. This group from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut deliberated on the pros and cons of the project and its feasibility for the Indian Community. It was concluded that the first task for Indian Community leaders will be to understand issues and aspirations of Indian community before initiating concrete steps. The group then requested Mr. Rajeshwar Prasad to organize a conference with the goal of examining issues and aspirations of Indian community. (See the press coverage of this July meeting between NAPCA and Indian Community leaders as Appendix1)

In order to undertake the one-day conference, a task force was formed of 10 members – from among those who were at the July dinner meeting. The Kerala Center offered space to hold the TF meetings in Elmont, New York. The task force was meeting every two weeks in order to organize the proposed conference. Finally one-day conference was held at the Kerala Center under the auspices of GOPIO on September 26, 1998. It attracted some 75 community leaders from the tri-state region: NJ, CT, and NY. In order to meet expenses for this first conference we were fortunate to receive a donation of $500.00 from the weekly publication NEWS INDIA TIMES, with the curtsey of its publisher Prakash Parekh Esq. Please see appendix 2 to review the detailed agenda with speakers for the first conference. After the conference a working group under Mr. Prasad deliberated for almost six months to choose name of the organization, develop its Constitution and By-laws and sought necessary approvals to formalize the National Indo-American Association for Senior Citizens (NIAASC). During these deliberations the group also investigated if there was some other organization focusing on issues of seniors at the national level. It was brought to its attention that the Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) had a committee for senior citizens which reportedly had remained inactive since its inception. The mission and goals of NIAASC were to reach out seniors, senior organization and other community groups for their cooperation and support. The mission of NIAASC was kept limited to focus on information, referral and advocacy services.

In concluding it will be appropriate to acknowledge that the brochure would not have been completed without the support and cooperation of many people who provided helpful information in time. Specifically, support of Iggy Ignatius, Ashwin Pandya, Bhanu Ivatury, and Satpal Malhotra went a long way in finishing the job. The NIASC Board members were very prompt in sending necessary information, and the honorees were very kind to submit their bio and other pertinent information very much in time. Last but not the least, the sponsors were big contributors to meet financial obligation of conference. Financial support to publish this brochure from Shantiniketan needs to be acknowledged with gratitude. NIAASC and Shantiniketan worked as partners not only for the brochure but also for the conference.

The brochure provides the financial statements for the last three years, prepared by Satpal Malhotra, NIAASC treasurer. The brochure also has the NIAASC membership form in an appendix to help those who wish to become the NIAASC member. I believe you will find the brochure very informative about NIAASC activities.

INTRODUCTION by Rajeshwar Prasad, NIAASC Executive Director

MISSION AND OBJECTIVES of NIAASC:Mission of the National Indo-American Association for Senior Citizens (NIAASC) is to serve as the leading national information, referral and advocacy organization committed to the wellbeing and quality of life of Indo-Americans in their senior years. The objectives include: creating awareness of Indo-American senior issues and needs; providing information on issues and services; advocacy at the local, state and national levels on seniors’ issues; forging collaborations with public and private service providers; providing advisory support to Indian community, business and professional groups in developing senior programs and services; educating the public through workshops, conferences and seminars to address senior issues; and working with Indian and other groups to collect and store information regarding senior issues and problems. INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES:“Life is an opportunity, benefit from it. Life is beauty, admire it. Life is bliss, taste it. Life is a dream, realize it. Life is a challenge, meet it. Life is a duty, complete it. Life is a game, play it. Life is a promise, fulfill it. Life is sorrow, overcome it. Life is a song, sing it. Life is a struggle, accept it. Life is a tragedy, confront it. Life is an adventure, dare it. Life is luck, make it. Life is too precious, do not destroy it. Life is life, fight for it.” -- MOTHER TERESA “Trees grow stronger over the years, rivers widen. Likewise, with age, human beings gain immeasurable depth and breadth of experience and wisdom. That is why older people should be not only respected and revered; they should be utilized as the rich resource to society that they are. -- KOFI ANNAN, former UN Secretary-General NIAASC ACCOMPLISHMENTS:• Starting with eight members, NIAASC now has about 145 members; a majority of them are life members.• It has organized 27 conferences/workshops on subjects helpful to seniors and their families. Almost all conferences and workshops are posted on the NIAASC web site. NIAASC has also helped in planning and development of conferences arranged by other organizations and institutions in New York and California. NIAASC representatives have spoken and taken leadership roles at various conferences arranged by local and national organizations to address issues and aspirations of seniors.• Its web site established in 2003 has attracted thousands of visitors. Through its links one can reach all US Senators and Representatives (i.e. 535 politicians). There are many other links to private and public entities for the benefit of seniors. The web site (www.niaasc.org) is updated regularly.• NIAASC has utilized its professional and technical resources; and referred persons to appropriate private or public entities to help them on issues such as Entitlement Programs, Senior Housing. For those unable to communicate comfortably in English, NIAASC Board members can assist in Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi, Urdu, Tamil, and Malayalam languages. It publishes a periodical newsletter with lots of useful information. The newsletter is mailed to over 500 individuals and organizations, and is posted on the web site. • NIAASC Board members maintain direct relationship with a number of ongoing Indian American Senior programs. At this time it is limited to New York and New Jersey area.• Whenever needed, NIAASC has collaborated with organizations such as the AARP in advocacy efforts on legislative matters.

WHAT NIAASC WISHES TO DO, AND HOWNIAASC shall sustain and strengthen its existing tasks to accomplish its mission and objectives to serve seniors throughout USA. NIAASC intends to step up its efforts to serve seniors throughout USA through active and sustained liaisons with other Public and Private entities serving seniors. In addition, it will attempt to focus on the following constructive steps with the help and support of private and public entities involved with seniors.\Develop a Database:

SECTION 1

A comprehensive database of senior programs and centers will be established with the cooperation of Area Agencies on Aging (AAA)*, National Federation of Indian American Associations, News Media, and other outreach efforts.

*AAA is a federally funded entity normally at the County level, designated through the State Unit on Aging, and generically known as Area Agency on Aging. AAA is the front line support for seniors above the age of 60.

Increase NIAASC Membership and Encourage AffiliationsNIAASC will increase its membership nationwide to have a stronger voice in its advocacy efforts to highlight concerns of seniors of Indian Origin. Efforts will be made to develop affiliations and working relationships with Ongoing Senior Programs throughout USA.

Guidelines to establish such affiliations will be developed keeping in focus that they help seniors, accomplish NIAASC mission and objectives, and support the work being undertaken by various ongoing Senior Organizations and Programs.

Increase Frequency of Communication, and Interactive Collaboration:NIAASC wants to update and publish its newsletter more frequently, focusing more on Indo-American senior programs so that seniors and their families can take advantage. Efforts will be made to work with the National Federation of Indian Associations (NFIA), of which NIAASC is a member, and which is an umbrella organization of over 200 Indian organizations. The goal will be to persuade NFIA to help NIAASC develop a working relationship with NFIA members on issues pertaining to seniors of Indian Origin. Efforts will also be made to encourage networking among ongoing Indo-American Senior Programs. Introduce NIAASC to all Units on Aging (Statewide AAA) that are funded through the Administration on Aging, and in turn they fund the local AAAs. Similar relationships will be developed with other national associations such as National Association of AAAs, AARP and Elder Care Locator. It will establish an ongoing dialogue with the Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) throughout USA. There are about 650 such agencies, primarily funded with federal dollars. These agencies are the front line support for all seniors on all issues of importance to seniors. Encourage Indian community organizations to initiate programs for seniors in their service areas and make them integral part of their regular activities. Develop a workable relationship with Indian community, professional and business entities for a mutually beneficial dialogue for the benefit of seniors. Such relationship will help NIAASC share its expertise with these organizations and also seek their input in its efforts.

Develop a Professional Advisory Council & Affiliation with a Teaching Institution:An Advisory Council will be formed comprised of eminent professionals to advise and help NIAASC in its various responsibilities such as exploring financial resources, developing position papers, etc. Possibility of affiliation of NIAASC with a reputable university or college or a research institution will be explored to augment NIAASC’s attempts to enhance visibility and supplement its resources of manpower and expertise.

Develop and Publish Position Papers:Develop position papers on important issues that will be helpful to seniors and their families. Most of the information for such papers will be extracted from our conference proceedings supplemented by further research. These papers may be on subjects such as Support System for Single Seniors; Bereavement Counseling; Resolving Family Conflicts faced by Senior Immigrants; How and Where to Procure Information about Senior Housing, Assisted Living and Nursing Homes; Importance of ‘End of Life’ issues such as Wills, Health Proxy, Durable Power of Attorney.

SECTION 1

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS ENDED 2012, 2013 AND 2014 PREPARED BY SATPAL MALHOTRA, NIAASC TREASURER AND

APPROVED BY THE NIAASC BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Satpal Malhorta

TWENTY SEVEN CONFERENCES HELD BY NIAASC:Conferences held: NIAASC has always sought collaborators and sponsors for each of its conferences. This is the 27th conference on seniors arranged by NIAASC in collaboration with Shantiniketan. In addition, NIAASC has helped other organizations to arrange conferences and/or collaborated with other groups to develop conferences and workshops. NIAASC played an important role when Hofstra University in Long Island was requested to attend Aging Conference in Washington DC. Same day about an hour interview was held on World TV with MK Ramasubaramanian, NIAASC Board member in NYC. All conferences and workshops by niaasc appear on the niaasc web site: www.niaasc.org (except 9/26/98 conference)

SECTION 2 SECTION 2: TWENTY SEVEN CONFERENCES HELD BY NIAASC: Conferences held: NIAASC has always sought collaborators and sponsors for each of its conferences. This is the 27th conference on seniors arranged by NIAASC in collaboration with Shantiniketan. In addition NIAASC has helped other organizations to arrange conferences and/or collaborated with other groups to develop conferences and workshops. NIAASC played an important role when Hofstra University in Long Island was requested to attend Aging Conference in Washington DC. Same day about an hour interview was held on World TV with MK Ramasubaramanian, NIAASC Board member in NYC was held. All conferences and workshops by niaasc appear on the niaasc web site: www.niaasc.org (except 9/26/98 conference) September 26, 1998 Problems and Issues Faced by Elders and Services for elderly (issues and aspirations of Indian Americans); Entitlement programs, Long Term Care April 29, 2000 Medicare and Medicaid Basics; Issues and Services for Seniors, Unique Issues of Indian Seniors; Strategies for Developing Senior Citizen Centers. November 11, 2000 In-Family Conflicts and Compromises Faced by Immigrant Seniors November 10, 2001 Issues Related to Housing for Seniors including Assisted Living; Issues Related to Transportation, Medicaid and Respite Care November 02, 2002 Elder Law and Its Implications to Seniors April 26, 2003 Advocacy Workshop: Crucial Points in Advocacy November 1. 2003 Housing Opportunities for Seniors August 22, 2004 Brainstorming Session on “Planning, Development and Administration of Senior Housing Complexes.” October 30, 2004 Social and Cultural Interventions and Elderly Abuse October 29, 2005 Interactive Discussion among Ongoing Indo-American Senior Programs June 11, 2006 Overseas Citizenship of India October 28, 2006 Financial Planning and Management for Seniors, and How Public and Nonprofit Organizations can work cooperatively together April 29, 2007 Issues of Single Seniors: Focus on Bereavement Support System and Retirement Housing for Seniors of Indian Origin October 27, 2007 Single Seniors: Retirement Housing- Progress in Florida April 19, 2008 Home Health Care for Seniors, and Reverse Mortgage October 25, 2008 Overseas Citizenship of India and A Dialogue Among Ongoing Senior Programs May 30. 2009 Networking Among Ongoing Indo-American Senior Programs

Octob October 24, 2009 Smart Seniors – Legal Issues (Elder Care Law related issues) May 15, 2010 Inter-generational Issues Impacting Seniors

October 30, 2010 Essential Financial and Legal Tools for Seniors June 11, 2011 Housing Choices for Seniors October 29, 2011 Social Security & Medicare June 1, 2012 Aging in Place October 28, 2012 Care Giving June 15, 2013 Affordable Care Act November 9, 2013 Healthy Aging November 8 & 9, 2014 Share, care and Beware For a Healthy Retirement Life These conferences and workshops coupled with active collaborative efforts with other organizations have resulted in positive outcomes: Such as (a) Start-up of a Retirement Community -- ShantiNiketan, in Tavares, Florida, (near Orlando) developed by a not-for-profit entity. (b) Issues such ass Health Proxy, Durable Power of Attorney and other “End of Life” issues: People have taken a note of their importance thereby resulting in practical steps of preparing necessary documents. Overall, we believe, as a result of NIAASC’s initiatives Indian Organizations’ sensitivity to seniors’ concerns has been broadly enhanced.

SECTION 2: TWENTY SEVEN CONFERENCES HELD BY NIAASC: Conferences held: NIAASC has always sought collaborators and sponsors for each of its conferences. This is the 27th conference on seniors arranged by NIAASC in collaboration with Shantiniketan. In addition NIAASC has helped other organizations to arrange conferences and/or collaborated with other groups to develop conferences and workshops. NIAASC played an important role when Hofstra University in Long Island was requested to attend Aging Conference in Washington DC. Same day about an hour interview was held on World TV with MK Ramasubaramanian, NIAASC Board member in NYC was held. All conferences and workshops by niaasc appear on the niaasc web site: www.niaasc.org (except 9/26/98 conference) September 26, 1998 Problems and Issues Faced by Elders and Services for elderly (issues and aspirations of Indian Americans); Entitlement programs, Long Term Care April 29, 2000 Medicare and Medicaid Basics; Issues and Services for Seniors, Unique Issues of Indian Seniors; Strategies for Developing Senior Citizen Centers. November 11, 2000 In-Family Conflicts and Compromises Faced by Immigrant Seniors November 10, 2001 Issues Related to Housing for Seniors including Assisted Living; Issues Related to Transportation, Medicaid and Respite Care November 02, 2002 Elder Law and Its Implications to Seniors April 26, 2003 Advocacy Workshop: Crucial Points in Advocacy November 1. 2003 Housing Opportunities for Seniors August 22, 2004 Brainstorming Session on “Planning, Development and Administration of Senior Housing Complexes.” October 30, 2004 Social and Cultural Interventions and Elderly Abuse October 29, 2005 Interactive Discussion among Ongoing Indo-American Senior Programs June 11, 2006 Overseas Citizenship of India October 28, 2006 Financial Planning and Management for Seniors, and How Public and Nonprofit Organizations can work cooperatively together April 29, 2007 Issues of Single Seniors: Focus on Bereavement Support System and Retirement Housing for Seniors of Indian Origin October 27, 2007 Single Seniors: Retirement Housing- Progress in Florida April 19, 2008 Home Health Care for Seniors, and Reverse Mortgage October 25, 2008 Overseas Citizenship of India and A Dialogue Among Ongoing Senior Programs May 30. 2009 Networking Among Ongoing Indo-American Senior Programs

Octob October 24, 2009 Smart Seniors – Legal Issues (Elder Care Law related issues) May 15, 2010 Inter-generational Issues Impacting Seniors

October 30, 2010 Essential Financial and Legal Tools for Seniors June 11, 2011 Housing Choices for Seniors October 29, 2011 Social Security & Medicare June 1, 2012 Aging in Place October 28, 2012 Care Giving June 15, 2013 Affordable Care Act November 9, 2013 Healthy Aging November 8 & 9, 2014 Share, care and Beware For a Healthy Retirement Life These conferences and workshops coupled with active collaborative efforts with other organizations have resulted in positive outcomes: Such as (a) Start-up of a Retirement Community -- ShantiNiketan, in Tavares, Florida, (near Orlando) developed by a not-for-profit entity. (b) Issues such ass Health Proxy, Durable Power of Attorney and other “End of Life” issues: People have taken a note of their importance thereby resulting in practical steps of preparing necessary documents. Overall, we believe, as a result of NIAASC’s initiatives Indian Organizations’ sensitivity to seniors’ concerns has been broadly enhanced.

These conferences and workshops coupled with active collaborative efforts with other organizations have resulted in positive outcomes: Such as (a) Start-up of A Retirement Community -- ShantiNiketan, in Tavares, Florida, (near Orlando) developed by a not-for-profit entity. (b) Issues such ass Health Proxy, Durable Power of Attorney and other “End of Life” issues: People have taken a note of their importance thereby resulting in practical steps of preparing necessary documents. Overall, we believe, as a result of NIAASC’s initiatives Indian Organizations’ sensitivity to seniors’ concerns has been broadly enhanced.

23rd Conference, June 1, 2012: Section of audience

2014 HONORESS

Madan Mohan Arora:Retired from UNICEF as International Contracts Officer - is a staff member with the longest service with UNICEF and second longest service within whole U.N. Settled Orlando since 2000 after retirement and fully committed to the community service. Presently Coordinator of :HSCF NEW AGE (SENIORS) GROUP and Coordinator of FLORIDA CHAPTER OF AFICS (Association of Former International Civil Servants).Anjaiah Chowdary Lavu:Anjaiah Chowdary Lavu, Joint treasurer and TEAM Square mentor for TANA (Telugu Association of North America). He is also Director for Vensai – Foundation (non Non-profit org that helps orphan children in India). Previously served as Chairman for TEAM Square and also member of local advisory committee for several National conventions. He also received numerous awards for his community service through several organizations. Anjaiah Chowdary Lavu ‘s well known for his community service through several activities includes: TEAM Square (TANA emergency assistance management team);organizing numerous Food drives for foster children in the state of Georgia: Organizing numerous “Toys for the Tots” drives on behalf of Georgia Department of Family and Children’s Services (DFCS) in partnership with Clark Howard and News/Talk WSB. He organized blood drives in partnership with American Red Cross and has been instrumental in participating in fund raising drives for several educational institutions, including Tsunami and other natural disasters. SHANTINIKETAN: Covered in details in Section 6

SECTION 3: HONOREES

Avinash Suri introducing Chandulal Shah from California

Honoree Santosh Kumar of MAFS of Chicago, flanked by Satya Malhotra (L) and Chan Jamoon: (sitting) Dr.

Vasundhara Kalasapudi

Sampurna Jain reading plaque to give to Ram Gadhavi of New Jersey: L to R Thomas Abraham, PR Mohan, Gopalan Nair,Gadhavi, Bhanu Gadhavi, Satya Malhotra & Raj Prasad

SECTION 3: HONOREES

PREVIOUS HONOREES AT A GLANCENIAASC, since initiating recognition of honorees in 2003, focused on three kinds of honorees:

1. Community Leaders, not necessarily affiliated with any senior program or activity; 2. An active responsible officer/member involved with an Indo-American Ongoing senior program; and

3. An ongoing Indo-American Senior Program/Center

NIAASC urges all readers to send pertinent information related to senior activities in their areas; We also request if you can send information about any Indo-American senior programs you are familiar with; it will be helpful if you let us know name of the contact person, E-mail address and telephone number so that we can establish contact for our database. You may send information to [email protected]. We also urge you to forward our periodical newsletter.

YEAR COMMUNITY LEADER AN ACTIVE & RESPONSBILE

PERSON IN A SENIOR PROGRAM

AN ONGOING INDO-AMERICAN SENIOR

PROGRAM / CENTER

Dr. Uma Mysorekar

None

Mala Desai

Thomas Abraham, PhD

SN Sridhar PhD

Animesh Goenka

Sudha Acharya

Ashok Vyas of ITV

Dr. Neeta Jain

Ram Gadhavi

HR Shah Asia TV

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

Chan Jamoona

Purushottam Karra

Sunil Uppal

Ardaman Singh Madan

Raj Razdan (Atlanta)

Praful Shah

Vasundhara Kalasapudi, MD

Rajnikant Shah of IASCNYJoseph Parmar

Bhalchandra Dave of CTChandulal Shah of TX

None

Indo-American Sr. Center of NY Held at Vaishnav TempleIndo-American Council of Sr. Citizens in EdisonJain Center of America

Sr. Program of India Assoc. of Long IslandUnited Hindu Cultural Sr. CenterMetropolitan Family Service Assoc. of Greater ChicagoMILAN

Elder Social Group of Hindu CenterHindu Temple Society of NA Sr. ProgramIndia Community Center- Cupertino Sr. Program, CA

A Brief Description of all these honorees appears in the Newsletters and Progress Reports on our web site: www.niaasc.org

SECTION 3: HONOREESPREVIOUS HONOREES: THREE CATEGORIES

A: COMMUNITY LEADERSDr. Uma Mysorekar: Her vision of promoting Hinduism is very noble and broad. “I personally believe that we in the temple can do anything and everything possible with all different ideas which can unify Hindus, solidify this great dharma and then impart this message to the globe, give this tremendous offering to bring up world peace.” But she will not tolerate anything o belittle or degrade any other faith. “Mutual respect of each other’s faith, acceptance of other faiths which our dharma really tells us, and then to bring Hindus together is primarily what our objectives are,” she underlines. Born and brought up in Bangalore, India, she studied medicine at the University of Bombay, before immigrating to the US in 1970. A reputed gynaecologist and obstetrician with independent practice in Elmhurst, Queens, she has helped deliver thousands of babies over the last 40 years. She took to voluntary work for the community way back in the mid-1970s, getting involved in helping the handicapped through Heart and Hand for the Handicapped and served as its president in 1978-79. She pioneered fundraising for Aid to the Disabled, Orphaned and Poor (ADOP) after her association with the HTS. But it is her dedicated work with the Ganesh temple as President since 1994 that will remain as the high point of her life. She is the voluntary equivalent of a CEO for an organization that she runs like a corporation. The temple has annual revenue of $3 million and 30 full-time staff members, serving over 20,000 devotees. Dr. Mysorekar contributes 40 plus hours of service per week as President of the Temple, which she has been able to do after gradually giving up her medical practice.One major initiative of hers at the temple has been conceiving a community center, innovatively raising money for it and seeing the project through--a spectacular 16,000 square foot community center, a landmark in New York. She personally contributed more than $1 million and raised over $4.5 million for the community center. Construction was financed by floating Revenue Bonds totalling $4.1 million to overcome banks’ refusal to loan money to a non-profit religious institution. She followed it up with successfully obtained long-term financing in 2000 to pay back all investors with interest, long before the Bonds’ maturity dates. The community center, finished in 1998, provides enormous benefit to the community through amenities such as wedding halls for traditional Hindu weddings, a beautiful auditorium for cultural activities and an excellent canteen serving food to thousands of temple visitors. Under her guidance, one of the temple’s properties was converted into a Patsala (school) where children learn languages such as Hindi, Tamil, English and Sanskrit as well as Math, Science and Religion, with Yoga and Meditation classes also offered. She also promoted and preserved the vision of the temple’s continued growth by initiating and managing other projects including the construction of the Vedanta Library, Senior Citizen Center, and Staff Quarters.

Mala Desai: Executive Director of Northern Queens Health Coalition: The comprising over 60 member agencies providing direct services to the residents of Queens. Mala helps develop, manage, and oversee all programs and services provided by the agency. The coalition provides a forum for providers and consumers to collaborate, plan, exchange ideas and build networks to identify gaps and inefficiencies in health service delivery. One of Mala’s responsibilities of interest to seniors is the creation of the Caregiver Support Services Partnership for Queens funded by the NYC Department of Aging. Her responsibilities also include Fundraising and Grant writing, Networking, Outreach and partnership building. She has developed and published materials including Guide to

long-term and senior care alternatives in Queens County and also a Resource Manual for Providers to work on palliative care issues with the diverse population of Queens. In her role as Advocate for health service needs of immigrants in Queens with Policy and decision makers in the State/City Governments she was selected to serve as the Borough Planning Committee Coordinator for the NYC Public Health Partnership. Mala is also the founder and chairperson of PRAGATI, Inc. NY an organization whose mission is to empower South Asian Women by addressing the need for economic self-reliance and independence. MALA’s awards for her outstanding record of Community Service she has received several awards namely—Governor’s AWARD of EXCELLENCE, Award from the Queens Hospital Center for outstanding contribution to Women at the WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH (March 2005), FAITH LEADERS AWARD (April 2004) by Affinity Health Plan, COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP AWARD from the ASIAN AMERICANS For EQUALITY for dedication and contributions to NY’s immigrant communities at the Chinatown Festival and several other awards from the Jewish Community, New York Urban League etc. NIAASC recognized Mala Desai for her community services at its Annual Meeting in 2005

Thomas Abraham:In the category of a well-known community leader with commitment, though not necessarily involved directly, to concerns and aspirations of seniors, NIAASC selected an internationally known community leader Dr. Thomas Abraham. Dr. Abraham had been involved for almost 4-decade community service for NRI/PIOs when an Indian Club was initiated by him at the Columbia University in sixties. Dr. Abraham is the founder of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin(GOPIO), founder of National Federation of Indian Organizations (NFIA). He initiated efforts to create NIAASC when he called a meeting of some 3-dozen community leaders in July 1998. Thomas has been recognized for his community services and organizational capabilities nationally and internationally.

SN Sridhar: Honoree & Key note SpeakerAs a Keynote Speaker, Dr. Sridhar made an excellent, comprehensive and eloquent presentation on “India’s Contributions to World Civilization”and he elaborated them in all fields: Religion, Philosophy, Politics and Ethics, Arts and Architecture, Music, Dance and Cinema, Fashion and Cuisine, Science and Math, Technology, Medicine and Yoga, Town Planning, Literature and Linguistics, and Mythology. The honor award for a Community Leader, not necessarily involved with seniors, was given to Dr. S.N. Sridhar, Chairman of Asian and Asian American Studies and Founder of Center of India Studies, presently directed by Dr. Meena Sridhar, at the Stony Brook University. The honoree was introduced by Dr. Thomas Abraham, Founder and Chairman of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), and 2006 NIAASC honoree. Thomas highlighted contributions by NIAASC and also traced the history of its creation where GOPIO had played an active initial role. Dr. Sridhar in accepting the award underscored contributions made by Indian community leaders in creating and sustaining the Indian Studies Center

Animesh Goeka: Mr. Animesh Goenka is the president of Steelbro International Corporation, a company in steel business, which he founded in 1981. His company trades metals worldwide and has offices in various countries around the world. He was born in Punjab, India. After completing his Masters in Economics, he immigrated to the United States in 1980 to further pursue his family business. He has been socially

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active, since his young age. He became the President of AIA New York chapter (Association of Indians in America) in 1993. He initiated various charitable programs like Senior Citizen Center in Herrick’s Community Centre in Long Island, a 24hr help line for new Indian immigrants and Scholarship programs for Youth. He was the Co-Convener of the first Rajasthan International Convention held in New York in 2003 , which hosted business tycoon Mr. Lakshmi N. Mittal as the chief guest. As a board member of RANA ( Rajasthan Association of North America) he laid the foundation for Water Harvesting projects to provide drinking water in the drought hit villages of Rajasthan. In 2006, he established Heritage India Group, a non-profit organization, with a purpose to promote yoga and meditation as means of better health and alternative medicine. Last year, he brought Baba Ramdev Ji to USA for the first time and organized two very successful health camps in New York and New Jersey. He has helped organize other social, cultural and community projects for the betterment of our society. Presently, he is the President of National Executive Committee of Association of Indians in America ( AIA- national) which has many chapters all across America. They are working to promote Hindi in America among our second and third generation children to preserve our Indian culture and identity. Mr. Goenka lives in Long Island with his wife Anupam Goenka and three children.

Sudha Acharya: Sudha Acharya has a track record of 35 years of community service. Ms. Acharya started her community service work as the chairperson of the Joint Committee of Indian Associations in New York in 1973. After the Joint Committee became the Federation of Indian Associations (FIA), Ms. Acharya was its president 1983-84, later Vice-president and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Federation of Indian-American Associations (NFIA), the largest umbrella Indian organization in the US. In1989, Acharya served as the Co-convener and Secretary of the First Global Convention of People of Indian Origin when GOPIO was born. Ms. Acharya represents the All India Women’s Conference (AIWC) at the UN, worked on the Planning Committee for the NGO Forum for the Fourth World Conference on Women at Beijing in 1995, and later chaired the NGO Committee on the Status of Women for two terms 1995-1999. She was a Vice-president of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the UN (CONGO) and served as Congo’s Focal Point for the Review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action or Beijing plus Five in 2000. In 2000 Ms. Acharya was elected as the first president and currently as the Executive Director of the South Asian Council for Social Services (SACSS), a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to plan, provide, support and advocate for a continuum of programs addressing the social service needs of underserved South Asian and other immigrant communities in New York City. SACSS worked closely with the families of direct victims of 9-11. SACSS provides English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, parenting workshops, job preparedness, training and placement that are much needed services amongst the new immigrant South Asian Community. A former project manager with Verizon in New York City, Ms. Acharya has been recognized with several awards including Gandhi Community Award and Union Square Award.

Ashok Vyas: Ashok completed his masters in Economics and post Graduate diploma in Journalism from Rajasthan University in 1983. He did Masters in English, MBA in Marketing from Jodhpur University and moved to Mumbai. He did a Foundation course of TV Production in Mumbai and lot of freelance writing assignments as well as projects to translate American TV programs from English to Hindi. These serials were dubbed in Hindi for Indian viewers. Ashok did many cultural programs and features on issues

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related to environmental protection, women education, plight of child labors in mines, opium de-addiction, AIDS awareness etc. Ashok came to New York in 1997 to be a part of Indian Media Scene. Since 1999, he has been associated with International Television Broadcasting Inc. NY. Ashok’s presentation of News in Hindi at ITV, covering various events of the community, his soulful connections with many ‘non-profit’ organizations have resulted in the form of insightful social, cultural and religious programs. Ashok has interacted and covered many programs for seniors; he has worked with kids too. Ashok is at ease in wearing various hats like writer, cameraman, host, editor and director for TV Productions. In addition to being a poet and program director with ITV, he is also a practicing Hindu Priest. He has translated spiritual books from English to Hindi, co-authored ‘Parinaya’ with his wife Sheila. He has participated in many ‘kavi sammelans’ and acted in few short films too. Ashok has received many honors: such as ‘Kavya Mani’ by Shiksayatan Cultural Center,2007; “Award for Excellence” by Sri VV Foundation, Washington DC, 2007; “Distinguished Service Award’ by Sri VV Foundation, Seattle, 2009

Dr. Neeta JainDr. Neeta Jain is Doctorate in Psychology. She currently is practicing privately in Queens, New York. She is a vice president of Jain Center of America (JCA) NY, and coordinates religious. cultural and social events for the center. Provides JCA events’ coverage from all different media people. Has organized TV live and recorded shows by Jain monks and scholars. Sponsor during Pratistha Mahotsav 2005 and other events. Dr. Jain is also actively involved in political field. She is a member of American Psychologist Association, New York State Psychologist Association and Nav Nirmaan Foundation Inc. She has volunteered clinically and dealt with cases of domestic violence, thereby personally saving couple of families from breaking apart. Working on a project to establish a center for study and practice of non-violence and peace at United Nations International School.

Ram Gadhavi: Ram Gadhavi graduated from L. D. Engineering in Ahmedabad, India, and came to the United States for further education in 1968. He graduated with a Master degree in Mechanical Engineering from Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah and then achieved an MBA from Boston College in Massachusetts. He joined the Polaroid Corporation after graduating. He spent 4 ½ years in Massachusetts before moving to New Jersey to work for C-E Lummus in Bloomfield, New Jersey. He was the first Indian engineer to serve as a Project Manager. He would go to various community organizations and give talks on how to climb the corporate ladder here in the United States. Mr. Gadhavi was very active in community affairs in the NY/NJ area. He served as Chairman of the India Cultural Society of Wayne, which has built a Gandhi Mandir in Wayne under his leadership. He represented India Cultural Society in the Federation of Indian American Associations (Tri-State), where he held Secretary and President positions. The Independence Day parade started in 1981 in NYC was his brainchild and he was honored for that vision on the 25th Anniversary of the parade in 2005. Mr. Gadhavi was actively involved with the National Federation of Indian Associations and held the position of Secretary. Equally involved he was in the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) and played a leading role in the first Global Convention in 1989 that included his trip to Europe to convince NRI’s to attend the Convention.

HR ShahMr. H R Shah is a founding member of GOPIO as well as Past President and Trustee of the Federation

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of Indian American Associations (FIA), a member of the Board of Advisors of the Ellis Island-National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO). As the Chairman and Trustee of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (USA), the world famous institute of Indian culture, education, music and the arts, he has worked for uplifting the life of Indians via education. He also actively supports the Queens Child Guidance Center of New York, and a director and supporter of Gift of Life, a US-based international humanitarian group that is dedicated to top quality health care and the general wellbeing of children everywhere. He has firmly believed in the development of premium healthcare in India, becoming a founding director of the Krishna Heart Institute, a charitable institute, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Mr. Shah has been a long-time supporter of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI). Through his channel, TV ASIA, he actively promotes health-related activities of AAPI and its membership. With TV Asia, Mr. Shah is the first NRI to run a 24/7 TV station in North America. Mr. Shah is director of the Indian American Center for Political Awareness. The organization sponsors an internship program where young Indian Americans work for Congressmen and Senators on Capitol Hill. They also serve with the White House and State Governors. Mr. Shah is the first NRI to own a chain store business anywhere in the world. A turnaround expert, he became prominent for rescuing Krauszer’s Food Stores, New Jersey’s largest chain having over 400 outlets. He took over the firm in 1991 and through his entrepreneurial skills gave the stores renewed statewide recognition. That acquisition saved over a thousand jobs. He also put hundreds of people from ethnic communities in the convenience store business, making them owners.

ASHOK SATKALMI Ashok Satkalmi, who is a certified social worker and diplomat in clinic social work also possesses the law degree from India. He worked as the Clinical Director, Transitional Services for New York Inc., and is former President of Nav Nirmaan Foundation. Dr. Satkalmi serves on many community-based and professional agencies: among them are Asian American Advisory Council Member in the Queens District Attorney’s office; Community Advisory Board Member at the Flushing Hospital; Community Business Development Advisory Board Member at St. John’s University. Following 9/11/01, Dr. Satkalmi directed and coordinated crisis counseling services under the Project Liberty at Transitional Services for New York, Inc. He is also involved with the Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund. He received his doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology in 2002. He is former vice president and Board member of the National Indo-American Association for Senior Citizens.

B: ONGOING INDO-AMERICAN SENIOR PROGRAMS

Ongoing Indo- American Senior Citizen Program: Cupertino Senior Program of India Community Center (ICC), Milpitas, California:ICC is one of the largest Indian not for profit organizations, with more than1,900 active members, including about 300 seniors in multiple locations, serving the San Francisco/Bay Area for the past 10 years. ICC provides social, cultural, recreational and community services to children, youth, adults and seniors. Cupertino Senior program is one of the two senior programs of ICC. The Cupertino senior program with an average attendance of 75-125 members is a very vibrant program that meets the many needs of seniors to maintain physical, spiritual and emotional health. Their planned and at random programs include yoga, book club as well as discussions on spirituality, current events and other matters

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of interest to the Seniors. They meet every Monday Wednesday and Friday from 10:45 AM - 1:00PM. Many seniors take turns in volunteering to find appropriate speakers and arrange interesting events. After the program, they enjoy a catered vegetarian lunch for a nominal charge. Bridge group, knitting classes and also some (fun) dance classes. They are now planning to expand their programs to include computer classes.

Senior Program of The Hindu Temple Society of North America and Mrs. Nirmala Ramasubramanian:The Senior Program of The Hindu Temple Society of North America was formally started in 2003. From just one day a week with a few participants, the program has now grown to over 100 registered Seniors/adults and extended to 3 days a week from 10 am to 3 pm and sometimes till 5 pm. On Tuesdays, the program is conducted in Hindi. Yoga, Meditation, Spiritual discussions on Bhagvad Gita and other Scriptures, bhajans, Health lectures and workshops, Finance and Legal lectures and workshops, handicrafts, Computer training, Bridge and Board games, Broadway shows at discount prices, visiting museums and places of worship etc are some of the activities that take place at the Center. The key person behind this program is Nirmala Ramasubramanian and she was recognized by NIAASC along with the senior program.

Mrs. Nirmala Ramasubramanian, M,S., R.D., C.D.E. is a Registered Dietitian and a Certified Diabetes Educator; Has extensive experience in acute care dietetics and clinical research in diabetes care. She has a Master’s degree in Nutrition Education from the City University of New York, She worked as the Associate Director of Nutrition Services at Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center for more than 16 years during which time she made valuable contribution to the health Care system by managing the clinical nutrition division very effectively. She is currently employed at North shore University Hospital/Health Care System in Manhasset, New York. She is one of the authors of Indian Foods: AAPI’s Guide to Nutrition, Health and Diabetes, a book used by both health care professionals and clients. She is also involved in community based nutrition education activities, Student education and Community Service Hours, Work Experience Program, Title V Worker program, Research Projects

MILAN: MILAN - Indian Senior Recreation Program was co-founded by Herricks Indo US Community Inc. on May 20, 2009, in association with the Town of North Hempstead at the Clinton G. Martin Park. The mission of the MILAN Senior Program is to offer educational and recreational activities in a culturally sensitive environment, to promote personal growth and socialization, to foster feelings of achievement, companionship, and well-being that would enhance the quality of life for people 60 years of age and older. Indian-American seniors continue to meet every Friday at the Clinton G. Martin Park, New Hyde Park, between 10:30am - 2:00pm. The program is completely free and light lunch is provided. Activities vary from week to week. The many activities include Yoga, Free Hand Exercise Classes, and Guest Speakers on Osteoporosis or Nutrition, Arts and Crafts, Movie Day, Bingo, Antakshari, Cultural Performances, Group dance lessons like Garba and more. One of the big problems faced by a senior immigrant is the linguistic and cultural barrier, which becomes a detriment to active social lives and participation in the community. In a program like MILAN, living continues for all Indian-American seniors!

METROPOLITAN ASIAN FAMILY SERVICES IN GREATER CHICAGO:

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Metropolitan Asian Family Services (MAFS) is a not-for-profit, community based organization established in 1993. MAFS provides through its five centers, comprehensive and integrated social services to the immigrant population of South Asian countries. Some of its major activities are: The Golden Diner’s Program at the Chicago location; Congregate Meal Program at the Niles and Senior Feeding Site at Roselle location are the two hot meal programs for anyone age 60 or older, their spouses regardless of age, their escorts and others; the Citizenship and Immigration assistance Program aims to tutor and prepare elderly for the citizenship test; the Computer training program acquaints people with the basic knowledge of computer and the ESL classes helps remove the language barrier and equips the elders and other immigrant population with workable English language. Its Senior Center at the Chicago location is established to accommodate an informal gathering for seniors, who come in to visit, have a cup of tea with friends and have some fun by playing cards and other group activities. Some other activities include reporting and stopping elder mistreatment thus saving them from becoming victims of abuse, neglect and exploitation; conducting health screenings on quarterly basis and offering heath education seminars and workshops to educate elderly and to increase their awareness about different health problems. Community Care Program is the largest program that is funded by the Illinois Department on Aging and is exclusively for the elderly at home who need nursing home care. We offer FREE OF COST HOMEMAKER SERVICE for our seniors who meet the eligibility requirements stated by the government. The elderly live in their own homes and yet receive excellent Homemaker services, and MAFS experienced Homemakers assist them in daily chores such as cleaning, preparing meals, shopping, transferring and personal care tasks such as dressing, grooming, bathing and following special diets.

UNITED HINDU CULTURAL COUNCIL SENIOR CENTER:The United Hindu Cultural Council Senior Center was started in Chan Jamoona’s living room in 1980 with (7) seven seniors and grew tremendously over a short period of time. When the program became too large to be accommodated in that venue, it was moved to 118-09 Sutter Avenue where it continues to exist. Today the Center has over (1000) one thousand registrants. Its daily census ranges from 85 to 165 seniors The UHCC of USA, North America is dedicated to promoting unity among all people in our diversified populations. The Center activities are heavily focused towards disease prevention, health maintenance and wellness programs, for example: Walking Club; Cancer Prevention Education and activities such as Mammograms, PSA and Colorectal Cancer screening; Yoga, Meditation and Relaxation with Stress Management; Music, Singing, and Dancing; Poetry; Crime Prevention and Safety Education by New York Police Department and New York City Fire Department; Arts and Craft; Sightseeing trips to points of interest in NYC and beyond; Monthly Birthday parties; Games such as chess, dominoes, Chinese checkers, scrabble; Laughing club daily; Workshops on Health Promotion and Prevention around topics such as Diabetes, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure and Cancer; Health fairs, annual flu shots, blood pressure checks, vision and hearing tests; screenings for cholesterol and diabetes; English as a second language; Nutrition Education, FAN Program; Case Assistance & Social Services: Individual & Group Counseling; Entitlements and benefit information and services; Translation services; Information and referrals, Medicare and Medicaid related case assistance; Other programs include: Intergenerational Program, Youth Programs.

SENIOR PROGRAM OF INDIA ASSOCIATION OF LONG ISLAND:

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The award for an ongoing senior program was bestowed on India Association of Long Island (IALI) Senior Program, New York. IALI a 32-year old organization with over 1300 members initiated a program for seniors by arranging a luncheon for seniors in 2000. Currently IALI has monthly senior Get-togethers at two sites in Long Island, one in Huntington and another in Plainveiw. Mrs. Sampurna Jain, representing Jain Center of America, last year honoree, introduced the IALI. The award was accepted by Dr. Binod K. Verma, IALI President, and Co chairs of IALI Senior Citizen Committee, Mrs. Avinash Suri and Mr. Vijay Goswamy. Other members of the Senior Citizen Committee of IALI and members of Jain Center of America joined in felicitations. Dr. Binod Verma emphasized the need of a Senior Citizen Center in Long Island and he urged all groups to join hands to accomplish this mission.

JAIN CENTER OF AMERICA – NEW YORK (JCA):Jain Center of America in Elmhurst, Queens. The JCA a 25-year old organization with the mission of promoting Jainism undertakes many educational and religious activities, but the focus has always been the goodness of humanity. The Senior Program at JCA had been informally going on for 5-6 years but was formalized only about two years back when the Jain Temple was completed in Elmhurst. In accepting the award on behalf of the JCA, Mr. Chandrakant Shah, Program Coordinator, underscored the collaborative efforts and specially thanked Dr. Ashwin Pandya and Mr. Raj Prasad for their presentation at the Senior Program at the Temple in August 2006.

INDO-AMERICAN SENIOR CITIZEN COUNCIL OF EDISON, NEW JERSEY:NIAASC recognized the Indo-American Senior Citizen Council of Edison for its leadership in running a senior program for over a decade; and for an ongoing effort to help seniors in procuring services from various agencies and institutions. In the absence of the Council representative(s) due to a last minute unavoidable circumstances, Chandubhai Patel accepted the award.

SENIOR CITIZEN CENTER OF NEW YORK (VAISHNAV TEMPLE): The Senior Citizen Center of New York that meets alternate Saturdays at the Vaishnav Temple. Initiated about eight years ago provides a homely environment to some 60 seniors twice a month. The Center, in addition to regular meetings, undertakes trips to religious institutions and places of interest and pleasure such as Niagara Falls. In celebrating the national holidays and events such as India’s Republic Day and Independence Day the Center collaborates with a number of organizations including NIAASC. These celebrations are attended by hundreds of people. In accepting the award, the Center Founder, Dr. Ashwin Pandya and its Coordinator, Chandubhai Patel, appreciated the recognition. They were joined by other members of the Center. In presenting the plaque to the Center leadership Rajeshwar Prasad, NIAASC president was joined by Satya Malhotra, a NIAASC Board member and a liaison for senior programs in Long Island.

ELDER SOCIAL GROUP OF HINDU CENTER: The theme of the program is “HAIL” for the Elders “Healthy & independent living for the elders.” The program is inter-generational in nature and any one who has physical, emotional, financial & social difficulty can be part of the group. The program is free of charge, @ no cost to Hindu center, except providing space. Initiated in November 2007 by Drs. Rajani & Shivlal Goyal, the Group meets once a month first Sunday 4pm-6pm. The program has been running successfully & smoothly for the

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past 4 years & is appreciated by the community very much. Attendees’ are encouraged to give their opinion/thought how to improve the group. Activities undertaken include but not limited to prayer; recognition of new members/attendees in every meeting; reality orientation; recognition of important Indian ,American & international days/events of month; religious days of the month; recognition of Birthdays and important event/days of life of any member; lectures on issue such as medical problems, financial/health planning, social topics, Entitlement programs: yoga/stretching/pain relief technique; cultural program: songs, bhajans, jokes, poetry. All followed by light Refreshments/Tea, juice/etc, and information for the next month session. The entire program is supported and coordinated by Drs. Shivlal & Rajani Goyals with the help of many other volunteers. Nominal donation collected during the session is given to the Hindu Center solely for helping & providing space to hold the program.

C: PERSONS INVOLVED WITH AN ONGOING INDO-AMERICAN SENIOR PROGRAM:

MR. CHANDULAL P. SHAH: Mr. Chandulal Shah left India to Kenya at the age of 24 and lived there for nearly 42 years and migrated to USA in 2000. While in Kenya, after a 2 year employment started Garment manufacturing factory - retail and whole sale employing over 170 people. In Kenya he volunteered at Shah community center as well as at Vish Oshwal Boarding, Nairobi in various capacities including Joint Secretary, General Secretary, Treasurer, and President for over 15 years. Since his arrival in the USA, he has been instrumental in starting the DFW Senior Citizen Samaj and he is the President since 2010. He also volunteers at the Hindu Temple there on a regular basis. DFW Senior Citizen Samaj is a not-for-profit organization and is now a very active association with a registered membership of approximately 950 senior citizens. The general activities of Samaj are 4dinners a year, 2tours and/or 2 picnics and participation in Health Fair of Temple.

BHALCHANDRA I. DAVE:Popularly called “ Bhalbhai” by Indian friends and B.T. by American friends, Bhalchandra Dave was born in India in a hard working middle class family; Graduated from Gujarat University with B.Sc. in Chemistry; Came to USA in 1960 & pursued Chemical Engineering @ university of Missouri; received B.S. & M.S. in Chemical Engineering. Joined UNIROYAL Chemical Company in 1964 in Connecticut worked in all different departments & spent 2 years in Argentina managing construction of a Polymer plant. Managed construction of many other international plants for UNIROYAL. Received many citations and awards for accomplishments @ UNIROYAL. Retired as Worldwide Director of Engineering after 40+ years of service in 2005. Enjoyed experiences in many different countries & making friends everywhere - USA, Argentina, UK, Germany, Italy, India, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Taiwan, Korea etc. Has been working with senior communities in Connecticut since 2005 & enjoying all sports activity (Table Tennis, Pool, Badminton, Golf, Bridge etc.) at Southington Senior Center as well as Connecticut Senior Indian Group (CSIG). Married to Devi. They have two successful sons (Hamel & Raj) & their loving family; and four grand children

DR. VASUNDHARA KALASAPUDI: (current NIAASC Board member also) Dr. Vasundhara Kalasapudi got her medical degree from

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Andhra Medical College, Visakhapatnam. She did research in biomedical field in Paris, France and at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. She specializes in geriatric psychiatry. She is the publisher of ‘Catalyst for Human Development’ magazine. She is Founder & President of India Home, a senior center serving Indian seniors and currently delivered at four locations in Queens and Long Island, New York: SNAP (Services Now for Adult Persons) in Queens Village; the Kerala Center in Elmont; Sunnyside Community Services, Queens, and Herricks Indo-US Community in New Hyde Park. Dr. Kalasapudi has held positions in Queens hospitals, most recently at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Elmhurst Hospital, St. John’s Hospital, Mary Immaculate Hospital. At present she is working as psychiatrist serving individuals with mental retardation and Developmental Disabilities at Brooklyn Developmental Center. Dr. Kalasapudi practiced medicine before immigrating to the United States. She completed residency in Psychiatry at Brookdale Hospital & Medical Center; where she was also Chief Resident. She completed a Fellowship in Geriatric Psychiatry at Zucker Hillside Hospital. In addition she had several years of scientific research experiences starting with visiting fellow at L’hospital Cochin, Paris, France, postdoctoral fellow in Department of behavioral sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and research scientist at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. Vasundhara lives with her husband and two children.

PRAFUL SHAH:Praful Shah born in 1923 graduated from high school in 1942. For twenty years till 1968 Praful worked in a limited company in labor management and related field. In 1968 he took steps to be an entrepreneur and started two factories; known as Geeta Cement Products. He also started cooperative societies in various ventures such as Milk Supply Cooperative, and he also carried on responsibilities as secretary of Small Industry Service Association. For almost twenty years he devoted himself in humanitarian work volunteering with agencies such as Indian Red Cross Society, Consumer Protection Association. He visited USA twice between 1990 and 98 and settled here in 1998. Within a short period he started working with the DEC (Dept. of Environment Conservation) of New York State under special provisions for senior citizens. Praful at age 85 is still working with DEC. In 2001 a study was conducted by the Penn State University under the direction of Dr. Jyotsna Kalavar to understand issues and concerns of senior citizens of Indian origin. Contact in connection with this study led Praful to launch a program for seniors in early 2003 under the Long Island Gujarati Cultural Society (LIGCS). He has been coordinating this program since then. In addition, he has worked with other senior programs in Long Island run by other organizations. He has been successful to procure a place for the LIGCS senior program from the Town Government. A life member of NIAASC, Praful tries to attend and participate in various programs. He has never considered his inability to drive as handicap for his mission to serve seniors. He has been an inspiration to seniors in the tri-state region.

RAJNIKANT SHAH: Rajnikant Shah was born in India, and had a long career in construction Industry. From 1984 to 1994 he served as a President of Dasha Khadayita Vikas Mandal. He immigrated to USA in1994, and worked part-time with the Department of Aging. Since 1998 he has been a key activist in developing and nurturing a Senior Citizen Program at Vaishnav Temple of New York, now known as Indo-American Senior Citizen Center of New York at Vaishnav Temple. This Program is one of the most successful Indo-American senior programs in New York, run by volunteers. It has over 200 members and over

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60 participants in each meeting. Rajnikant Shah, because of great interest in welfare of members, and great skill in working with management team, has made outstanding contribution to Indo-American Seniors’ cause. His dynamic and dedicated leadership role has benefited seniors outside the program based at the Vaishnav Temple.

MRS. RAJ RAZDAN:The award for an individual directly involved with a senior program was given to Mrs. Raj Razdan, Executive Director of Senior Citizens Program Inc. based in Atlanta, Georgia. The decade old senior program initiated by Razdan with some 30 members currently has over 400 members. Her involvement with numerous Indian and American entities and her articulate public speaking engagements at various prestigious events, along with at least one monthly event for seniors, have made this program widely known throughout Georgia state. She was introduced by Mr. Ardaman Singh Madan, 2006 honoree and founder of Guru Gobind Singh Senior Forum at Plainview Gurudwara. In her acceptance speech Razdan underscored the contributions of volunteers for the great success of the program. While she acknowledged progress had been made in the Seniors program, some issues like transportation still remain to be resolved and any input from other associations as to how they tackled this problem would be welcome.

ARDAMAN S MADAN: Bachelor of Science (Honors) in Civil Engineering from Punjab Engineering College Chandigarh – 1959;Master of Engineering from University of Roorkee, in 1961; Master of Science in Civil Engineering from Duke University, Durham, North Carolina in 1970. After graduating from Roorkee, took UPSC (India) exam for Engineering Services in 1961 joined Central Engineering Services, Class 1 Cadre - CPWD in 1962. After working for 3 years as Assistant Executive and then for 3 years as Executive Engineer in CPWD, took leave of absence for further studies in USA, and came to USA in 1968 on Teaching Assistantship at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Mrs. Madan followed him in 1969. After completing MS from Duke University, took time out to get professional experience, and joined Duke Power Company in Charlotte, NC in 1970. In 1970 decided to apply for green card and became permanent resident of USA in 1971. Rami, the only son was born in 1973. Dropped out of the PhD program at Duke University and stayed with Duke Power in Charlotte NC for next ten years until decided to change the job and moved to New York in 1980. Joined Ebasco Services, a Consulting Engineering firm, in Long Island NY, and worked with them for next 22 years in various positions until retirement in 2002. After retirement in 2002, decided to dedicate the rest of life for volunteer work. Always had a passion to help seniors in their later years of life, to get them involved and not simply waste their hard earned retirement waiting for eventual death. Always felt that old age dementia and Alzheimer disease are caused by lack of brain activity. Towards this end, initiated a small core group of senior Sikhs in Plainview Gurudwara in 2003. Today it has developed into a full fledged group of senior citizens under the banner of “Guru Gobind Singh Senior Sikhs Center”. The group meets every Thursday from 11:30AM to 2:00PM.

SUNIL UPPAL:Mr. Sunil Uppal was awarded for his exceptional leadership in organizing program for seniors; for his devotion, dedication and commitment to the concerns of seniors in Long Island; for coordinating periodical luncheons for seniors and a monthly senior program. Besides the senior activities Mr. Uppal

SECTION 3: HONOREES

SECTION 3: HONOREES

is very much involved with other social and cultural organizations such as India Association of Long Island as an active member. His commitment to community at large is very much appreciated in all circles. He lives in Dix Hills with his wife Sadhna and three daughters.

Late PURUSHOTTAM KARRA: This posthumous award to Mr. Karra from Edison, New Jersey was accepted by his son, Vittal and other family members. Purushottam who died in February 2004 was remembered for his advocacy role not only in the town of Edison but also in the state of New Jersey as well as at the National level. Romesh Tewari, Treasurer, who outlined Purushottam’s accomplishments underscored the fact that in New Jersey there is a vacuum in the voice for seniors and that NIAASC has lost an important liaison with a number of senior programs in the state of New Jersey. Vittal expressed that interest and commitment of his father for seniors and well being of family was paramount in his life. He also enumerated occasions when his father talked about the work of NIAASC and how we all need a central agency for information, advocacy and referrals.

CHAN JAMOONA: Chan Jamoona is the founder of the United Hindu Cultural Council and also serves on the Queens General Assembly, Jamaica Hospital - Flushing Hospital. The center addresses the basic needs of New York seniors. She founded the United Hindu Cultural Council Senior Center in 1988 in her own home with seven seniors, and when it grew too big, she moved to the center in Jamaica. The Center served the only vegetarian senior center to more than 1,000 senior citizens. Jamoona is also a registered nurse, and has supervised nursing programs at several area hospitals, according to her senior center biography.

SECTION 4

COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS THROUGH PICTURESAnother Senior Program attended by NIAASC reps. MK Rama in left front row

Asian American Center at Queens College had a brief community leaders gathering

Senior Program by the Indo-American Senior Citizen

Center of New York: Speaker Harikrishna Majmundar, an

advocate and author from California

Honorees and Speakers with some NIAASC Board Members and Members of the Audience

L to R: Santosh Kumar, Shree Gurusamy, Rajeshwar Prasad, Harikrishna Majmundar and Neelam Desai

SECTION 4

The NFIA elected the Board of Directors for 2013-14. Mr. Rajeshwar Prasad was elected as Vice President for the New York Region. He is (3rd from right) with other members of the Board taking oath. New NFIA

president Sohan Joshi is fifth from left next to the current president, Mr. Lal Motwani to his right.

NIAASC participated at the 17th Biennial convention in Chicago and led the session on senior citizens: Session title was ““Indian American Senior Citizens – Mobilizing Services”Session Chair – Rajeshwar Prasad, President, National Indio-American Association for Senior Citizens (NIAASC), Session Co-chair – Santosh Kumar, Executive Director, Metropolitan Asian Family Services in Greater Chicago (MAFS)Panelists: Neelam Desai, Community Care Program Supervisor Universal Metro Asian Services, Lombard/Naperville, IL Shree Gurusamy, Senior Benefits Specialist and Health Promotion Coordinator MAFS Harikrishna Majmundar, President, South Asian Senior Association, California

Jaya Bahadkar, RNBahadkar is a retired registered nurse with over 35 years of nursing experience. The compassion Jaya brought to nursing comes through in her community service as well. Jaya has held key roles in various organizations including the India Association of Long Island, the Indian American Forum and the South Asian American Political Committee. Jaya is also a proud mother of two children and a loving grandmother to two grandchildren. Samir Dutta, MDDr. Dutta came to USA in 1962, completed internship in a hospital affiliated with YALE medical center. Was in U.K. from ‘64 to ‘68 and passed F.R.C.S and completed cardio thoracic training. Returned to USA in 1968 and did post doctoral fellowship research for heart and lung transplantation program and surgical residency program. From 1973 practiced surgery mostly with major trauma and cancer of breast and colorectal surgery. He was President of Association of Indians in America (AIA), New York chapter and chairman for project India that did lot of work in India including funding from Johnson & Johnson for 15 million dollars worth of surgical equipments. He was president of Nava Nirmaan foundation and chairman of review and arbitration board of censor peer review committee Queens county medical society. He was vice president of NIAASC and now a board member. He was actively involved with Shantiniketan project and was financial controller for phase 1 project. He lost his wife from cancer and his son is a Bariatric surgeon in California, graduate of Yale and Harvard; his daughter is a retired medical mal practice lawyer.Bhanumathi Ivatury, PhDDr. Bhanumathi Ivatury (Bhanu) is a trained Social worker since 1957 and a Licensed Clinical Social worker in Texas since 1982 with clinical, supervisory and administrative experience in several fields of social work including Health, Mental Health, Child welfare, Family courts, International adoption, Domestic violence, HIV, Geriatric services and dialysis services. Dr. Ivatury held several positions in various social service and health agencies. In addition to her private practice, she is currently employed by Renal Ventures in Denton as a dialysis social worker. Bhanu volunteers extensively with Indian Community thru Indian associations locally and nationally such as IANT, TANTEX and TANA. She is known to many troubled families as a selfless volunteer who goes out of her way to help them resolve their problems thru excellent mediation and counseling skills. She has helped many seniors of Indian origin to adjust in this country. To the Indian Community in particular, to enable the assimilation and `integration within the larger community, she brings her unique understanding and experience to bridge the gap between the eastern traditions and western reality and offers solutions to complex challenges. Her passion is ‘to help people to help themselves’. Her dream is to see the people of Indian origin to be successful and happy in this wonderful USA without abusing this country’s generosity. (more coverage under Speakers)Sampurna JainSampurna Jain born at Sirohi in Rajasthan, got master degree in Hindi literature, married to late Dr. Yawantraj Jain, mother of three children with four grand children, came to U.S.A in 1969. Founding member of India Association of Long Island in 1975; served as President in 2005. Served on the Board of Rajasthan Association of North America, honored by Town of North Hempstead , RANA, Sidhhachalam at New Jersey and Mahaveer Jain Vidhyalya India, on the board of Jain Center of America ,interested in real estate, strongly supports women’s education, believe than an educated mother can change the whole world. Vasundhara Kalasapudi MD (covered under honorees)

SECTION 5: NIAASC BOARD MEMBERS 2014

Jyotsna M. Kalavar, PhDJyotsna M. Kalavar, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Human Development & Family Studies at Penn State University’s New Kensington campus. Dr. Kalavar’s primary research interest is in the area of diverse experiences of aging. She has studied ageism, homebound seniors, immigrant seniors, transnational care giving, and seniors residing in long-term care institutions. She has collaborated on research projects with colleagues in New Zealand, United Kingdom, Tanzania, and India. As a Fulbright Research Scholar, Dr. Kalavar spent a year studying ‘pay and stay’ homes in south India. In 2011, Dr. Kalavar was named Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America. She has recently submitted a grant application to NIA to study the experience of transnational support and care between middle-aged offspring in USA and elderly parents in India. Dr. Kalavar has presented her work at several international locations including China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, England, New Zealand, India and Finland.Tara Kotecha“The 1972 was the year when my husband and I all over again began our second life journey in the USA from Uganda. The Vedic way of our life style have been a smooth sailing. Besides, mastering Musical instruments, I have been active with Long Island Multi-faith Forum, other religious and non-religious organizations. I have been on the NIAASC Board of Directors for many years. I have attended all conferences and other important events of NIAASC.”Satpal Malhotra “I came to USA in 1975 after residing in U.K. for 5 years, with my wife Satya Malhotra and two daughters. I have ventured in couple of businesses and finally settled as an Insurance Broker. I have been involved in India Association of Long Island (IALI) for more than 15 years and served as a Member-at-large, Secretary and President in year 2003. I am also involved in World Punjabi Organization and Nargis Dutt Foundation. At present I am a Treasurer of NIAASC. I enjoy participating in social activities. I live in Long Island, New York along with my wife Satya and two daughters.” Satya Malhotra Satya came to U.K. in 1970 along with her husband and daughter. She is a Registered Nurse by profession and was head of Department back home in Wellington Hospital, New Delhi, India. She worked for a while as a Registered Nurse in U.K. After coming to USA in 1975, worked as a Registered Nurse since 1976 and finally retired 12 years ago. She was Member-at-large of India Association of Long Island for a few years and organized annual picnic for a few years. She is a Member of Board of Directors of NIAASC ; lives in Long Island, New York with her husband and daughters.P. Ramaswamy Mohan, CPAP. Ramaswamy Mohan is a member of the Board of Directors of National Indo American Association for Senior Citizens and is also a member of the Board of Trustees of The Hindu Temple Society of North America, NY. He holds Masters degrees in Business Administration and Accounting and is also a Certified Public Accountant. Several years ago he took early retirement from a large multinational consulting firm where he was the Chief Financial Officer and has since been engaged in civic and charitable work and is also involved in Interfaith activities. Ashwin Pandya, MDAshwin Pandya, M.D., is an Indo-American physician. He is a Board-certified psychiatrist, and held many senior clinical and administrative positions during his career with the New York State psychiatric system. His sub-specialties include addiction and forensic (legal) psychiatry. He served in the United States Army as a


Lieutenant Colonel. He has a long and distinguished community service record. He is a Founding member and former President of the Indo-American Psychiatric Association. He is current and past President of NIAASC, Nav Nirmaan Foundation, and the Indo-American Senior Citizen Center. He is now retired and lives full-time at Shantiniketan in Florida.Rajeshwar PrasadRajeshwar Prasad is a former executive in the field of health planning, development and implementation with various nonprofit organizations, last being Long Island Cancer Council where he served as Principal Investigator and Executive Director for a 5-year contract with the National Cancer Institute. He is an active volunteer associated with many nonprofit groups, such as the India Association of Long Island since its inception in 1976 (past President); National Indo-American Association for Senior Citizens (NIAASC) since its inception in 1998, founder President and currently serving as its Executive Director. In 2009, he led a conference at the GOPIO (Global Organization of People of Indian Origin) convention on “The Living Pioneers – A Global Perspective of India Elders.” Mr. Prasad served on the Board of Directors of the National Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA) for four years till December 2012. Mr. Prasad served on the Health Panel of the Allocation Committee of the United Way of Long Island (Vice Chair) for over 19 years, until 2003. He had been an active member since 1999 of the Human Rights Commission and its Administration of Justice Committee and chaired the Immigration Committee in Suffolk County. Mr. Prasad has been recognized by various organizations – public & private -- for his community and professional work. Mr. Prasad came to the United States in 1969 after a one-year stay in Paris, France on an exchange program, and was a resident of Suffolk County from 1971 to 2014 when he moved to Florida. He is married to Dr. Prem Nagpal who retired from Harlem Hospital in New York.Asha Samant, DDSShe is Associate Professor , received 5 times Excellent Teacher Award and a prestigious University Master’s Educator Guild Award .A Trained Prosthodontist from New York ,taught at the Chandigarh, India, New York University, and now at New Jersey Dental School, USA for the last 29 years. She teaches under-graduate and post graduate Prosthodontist. She is also part of International dentist Admissions Bench test Process. She is coordinator of Postgraduate of Prosthodontist Residency program at NJDS. She is international speaker and has lectured on the Oral health issues of women internationally. She has many abstracts and articles presented and published on the women’s oral health problem. Has spoken worldwide on her dedicated specialty- Removable Prosthodontics She says “Dentists are Artists but Prosthetics care provides Colors to the Art of Dentistry.” Happily married, her husband is Chair Hepatology and medical director of Liver Transplant, has one daughter an attorney. Ashok Sapre, PhDOrganized a “Life in Retirement in the USA” Seminar at 1991 Brihan Maharashtra Mandal (BMM) Convention in Long Beach, CA. Started “Uttar Rang” column in a monthly BMM newsletter, 2004. Organized a two-day National Conference on “Issues, Aspirations and Options for Indo-Americans in Senior Years” in 2005 in Artesia, CA., Organized National Conference On “Successful Aging for Indo-Americans” in New Brunswick, NJ 2006 ., Organized one-day Conference on “Planning for Successful Aging” in Austin, TX, April 2013; Organized a four hour Group Discussion on “Planning for Successful Aging” in Toronto, ONT, Canada. Participated in publishing 55+ Directory of Marathi people in North America, at the BMM Convention in Providence, RI, July 2013. Education: PhD in Engineering. Employment: General Motors Corp., Hughes Electronics Corp. Though Ashok has been a member of the NIAASC Board of Directors for only two terms but his affiliation with NIAASC goes way back when he arranged a conference by BMM the 2005 conference in Artesia in 2005 and prior to that


NIAASC and BMM had worked out for logistic presentations with by NIAASC at that conference Chandrakant ShahChandrakant. K. Shah, M.S., came to USA in 1970. Worked as a Laboratory Supervisor in Health & Hospital corp. (H.H.C.) in New York and retired in 2010. Board member of NIAASC (National Indo-American Association for Senior Citizen) And received award as community organizer for Jain senior group, NY. Was past president in New York Asian-Am Lions club and current member in lions club and participate eyesight activity. Started Jain senior group NY in New York, with 200 + Members. Involved in community service in Gujarati Samaj of New York, Jain Center of New York, Sidhhachalam of New Jersey. Brought condo in Shantiniketan phase 2 in Florida, and actively involved in committees. My son Dr. Paresh Shah is vice chairman in surgery Dept in NYU hospital and Daughter Anjali, MBA from Harvard and resides in Charlotte, N.C. My wife Aruna, retired from the IT Dept from HHC.Bhavani Srinivasan, MDBhavani, a pediatrician, graduated from Grant Medical College, J.J Group of Hospitals, Mumbai. She is an MD DCH, board certified, has an MPH with special interest in Bioterrorism Preparedness, and is certified in Acupuncture. Dr. Srinivasan has been: The first woman President of Suffolk Pediatric Society, Suffolk County, New York; Past President of India Association of Long Island; The first and so far only woman President of American Association of Physicians of Indian origin, Queens and Long Island. (AAPIQLI). She is on the Board of Directors for NIAASC, and on the Nomination Committee 2014. She is the Medical Advisor for a bio genetics corporation, based in San Francisco. She has been involved in community service for over 20 years. Bhavani has participated and run Health Fairs in Long Island and Queens, has conducted numerous Galas, and has organized fundraisers for both political and nonprofit organizationsE M StephenStephen for the last some 35 years has been involved with variety of community organizations in responsible positions. Some of these are: Chairman of Indian American Forum for Political Education for five years; Chairman of India Day Parade for two years (parade in New York City started in 1981). He is the Founder President of Indian American Kerala Cultural and Civic Center operating in Elmont, New York. He is the founding member of the National Indo-American Association for Senior Citizens (NIAASC). Avinash SuriAvinash has held various positions including President and Vice President of the 36-year old India Association of Long Island (IALI), the only broad based Indian community organization. She has taken special leadership role for service to seniors of Indian origin at IALI. She has also been serving as member of the Board of Directors of the NIAASC. Avinash has been very active with the Association of Indians in America (AIA) the oldest Indian organization in USA, in leadership roles (currently as Secretary) for many years in celebrating Diwali at the South seaport in New York City. Avinash has been actively involved with the American Heart Association; participated for many years in the annual Breast Cancer Walk at the Jones Beach, and has successfully raised money for it. Avinash has taken active role in many religious and spiritual entities such as Arya Samaj of Long Island, Hindu Center in Flushing, Paramhans Aditya Mandap (Temple) in Deer Park. Avinash has received recognition by various groups, including government and non government agencies such as Town of North Hempstead, and Nassau County in collaboration with the Indian American Forum. Avinash lives with her husband, Rajinder, in Kings Park and they have one son Rahul, and daughter Rachana.


SECTION 6

ShantiNiketan

ShantiNiketan is a retirement community based on the philosophy that as one ages they tend to go back to their roots, seeking their own culture, food, and other amenities they grew up with. It is similar to the salmon fish swimming against the currents upstream many miles to their birthplace to lay their eggs and die.

The concept of a retirement community is not a new one. There are thousands of retirement communities all over the world.

ShantiNiketan was started with the charter to provide a resort like community where one could live in their retirement in peace where the mundane daily chores (cooking, housekeeping, maintenance, etc) were taken care of and where a one/two could live UNDER one person’s social security income.

Founder and Chairman of the ShantiNiketan communities, Iggy Ignatius, strongly believes that if every senior is guaranteed a place like ShantiNiketan where one could live with dignity during their golden years, the world would become a better place. People would become less greedy to amass wealth during their working years, because many of them do so because of the unknown during their golden years. ShantiNiketan Ashram (non-religion based), a 501 C 3 community plans to provide a safe and secure place for destitute seniors where they would be taken care of until they die, with charitable donations raised from those who believe in this.

Indian immigrants in the U.S. have been discussing the needs of having a retirement community for them and their friends. During my travels since 2006, I have met with hundreds of Indians in various cities all across the U.S. from the east to the west coast. When I presented the idea of ShantiNiketan asking for their inputs, invariably someone would tell me that I have stolen their idea! When asked about what their idea was, they would say that they have been talking about buying a few acres of land outside their town and build homes for them and their friends in a gated community, bring a cook from India who would cook their meals, and they would all live happily ever after! This repeated in almost every city!

Many lessons were learned during these trips. Like cooks who cook our food cannot be used to clean our toilets! And non-vegetarian food cannot be cooked in the same kitchen. ShantiNiketan now offers ONLY pure Indian vegetarian meals.

It was evident that the need was felt by every couple nearing retirement for a place where they can retire in. This need comes from their yearning to go back to India and live there after retirement. However, practically it is not feasible as their children and grand children are here in the US and the medical facilities are better in the US.

When we launched the first phase of ShantiNiketan in Tavares, FL (near Orlando) it was welcomed by everyone. However we could not have started it at a worse time. The market crash of 2008 literally derailed the project. With persistence and divine blessings, we were able to tide over the worst economic crash of our times. We completed all the 54 condos in record time and by May 2011 we went fully operational.

ShantiNiketan is an age-restricted community where at least one resident has to be over 55 years of age, and no one below 18 can live in the condo. Guests of any age can visit and stay in the condo. However, children below the age of 18 can stay in the condos for a maximum of 30 days in a year. The main reason is that the City/County will not offer school facilities for the community residents.

Once all the condos were sold out, there were numerous visitors to ShantiNiketan and everyone literally forced us to build another phase. Suddenly ShantiNiketan had become a tourist attraction for anyone visiting Orlando whether for a holiday or conference or a social event. The name spread far and wide and the demand was increasing.

Heeding to that demand, an additional 10 acres of land was purchased down the road, about a 5 minute walk from phase 1. A project of 120 2 BR/2 BA condos was planned and work started in 2011 itself. The project is nearing completion by end of 2014. Soon demand expanded to pure “winter birds” who were looking for a small condo-hotel kind of accommodation but with all the facilities of ShantiNiketan. Another 100 acres was acquired in 2014 in Tavares itself, on which will be developed one bedroom and two bedroom projects over the next few years. ShantiNiketan Ashram will also be located on this land.

Many who visited ShantiNiketan from all over the country started asking us to develop similar projects in their towns because although they like ShantiNiketan Florida, they are rooted too long in their own towns, with children and grandchildren living close by. They are unable to uproot themselves from where they are currently living because of these constraints. ShantiNiketan developed a model to start the development of similar projects in other cities with community participation. Typically 25-30 buyers in a town come upfront and put up their

condo amount which serves as capital to build a 100 condo project. ShantiNiketan shares the profit made from the sale of the condos with the original buyers, thereby making it a profitable venture for them also.

Under this model, ShantiNiketan has embarked on projects in New Jersey, Chicago, and California to begin with. Additional towns will be added to the list as and when need arises in those towns.

The design of ShantiNiketan communities is also an evolutionary one. Initially the concept started off with a single family layout. However, during the initial focus group studies, it became clear that a single family layout will not be practical. For example, if it is night time and is raining heavily, a resident living farthest from the clubhouse will necessarily have to drive up to the clubhouse to have their dinner. Some residents may not be able to drive at that age.

The next design evolution was a multi-storey apartment style building, where the ground floor would be the clubhouse and residents would live on the floors above with elevator facilities. This idea was turned down by potential buyers saying they do not want to live in a multi-storied building in their retirement. They wanted to live on a single floor where they can step out and smell the fresh flowers and go for their walk around the community.

The next stage, the individual floors of the apartment design were laid out in a hub-and-spoke design with the clubhouse in the center. This allowed the roads to be weaved around each wing and made car access to individual garages. The apartment design also kept the corridor between the condos on both sides. This was very good for a place like Florida where the sun is very hot in the day time and it rains in the evening. The residents had a door opening into the corridor which then led them to the clubhouse under a covered corridor. This design finally took final layout depending on the shape of the land for each project. This design was eventually voted to be very good and every visitor who visited ShantiNiketan suggested that we keep the same design as much as possible in all other places where we were going to build the communities.

The entire community was fenced and gated with restricted access to residents and their guests only. Every resident can open the gates using a remote control or using the keypad in front of the gates. This made the place secure and safe. Since it is a closed community with food facilities, meal times became the main socializing time. People spend a couple of hours during each meal interacting with other residents. Everyone lives here as one big family, and end up becoming close to one another, even forging better relationships than their own brothers and sisters! Single ladies feel comfortable taking their daily walks after dinner in the dark with the confidence that they know everyone in every condo as they walk by. It’s like living in a village where everyone knows everybody.

There are some intangible benefits of ShantiNiketan communities. When the couples move in, they forge relationships with others. In the eventuality of one spouse passing away, the surviving spouse finds themselves surrounded by dozens of people who care about them. This helps the surviving spouse to overcome the grief of losing a loved one much more easily.

Single people also seem to find a much more helpful atmosphere in ShantiNiketan. If anyone does not show for a meal, some of their friends will stop by their condo on their way to find out if everything is fine with them. This is such a reassuring feeling for our single seniors.

ShantiNiketan is an ideal compromise between going back to India to retire and staying in a place where you have to do all the daily chores yourself. Many residents of ShantiNiketan have tried the routine of going to India for six months and coming to the US for six months. This is not practical in the long run because while in India they would always be worried about getting sick. They would be worried if the medical facility in India would be good and if their children would be able to come in case they pass away. Moving to ShantiNiketan would give them all the facilities that they look for in India and also will be only 2-3 hours away from their children whom they can visit anytime.

Living in ShantiNiketan is like visiting your village for a wedding. Its all fun and no work! Hot cooked meals every time and you can socialize with the other residents. There is someone to take care of the cooking, housekeeping, maintenance etc. All one has to do is just enjoy every day. The clubhouse doubles as a movie theatre for those movie buffs who want to watch old Hindi movies on the big screen. Usually movies that are played on the big screen are also played on the CCTV the next day usually after lunch.

All activities in ShantiNiketan are organized by residents who are active in that area. For example, we have music club, bridge club, philosophical discussion group, etc. If one is interested in some area and do not find it happening, can themselves gather those who are interested and start a new club.

SECTION 6

APPENDIX 1

NAPCA Meets the Indian Community

APPENDIX 2First conference held by NIAASC

PROGRAMCONFERENCE ON SENIOR CITIZENS OF INDIAN ORIGIN

Sponsored by the National Pacific Center on Aging (Seattle, Washington) and News India-Times

PLACE: Indian American Kerala Center1824 Fairfax Street, Elmont, Long Island...Telephone (516) 358-2000

Day/Date: Saturday, September 26, 1998 Time: 9:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

9:15 to 10:00 a.m. *Registration/ Continental Breakfast:

Time Agenda Item Speakers

10:00 a.m. to *Welcome and Objective of the Conference Rajeshwar Prasad12:00 noon *Remark, Background & overview of Day’s schedule Thomas Abraham GOPIO President *Introductions: sponsors and cosponsors Dr. Sushila Gidwani-Buschi Co-Chair, Planning Committee *Overall problems/issues faced by elders and Rena Iacono, Nassau County services available for elderly Commissioner, Dept of Senior Citizens

*Coffee Break *Specific issues and aspirations of Indian Purushottam Karra, President Indo American Americans Senior Citizens of America of New Jersey *Role of National Asian Pacific Center on Aging: Ellen Bhang, Project Coordinator National Asian Pacific Center on Aging

12:00 to 1:00 p.m. *Luncheon and informal discussions among participants

1:00 p.m. to *Presentations: Social Security, Medicare Vincent Serio, Social Security Administration2:15 p.m. *Long Term Care Steve Ellis, Vice-President, Travelers

2:15 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. *Coffee Break

2:30 p.m. to *Presentations and Discussion: Ellen Bhang, 3:30 p.m. Dr. Jagat Motwani and Lani Sanjek, and Professor Ashukant Nimbark (Moderator)

Gaps in services for senior citizens of Indian origin: interaction and advocacyrole among the existing service agencies and Indian seniors; Role of Family;

Networking with existing Indian organizations in the metro area:3:30 p.m. *Concluding remarks Prasad/Abraham4:00 p.m. *Workable Plan for Future Ashwin Pandya M.D., Chairman Nav Nirman Foundation *Vote of Thanks E.M. Stephen, Executive Director, Indian American Kerala CenterPlease note: bios of all speakers and panelists in your package

Conference Coordinator andChairman, Plumbing Committee: Rajeshwar Prasad

APPENDIX 3Membership Benefits

The membership is open to all Indo-Americans, agencies and organizations which subscribe to the objectives of the NIAASC.The members will benefit through:• A periodical newsletter on pertinent issues for seniors;• Information about services identified earlier; • Referral to service provider agencies in their communities; • Advocacy on behalf of seniors; Workshops, seminars and conferences to address issues affecting seniors

Membership / Donation ApplicationNational Indo-American Association for Senior Citizens, Inc.

Name_________________________________ Telephone # (____)_________Fax # (____)________

Address____________________________________________________Zip____________________

Email____________________ Sex: Male__ Female __ Age: 50 years or older___ Under 50 years___Please check one: ___Individual Membership ___Organization MemberPlease check one of the followingRegular member (50 years and over) ... ___$10.00 per year ..........___$40.00 for 5 years......$100.00 Life membershipMember under 50 years (non voting) ...___$10.00 per year .........___$40.00 for 5 years.......$100.00 Life membershipNot for profit organization....................___$100.00 per year ..........___$400.00 for 5 yearsOther agencies/institutions............ ..... ___$100.00 per year ..........___$400.00 for 5 years

I, __________________, have read the goals and objectives of the Association and I shall subscribe to them:* I am interested in volunteering my services___........................Signature:______________________Any additional donation would be highly appreciated. Please check the donation amount____$50.00 .____$100.00 .____$200.00 .____$250.00 .____Other (Please specify)Please make check payable to National Indo-American Association for Senior Citizens or NIAASC and mail to 987 David Walker Drive, Tavares, FL 32778

APPENDIX 4

Please go over the web site: www.niaasc.org and look at these articles of interest:

• HOME SHARE• MOBILIZING SERVICES FOR SENIORS OF INDIAN ORIGIN IN USA• RESIDENTIAL AND OTHER RELATED ISSUES OF INDIAN ELDERS• ISSUES & ASPIRATIONS OF INDIAN SENIORS IN THE UNITED STATES• NECESSITY OF ORGANIZATION• FRONT LINE SUPPORT FOR SENIORS: AREA AGENCIES ON AGING• SOCIAL SECURITY• MEDICAID

Atricles of Interest

APPENDIX 5Speakers and Panelists ’03-’14We apologize if we are missing any.

Dr. Uma Mysorekar: Taking Ganesh Mandir to new heights: Covered under honorees – Community Leader

Sushil Kumar, CPA: Mr. Sushil Kumar brings in more than 20 years of experience to the tax and financial industry. He is the owner/President of Trinity Tax & Financial Solutions, Inc. Certified Public Accountants and provides holistic, financial and life solutions to the business community in the Tri-State region. Trinity tax is a full service accounting firm located in Forest Hills, Queens providing accounting, audit, tax and financial services. Chartered Accountant and holds a Masters degree in Business Administration (Finance) Sushil Kumar holds a New York State License in CPA. Before he started practicing, he worked in various responsible corporate positions in the Public Accounting and Private Industry in the Tri State area. He is a member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, member of the National Association of Tax Practitioners Society and he is actively involved with the Queens Chamber of Commerce. He is also licensed in Life, Accident and Health Insurance Agent. He is also a member of the National Association of Securities Dealers Inc. Sushil Kumar manages the firm. The firm provides accounting, tax and wealth building strategies for small to medium sized owners. The firm has six employees and two additional consultants. Sushil Kumar is an avid reader and keeps himself abreast of the latest developments in the accounting, tax and the technology area. He provides profound analysis of business and life situations with creative solutions to his clients. The firm covers clients in all fifty States. He writes articles on current topics. Sushil Kumar is also actively involved in volunteering activities both in his profession and in the local community. The firm has been accepted as a Certifying agent by the Internal Revenue Service. The firm is also Minority Certified by the Governmental agencies.

Rashmi Vasisht Esq.: Ms. Rashmi Vasisht currently manages program development for the New York Attorney General’s Intergovernmental and Community Affairs Bureau. Ms. Vasisht is responsible for developing and implementing educational programs across New York State and representing the Attorney General at community events. Ms. Vasisht comes to her position with extensive experience in public policy, media relations, and journalism. Prior to this assignment, Ms. Vasisht served as the Deputy Press Secretary of the New York State Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, Director of Health Care Policy of the New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, and Policy Analyst of the New York City Public Advocate Mark Green. A former producer and reporter for BBC (The World), STAR-TV and WNYC-TV, Ms. Vasisht was nominated one of the most influential South Asians under 40 by the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA). Ms. Vasisht holds a M.A. in Broadcast Journalism and Public Policy from New York University

Sarveshwari G. Asnani (Sarvi): “Born in India, raised in USA, I have an MBA in Management, BBA in Finance and 15 years of corporate experience as a business strategist in banking, airlines and media industries. My deep quest to gain spiritual knowledge and experience led me to receive spiritual understanding from Late Swami Krishnanadji and Late Swami Sharnanandji Maharaj. With their blessings and love, I have gained the knowledge and experience of the spirit self and have learned the importance of an integrated living. To that end, I have had the opportunity to share such knowledge with many individuals and families towards inspiring harmony in their lives. In terms of seniors, their abuse, and effects on the individual (body-mind-spirit) and the family, I have experienced such cases first hand in my family and in many others. My father, now 73, suffered several strokes over the last five years which led to his being partly paralytic. Our family has gone through many tense moments in these years and we have learned many things that cannot be taught in any classroom. Above all, we have realized and keep realizing that all of life and her experiences are reminding us of our spirit selves and awaken us to our integrated sat-chit-ananda self. Life is reminding us that it is possible to live joyfully here on earth. In unity with the diversity. Full of peace. Of mutual integration. And of Whole Truth. That is the aim of life. The question is, where are we against that barometer? And how do we get to the aim from here? Iggy Ignatius CEO and Founder of ShantiNiketan; ShantiNiketan is the first retirement community for Indian Americans in USA. Iggy Ignatius graduated with BE from Birla Institute of Technology & Science and came to

the US to pursue his MBA degree. After graduating in 1982, he worked with companies like Time, American Express, Citibank etc., then moved real estate. In 1988, he and his family decided to move to India to set up a business on their own, and in 1989 they formed IGGI Resorts International, but the 1996 the Asian Financial forced him back to the US and started their career from scratch. After working for General Motors as a consultant for 3 years, they started WEBPAK, a software development company in Michigan. In mid 2000 Iggy initiated efforts for a retirement community and finally ShantiNiketan became operational in 2010 under a nonprofit entity Bharat Vilas. (Read section on ShantiNiketan in the brochure for more information)”

Will Stoner: Associate State Director for Livable Communities. AARP-NYWill Stoner, AARP Associate State Director for Livable Communities, is responsible for the organization’s “Livable Communities” agenda in New York State, which includes housing, mobility, and coordination of services. Will has been working closely with community partners from across the state to assess the challenges that older New Yorkers are facing in safely navigating their streets and to develop strategies to ensure that residents of all ages and abilities can remain living at home and in their communities. Will’s expertise is in community engagement, organizing, and advocacy at all levels of government. His career began in western New York where he worked for an environmental lobby organization. In 2002, he moved to Long Island and began working for the American Cancer Society. He is most proud of the work for age friendly communities that lead to the law in Suffolk and Westchester Counties requiring that affordable housing be built with Inclusive Design Standards and local level complete streets’ policies in towns across the island and a statewide Complete Streets law. He is a graduate of Canisius College and has a Master’s Degree from Stony Brook University. He lives in Mount Sinai, is married and has two children, William 8 and Paisley 4. Kelli M. Singleton: Spoke on Social SecurityKelli M. Singleton, MPAAccount Manager-Regional Employer Policy LeadCenters for Medicare and Medicaid ServicesDivision of Medicare Health Plans Operations26 Federal Plaza- Suite 38-11New York, NY 10278212-616-2219 (Office) 443-380-5191 (Fax) [email protected]

Joan F. Kuchner, Ph.D. is Director of Child & Family Studies within the Department of Psychology at Stony Brook University. She received her doctorate in Psychology from The University of Chicago where she focused on development in infancy and early childhood, as well as cross-cultural parent-child relationships. Following work in the Child Study Program at Yale University, she joined the Social Science Interdisciplinary Program faculty at Stony Brook in 1985 moving her academic home to the Psychology Department in 2003. At Stony Brook, Dr. Kuchner has been repeatedly honored for her teaching and community outreach initiatives. She is a three-time recipient of Stony Brook’s Diversity Award, a recipient of the University Presidential Mini-Grant for her Advocacy in Action for Children and Families initiative, and a recipient of Stony Brook University Dialogues across Differences Diversity Grant for her round table discussion series Finding Our Way in Uncertain Times: A Conversation across Generations. In 2003, Dr. Kuchner received both the State University of New York Chancellor’s Award and the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Throughout her career, Dr. Kuchner has maintained an enduring interest in cross cultural human development from a lifespan perspective including the way in which community settings can provide supportive learning environments for individuals of all ages and backgrounds. Currently, Dr. Kuchner serves on the National Board of Directors of the Parent-Child Home Program, the governing board of Stony Brook Child Care Services, Inc., the Interpretive Programs Advisory Board of the Long Island Museum of Art, History and Carriages, as well as the Executive Committee of the Arts and Sciences Senate of Stony Brook University.

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Dr. Bhanumathi Ivatury (currently Secretary of NIAASC) Bhanu is a trained Social worker since 1957 and a Licensed Clinical Social worker in Texas since 1982 with clinical, supervisory and administrative experience in several fields of social work including Health, Mental Health, Child welfare, Family courts, International adoption, Domestic violence, HIV, Geriatric services and dialysis services. Dr. Ivatury held several positions in various social service and health agencies. In addition to her private practice, she is currently employed by Renal Ventures in Denton as a dialysis social worker. More than 50 % of her current case load is seniors and many of them are struggling to age in place. Bhanu volunteers extensively with Indian Community thru Indian associations locally and nationally such as IANT, TANTEX and TANA. She is known to many troubled families as a selfless volunteer who goes out of her way to help them resolve their problems thru excellent mediation and counseling skills. She has helped many seniors of Indian origin to adjust in this country. Whether it is work or volunteer service, Bhanu gives her full attention and energy. Bhanu has uncanny ability to encourage the issues to practical resolutions. To the Indian Community in particular, to enable the assimilation and integration within the larger community, she brings her unique understanding and experience to bridge the gap between the eastern traditions and western reality and offers solutions to complex challenges. Her passion is ‘to help people to help themselves’. Her dream is to see the people of Indian origin to be successful and happy in this wonderful USA without abusing this country’s generosity.

Edward O’Connor: Ed is the Eastern Regional Manager for Retail Sales with Generation Mortgage Company. Previously he was the president of Advanced Funding Solutions Inc. a reverse mortgage broker, where he was licensed in 3 states. He has been involved in the financial services industry for over 25 years having started as a loan officer and then product manager for Chase Bank. Ed owned his own accounting and tax practice for 16 years prior to being in the mortgage industry and is still a licensed Enrolled Agent by the IRS. He energetically works with senior organizations, as well as senior homeowners and their trusted advisors to promote the benefits of the various reverse mortgage programs available today. He is also the co-chair of the Long Island chapter of the NAIPC. Ed has a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from the NY Institute of Technology in Old Westbury and is a retired Nassau County Police Detective. Diane Landau: Diane Landau is the owner of Memories On The Move, a company that specializes in assisting seniors with every aspect of moving or downsizing. She has the designation of CRTS (Certified Relocation Transition Specialist), and is endorsed by the National Association of Senior Move Managers. She can handle all aspects of this transition from creating new floor plans to de-cluttering and making the home safe for the aging in place population. Diane has appeared in Long Island Newsday as well as the New York Times. Diane is a member of the Long Island Chapter of the National Aging in Place Council. She has been a paralegal in the real estate industry for more than 25 years, before getting involved in this newly created profession. Diane found a need that was not being addressed - there was insufficient assistance for the seniors when they needed to down size, whether to age in place or to move. Moving her own mother single handedly 12 years ago was overwhelming and very stressful. This experience created her motto, “No one should have to do this alone.” As a firm believer of helping the over 55 community, she is licensed by NYS as a SRES, (Senior Real Estate Specialist) and enjoys working with them to make their houses truly their homes.

Robert Cuccaro – ID theft, Home Environment and Security: Bob Cuccaro is a financial consultant with Omnia Financial, LLC. with concentrations on long term care planning, wealth accumulation and preservation. Bob started out originally in the mortgage industry and has lectured on Identity Theft for years. His experience crosses over into the financial industry where he can put this to great use keeping people informed and aware. Bob’s financial experience started when working in credit for CMS, a card works company 13 years ago. He then worked for Computer Associates for 3 years in database software modeling. Prior to becoming a financial consultant, Bob was a home mortgage originator for 7 years where he garnered his original background in

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finance and home knowledge. Bob is a member of the Long Island Chapter of the National Aging in Place Council.

Anne Raybin: Anne Raybin has been teaching at Stony Brook University for many years. Currently, she teaches at the Child and Family Studies Program in the Department of Psychology. Her work has been in Family Studies. Anne has been active in many areas of education, developing programs for all school professionals as well as for physicians. Her work involved lecturing to faculties, parent groups, school administrators, guidance counselors, as well as teaching in the public school system. For the past few years, one of her courses, “Parenting in a Pluralistic Society”, has been extremely exciting because the issues of multiculturalism are more prominent today than ever before, particularly when examining generational differences.

ALPA PANDYA: Spoke on the end of life issues. Took the audience step by step what to do and how to do. Also offered the assistance as and when needed. She is daughter to Dr. Ashwin Pandya. She is environmentalist, graduate form Northeastern University School of Law; BA- Major in english from Columbia University; JD concentration on enviromental law. Lives in Southhampton, Long Island. Has worked in The Nature Conservancy, East Hampton, NY, Tri-State Transportation Campaign, New Jersey Public Interest Research Group, Woods & Assoc./Boeing Aerospace, Hagens & Berman, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. Volunteered with Nav Nirmaan RICHARD P. LARKIN: HERBERT J. SIMS & CO., INC.Richard Larkin is a Senior Vice President and Director of Credit Analysis, joining Herbert J. Sims in February 2008, where his first assignment was to testify before the House of Representatives on the Bond Insurance Crisis. Dick worked at J.B. Hanauer from 2003-2008, where he performed high-yield municipal bond analysis for traders and brokers in Hanauer’s five offices in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida. Prior to joining Hanauer, Dick was a Managing Director in Fitch’s public finance group and served as the Co-chairman of its Public Finance Criteria Committee. He covered high-profile tax-supported and revenue bond credits and had supervisory responsibility for credit surveillance and the training and development of the public finance staff. Prior to joining Fitch in 1998, Dick was a Managing Director and Chief Municipal Rating Officer at Standard & Poor’s where he was responsible for municipal rating policies, practices, governance and criteria. Following a twenty-one year career at S&P, Dick served as a financial advisor to Fairmount Capital Advisors where he developed credit enhancement programs for public pension funds. Later, he helped found Reliance SRL, a rating agency that performed local credit ratings in Uruguay. From 1995-1998, Dick served on the National Advisory Council on State & Local Budgeting (NACSLB). This industry task force, comprising representatives from the private sector and officials from all levels of local government, identified and fostered 60 of the best budgeting practices that have been implemented by our best-run state and local governments.

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on the occasion of 27th conference on seniors a …on the occasion of 27th conference on seniors a...

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