Shikhar Naad, son of Taufiq Quereshi, and by the looks of it, yet another legend in the making! Shikhar Naad is known for playing African drums. He plays percussion instruments like tabla & djembe. He is the first artiste who plays unique rhythmic language to adapt the tabla syllables on the African drum called Djembe – taught by his father Taufiq Quereshi.

Mr. Bharat R Joshi – the author of the book “Navigating India $18 Trillion Opportunity” – career has spanned the roles of entrepreneur, author, social worker and mentor.

Bharat is CEO of J-Curve Ventures Pvt. Ltd (www.jcurve.in ). J-Curve focuses on a range of verticals through 3 i’s – Insight+, Investment and Implementation, and has alliances with institutions in Germany (Fraunhofer IML), New Zealand, Hungary and Netherlands.
He serves on boards of ACTL (www.actlindia.com ) and JKTI (Joshi Konoike Transport and Infrastructure). The companies have interests in logistics, technology and infrastructure.

Mr. Joshi has addressed fora in India, China, Japan, New Zealand and Europe. He’s a charter member of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs), and was acknowledged in UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2006. He led a Future Leaders’ delegation to Japan in 2017, upon invitation of Japanese Government.

Bharat is a Broadcaster for AIR (All India Radio), writes for print and online publications (Wall Street Journal, CNN IBN, Economic Times, etc), is visiting faculty at SRCC (Shri Ram College of Commerce), Delhi University, and author of Navigating India: a socio-economic commentary and guide for business in India.
Bharat is an alumnus of the University of Bradford and pursuing OPM at Harvard Business School.

A keen photographer (www.bharatmrida.com) and sportsman, Bharat lives in New Delhi, India,where his art has been used for fundraising for WWF and Rotary initiatives. He was youngest ever
President of Rotary Club of Delhi Midtown (www.rcdm3011.org), and during his term adopted a village in Haryana, with a special emphasis on women’s empowerment and rural development.

Bharat is the recipient of multiple awards for his contributions in philanthropic, academic and business pursuits.

Dr. Tejal Desai is currently Professor of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. She is also Chair of the UCSF/UC Berkeley Graduate Group in Bioengineering, Director of the UCSF/UC Berkeley Translational Medicine Program (MTM), and a member of the California Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Research. Dr.Tejal Desai directs the Laboratory of Therapeutic Micro and Nanotechnology at UCSF.

Her research uses micro and nanofabrication techniques to create implantable biohybrid devices for cell encapsulation, drug delivery, and templates for cell and tissue regeneration. In addition to
authoring over 150 technical papers and delivering over 150 invited talks, she is the co-editor of an encyclopedia on Therapeutic Microtechnolog and a senior editor of Langmuir and Biomedical
Microdevices.
Desai’s research efforts have earned her numerous awards. She has been cited by Technology Review Magazine as one of the nation’s “Top 100 Young Innovators”, received the Global Indus Technovator Award, and named as Popular Science’s Brilliant 10. Desai’s teaching efforts were recognized when she won the College of Engineering Best Advisor/Teacher Award. She also
won the National Science Foundation’s “New Century Scholar” award and the NSF “CAREER” award, which recognizes teacher-scholars most likely to become the academic leaders of the
21st century.

Her research has also earned her the Visionary Science Award from the International Society of BioMEMS and Nanotechnology, the 2003 and 2006 Eurand Grand Prize Award for innovative drug delivery technology, the 2007 Young Career Award from the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (IEEE EMBS) and the UC Berkeley Distinguished Young Alumni award.

Aneri Pradhan, is the Founder of ENVenture, a non-profit that promotes sustainable enterprise creation through crowdfunding and builds the capacity of local youth through business development fellowships.

The greater Indian Ocean region has become the epicenter of global economic growth and trade — and now is the time for India to capitalize on this fortunate geography. This will not happen on its own. More connectivity must be India’s strategy.

This is the principal lesson of my new book CONNECTOGRAPHY. The world only takes connected powers seriously. India must massively expand its trade and investment ties with Africa, Southwest Asia and Southeast Asia, both to grow its economy as well as to stabilize tense regional relations.

In Connectography, I write about the re-emergence of the Grand Trunk Road from Kabul to Kolkata, the IPI gas pipeline from Iran, the BCIM corridor to southern China, and the new Maritime Silk Road across the Indian Ocean as pillars of India’s growing infrastructural connectivity. I also highlight India’s new emerging commercial hubs from Ahmedabad to Hyderabad as examples of how cities are the crucial anchors of connecting societies to lucrative global supply chains.

The 21st century will be multipolar, multi-civilizational, and highly complex. To navigate it wisely Indians should utilize the new maps of power featured in CONNECTOGRAPHY.

I hope that you will read more about the book at the website: www.paragkhanna.com/connectography

In 2013, Mallory Hytes Hagan, was the first Miss America since Vanessa Williams to represent the state of New York before winning the coveted title of Miss America. Since then, she has taken New York City by storm through leadership, service and a thriving small business, Define, LLC.

Growing up in a small Alabama town, Mallory was raised in her mother’s dance studio where she grew up performing around the south east of the United States, and earning scholarships to New York City conventions. Earning the opportunity to explore New York, Mallory quickly fell in love with the bright lights of the Big Apple at the tender age of 12.

Mallory’s mother and grandmother were involved in the Miss America Organization, and at 13, encouraged her to compete in the Miss Teen Alabama pageant. As they say, the rest is history. Eleven years later, Mallory stood on the Planet Hollywood stage in Las Vegas Nevada and heard the words, “Miss…New York!” as they called her name as the winner.

Miss America is an organization that is primarily focused on Scholarship and Service. As such, Mallory traveled nearly 20,000 miles a month as a National Ambassador for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, Artistry by Amway cosmetics, Joseph Ribkoff fashions and many more. In addition to promoting several brands and the importance of Girls in S.T.E.M. with the Department of Education, the subject that Mallory was most drawn to sharing was her family history of Child Sexual Abuse. As Miss America, her platform and call to action for the public was “Stop It Now: Child Sexual Abuse.”

“Many of the women in my family were sexually abused, and when given the opportunity to champion for a cause that not only affects 1 in 6 children in the United States, but also impacts children all over the world, I just couldn’t pass up that opportunity,” she said. Working with organizations such as The International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Prevent Child Abuse America, and Child Abuse Prevention Program, Mallory opened up the conversation about child abuse, prevention, and education. With the National Children’s Alliance, she traveled to Washington, D.C. numerous times to lobby with Senators such as Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) on behalf of Child Advocacy Centers all over the United States.

It is clear that Mallory’s ambitious spirit contributed to her capturing the Miss America title and that spirit holds true three years later. In 2014, she Co-Founding the Personal Branding business, Define, LLC. with her business partner, Claire Buffie. “Define’s mission is to collaboratively reveal an individual’s unique strengths, help them express those strengths in an interview room or online, and then craft a solid marketing plan for a cohesive brand image.” To date, these young entrepreneurs have serviced over 65 clients in more than 35 states.

A strong proponent of the entrepreneurial spirit, Mallory wishes to see more young women achieve whatever goal it is they set have for themselves. “As a woman entrepreneur, the most important thing to me is to be a mentor and offer a leg-up to the women around me, but it’s also important to see women become more courageous in their goals. In the workforce, we talk about needing to see more women in the CEO position, and more women championing for equal pay, but if we don’t stop competing(in an unhealthy way) and start helping one another, we’re going to stay on this hamster wheel of oppression.” She says her mission to young leaders, and specifically women, is to “start celebrating others and their accomplishments” — as Margaret Thatcher said, “The spirit of envy can destroy; it can never build and we have to start remembering that the quicker we learn that lesson, the better off we will be.”

Speaking of women, Mallory is a supporter of Hillary Clinton in the upcoming election, and her continued strength in “a man’s world.” In looking to the future, she expressed a desire to see a candidate that puts environmental issues around the world at the forefront of their term in office. While she doesn’t feel that Hillary has spent enough time discussing the global ecosystem of environmental issues, she does feel that Clinton’s experience, strength and position on important issues like K-12 public education, campus sexual assault, national security and LGBT rights. “There is this push in America to remove the ‘politics’ from politics, but I think experience and a strong sense of Foreign Policy requires someone who ‘has been there and done that.”

As a young woman who has, in her own way, ‘been there and done that,’ we asked Mallory how her being Miss America 2013 and an entrepreneur have changed her…

“I would like to say that I wouldn’t be the woman I am today without the journey I took while competing in the Miss America Organization, but I have been this same, driven, spunky and outspoken woman my whole life. Participating in the Miss America Organization taught me how to create relationships, network and build friendships. As I continue to travel and speak about Child Abuse Prevention and Women’s Issues, I continue to change. Every person I come in contact with, every story that I hear and every city that I visit impacts me in some way – it’s truly remarkable.”

Profile: Be Kind. Be Courageous. Be you. became Mallory’s mantra during her reign as Miss America 2013 and continues to be her philosophy on life today. Growing up in Alabama, Mallory was heavily involved in the arts through dance, theater, show choir and more. At the age of 19, she packed up and moved to New York in an attempt to figure out what she wanted to accomplish. Ultimately, she was accepted to The Fashion Institute of Technology as an Advertising, Marketing and Communications student; a path that, among other things, ultimately helped position her for success in the Miss America Organization.

Through her participation in MAO, she found her passion in advocacy, most specifically for the education of the nation in regard to Child Sexual Abuse. In an effort to share her family’s story, Mallory has been featured on national television shows such as Good Morning America!, The View and The Wendy Williams Show, as well as hundreds of local news sources. Now, she continues to work with several national and local organizations such as The New York Foundling, Child Abuse Prevention Program, Prevent Child Abuse America and Safe Horizon. Outside of her personal platform, Mallory also volunteers with several other service programs such as City Chicks 4 Charity, God’s Love We Deliver, and No Kid Hungry. While serving as Miss America, Mallory was recognized as an “Influential Woman” at the 2013 Forbes Women’s Summit. Today, she is utilizing her Miss America Scholarship and continuing her education at FIT as well as pursuing opportunities to influence others through media platforms.

So this book was produced by Inter-American Network of Academies of Sciences and represents the Academies of Sciences of all of the Americas, from Canada all the way down to Chile, including the Caribbean. This publication was produced in the hope that the careers profiled will encourage more young women to consider a career in science.

Some may feel that it is an impossible dream, that the obstacles are too overwhelming and that too much must be sacrificed to achieve a career in science. But consider the stories of the bright and vital women profiled here. They have blazed a path that you too can follow. The ultimate reward is a rich and fulfilling life.

The qualities and experiences of the women profiled in this book, represent the spirit of science and they summarize our hopes for the future. But women are still seriously underrepresented in science careers and society is failing to realize the full potential of our greatest resource – human talent and the creativity of women and men.

Download the IANAS book-Young-Women-Scientists – A Bright Future for the Americas

Profile:

Ketan Paul has been honoured with :
1. Felicitated with prestigious Anil Shah Gram Vikas Paritohisk (Anil Shah Memorial award for outstanding work in Rural Development in the state) 2012
2. Felicitated with prestigious Jal Star Award from Gujarat in 2012
3. In 2012 “Globlaizer” among Ashoka Fellows
4. In 2011 became Ashoka Change Maker Fellow.
5. Nominated in national level “Maruti Suzuki Big Smart Idea Contest” and covered by CNBC TV 18 Investor expert panel for Innovative Bottom of Pyramid Business Plan on water and Livelihood.
6. Awarded as “Ambassador for Peace” by United Peace Federation, New York
7. Our work got filmed in CNN New York in “Women Empowerment amid Gender Discrimination” as one of the best performers in India
8. Our work in Innovative Irrigation Technology for Social Change got awarded in World Bank’s India Development Market Place 2007
9. Our work and leadership got selected as one of the “Best Innovating Mind Work” by Aga Khan Foundation in 2006
10. “Change Makers of India” selection by Noble laureate IPCC General Secretary, Dr. R K Pachauri & Financial Express Group.
11. Selection as Young Leader on water by USEFI for India and then US dept of state for South East Asia.

Scholarships/Fellowship
Innovator has been awarded Commonwealth-London scholarship, WSSCC-Netherlands scholarship, TREE-Berlin scholarships, SEAPCP-Malaysia scholarships and KOMAS-Malaysia fellowship (to name a few).