Board of Directors
Shalini Jha
Shalini is the President of ICON. She has lived in Needham for 16 years with her husband and two sons. In her professional life, Shalini works at Boston Children Hospital as data analyst and design consultant. Outside of her day job, she is part of a real estate investing group as a licensed mortgage loan officer.
Shalini also volunteers at several places, including Hindi learning for kids, fundraising for hospitals and various cultural groups. Her dream is to see Indian origin individuals proud of their identity.
Sujata Sarda
Sujata is the Secretary of ICON. She lives in Needham with her husband and son.
In her professional life, Sujata is a Senior Director of Market Access and Health Economics in the pharma and biotechnology space. She is passionate about improving patient access to medicines with evidence-based decision making. In her spare time, Sujata loves to travel with her family, try new recipes, and dance with her son.
She is excited to be a part of ICON to get to know the Indian community, foster the cultural values, and raise awareness of Indian culture.
Bala Muthukaruppan
Bala had served as President of ICON and currently serving as Social co-chair. She has lived in Needham for 10 years with her husband and two boys. Professionally, she is an Engineering & Product Delivery leader working with A.I.-powered robotic technology platform and is passionate about promoting and encouraging women in STEM. She serves as a mentor and leader for young technologists and is an engineering and product leadership coach as well.
Apart from her day job, she is also a visual artist and dancer. She has served as co-chair of the Needham Council of Arts and Culture promoting art within Needham. Currently, she also serves on the board of the Needham Resilience Network whose primary focus is on “Well-being and Social Cohesion in Needham,” with the aim of increasing health, safety, belonging, and equity for all. She is excited to be part of ICON in bringing the Indian community together to spread cultural awareness and diversity to the broader community.
Ektaa Patel
Ektaa is currently serving as Social co-chair. She has lived in Needham with her husband and son since 2009. Professionally, she has 20 years of experience in healthcare operations.
She is passionate about improving same day access and creating team-based care for the patients. In her spare time, she loves to travel with her family and spend time with family and friends. She is excited to be a part of the ICON board and looks forward to serving this community.
Raja Shaikh
Raja serves as community engagement chair. Newly moved to the US in search of knowledge while embracing the richness of Indian culture. I feel privileged both, for the Indian upbringing, and progressive mindset of the US that helped me realize my potential. I am enthusiastic about promoting Indian culture and bringing together the diverse diaspora. Despite having a family of four in Needham, I feel belonged to a more extensive family of friends and acquaintances.
As a pediatric interventional radiologist, I have developed a sense of compassion that has helped me appreciate the true essence of life- compassion and celebration of human spirit.
Being exposed to the best of both worlds, I am eager to use experiences to bring people together by promoting cultural exchange and fostering unity.
Karan Bhagat
Karan Bhagat is a product leader working at the intersection of Semiconductor and Software
industries. His work spans across next generation technologies including Multi-Physics
Simulation, Cloud, High-Performance Computing (HPC), 5G/6G, Autonomous Vehicles,
Electrification, and Internet of Things (IoT). He is an R&D Manager at Ansys, a world-class engineering simulation software provider that enables businesses to design and produce state-of-the-art technologies faster and at a lower cost.
At Ansys, Karan drives collaboration across multiple product groups, and oversees product
strategy and R&D, quality management, and development operations. Karan has received
recognition for his leadership achievements and intra-praneurial innovations. Additionally, Karan
is an investor in early-stage startups and advises them on achieving scale. He previously
co-founded a startup that earned 2nd place among 20+ teams at AngelHack.
Karan deeply believes in the importance of fostering and mentoring youth. Through his work,
Karan takes an active role in coaching and training, being a leader driven by EQ, and being part
of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) initiatives. In his Buddhist practice, Karan served as a
Young Men’s Division Leader, through which he helped youth foster their personal growth, and
achieve success and happiness.
Vasundhara Sharma
Vasundhara is currently serving as Communications co-chair.
Vasundhara has been living in Needham since 2021 with her husband and 1.5-year-old son.
She is an actuary by profession and has worked in Hong Kong, Singapore and India before moving to the US in 2020.
Currently she works as a consultant in the Insurance and Financial Services industry.
Outside of her job, Vasundhara enjoys staying active to keep up with her busy toddler. She is excited to
play a role in bringing together the Indian community as part an ICON board member.New Paragraph
Ravi Talasila
Ravi is currently serving as Communications co-chair.
Ravi has been a Needham resident since 2015 with his wife and 2 kids. Professionally, Ravi is a Product Manager at a prominent industry leader specializing in M&A. He is dedicated to developing cutting-edge products driven by artificial intelligence, utilizing AI technologies to enhance user experiences, drive business growth, and tackle intricate challenges.
On a personal level, Ravi enjoys sports, engages in running and hiking activities. He derives great satisfaction from nurturing understanding, appreciation, and unity among diverse groups, and actively seeks to bridge relationships within the community. New Paragraph
Akshay Kumar
Akshay is currently serving as Sponsorships co-chair.
In professional life, Akshay is an MBA, CPA with almost two decades of experience in corporate finance and accounting. His experience ranges from small startup firms to big publicly traded companies dealing in consumer-based products, manufacturing, food delivery, and health care.
In his free time, you can find him in the mountains walking and hiking.
Hemanth Chowdhary
Hemanth is currently serving as Sponsorships co-chair. He has lived in Needham for the last 12 years with his wife and two daughters. In his professional life, Hemant is a hydrologist and works in natural catastrophe risk modeling, serving the insurance industry.
Earlier, in India, he had been a scientist at the National Institute of Hydrology in Roorkee, and has also served as a consultant to a World Bank’s National Hydrology project. Besides the day job, Hemant loves to be on courts and playgrounds in Needham, enjoying various sports with friends and developing lasting friendships.
Hemant is excited to be part of ICON and wants to expand its outreach to more families, helping create opportunities for learning, spreading, and celebrating Indian ethos and culture.
Prathyusha Gunda
Prathyusha currently serving as Membership chair of ICON. She lives in Needham with her husband and two kids.
Professionally, she works in the healthcare industry in various leadership roles. She is currently the Global Marketing Head for the MedTech businesses at IQVIA. She holds advanced degrees in Bioengineering and an MBA in Marketing and Strategy from Indian School of Business and The Wharton School.
Apart from her day job, she is also passionate about real estate investing and sales and holds a MA real estate license. She is keen to serve on the ICON board to bring to life the diverse culture of India and help shape the future of the community.
