All great organizations are made great only through the efforts and passion of the people involved. The AA&E team is very thankful to the "extended family" of supporters that have helped and continue to help us with our ongoing endeavors. No less than 40 people have contributed in meaningful ways to the success of AA&E's programs - especially the HKSKN dance competitions - over the last several years.
The core team consists of Sonia D. Jain, Anil M. Jain and Akshay S. Thakker. Some of our key supporting team members are Ganesh (Ram) Gopalakrishnan, Jigar M. Shah, Palu S. Dedhia, Sapna Patel, Jesal Dholakhia, Hemina Kapadia, Varun Shah.
Sonia Dedhia Jain
Sonia is a first generation Indian-American who is passionate about the Indus culture, especially Indian music, film and art. A co-founder and Managing Partner of Aashiyaana Arts & Entertainment, Sonia is responsible for event management and production, choreography and dance instruction, and creative design and development. Trained as a software engineer, she enjoys engaging her creative side through all of her activities with Aashiyaana Enterprises.
Sonia has served as Software Application Engineer, Project Manager and Creative Designer for various firms and has also been the Executive Director of the Arizona chapter of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs). She also serves as the Vice President of the Board of the Shadow Ridge HOA and on the Board of Directors of the Nebellen Dance Company, and has previously served on the Board of the Gujurati Cultural Association of Arizona. Sonia has been recognized numerous times for her design skills, was the first "Face of East West Woman" magazine and was second runner up in the Mrs. India America pageant.
Sonia holds an Masters in Computer Science from Arizona State University and B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Houston.
Anil Mehta Jain
Anil is a first generation Indian-American who aspires to make the most of his Indian and American heritage. A music enthusiast from an early age, Anil enjoys a wide and diverse range of music and is particularly interested in new and emerging artists from the Indus region. In his younger days, Anil actively participated as a member and vocalist of two Indian bands (in Boston and Phoenix).
An entrepreneur at heart, Anil enjoys exercising his creativity in developing Aashiyaana Arts & Entertainment as a venture that enables him to explore various aspects of the Indus culture. As co-founder and Managing Partner of Aashiyaana Enterprises, Anil is responsible for business development, marketing and public relations.
Anil is a Managing Partner of Endeavor Innovation Partners, LLC, a strategic advisory firm to early and mid-stage technology companies. He has been involved in a number of technology ventures in the U.S. and abroad, holding executive leadership roles in Marketing, Product Development and Business Development. He is a Charter Member of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) and serves of the Board of the Arizona chapter where he was a Past President (2003-2004). Anil also serves on the Advisory Board of several entrepreneurial ventures and is member of the Board of Directors of the Nebellen Dance Company.
Anil holds a M.S. in Technology & Policy and an M.S. in Materials Science & Engineering from M.I.T. and a B.S. in Ceramic Engineering from Alfred University.
Akshay S. Thakker
Akshay Thakker is a globe-trotting Indian-born Desi hailing from Pune who has made Arizona his home for the last five years. An enthusiast of gadgets of all sorts and one who can never say no to a challenge, Akshay has found a whole range of activities to get thoroughly involved and immersed in while collaborating with Sonia and Anil.
Involved from the first HKSKN production developed in the early days of Aashiyaana circa 2003, Akshay has stayed engaged as part of the core Aashiyaana team working tirelessly on each project. He has enabled the organization to achieve marvelous feats of multimedia manipulation, has been the driving force behind the HKSKN DVDs, has supported countless dancers in their attempts to achieve the "perfect audio cut", made his acting debut in the first Follywood Fillum Zero Se Hero, and so on and so forth…
Akshay holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Arizona State University and is currently in pursuit of his graduate education.
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