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You Are Cordially Invited to SAYA’s 2025 Gala

SAYA’s Annual Gala celebrates the inspiring individuals who use their influence and resources to drive meaningful change in our society. This year, we are honored to recognize Anurima Bhargava, Founder and CEO of Anthem of Us, and  Beesham A. Seecharan, Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel, and Client Advisor at Matthews South.

We invite you to join us on May 10th at Pier Sixty for an unforgettable evening of celebration, where we will honor these distinguished individuals, reflect on SAYA's impact in the community, and uplift the remarkable youth we serve.

Your presence and support will help make this night truly special.

 

Join our pledge drive to support scholarships for SAYA youth. Your contribution helps students access the education and opportunities they deserve. Every gift counts.

 

Sponsorship Levels

    • Premier Seating

    • Placement of logo on Step & Repeat

    • Display of company name/logo on gala materials

    • Website recognition

    • 1 table - 10 tickets

    • Premium seating

    • Display of company name/logo on gala materials

    • Website recognition

    • 1 table - 10 tickets

    • Prime seating

    • Display of company name/logo on gala materials

    • Website recognition

    • 1 table - 10 tickets

    • Preferred seating

    • Display of company name/logo on gala materials

    • Website recognition

    • 1 table - 10 tickets

    • Display of company name/logo on gala materials

    • Website recognition

    • 1 table - 10 tickets

 

Additional Info

To pay by check, please make it out to South Asian Youth Action and mail to:

South Asian Youth Action
attn: Saphia Najafee
54-05 Seabury Street
Elmhurst, NY 11373

To send your donation through wire or ACH transfer, please email SAYA@saya.org.

South Asian Youth Action is a 501(c)3 charitable organization.

Contribution beyond the first $400/person may be tax deductible, as allowable by law. Acknowledgement letters will state the portion of the contribution that is tax deductible.

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Our Honorees

Anurima Bhargava

Anurima Bhargava is the Founder and CEO of Anthem of Us, a strategic advisory and consulting firm that centers dignity, justice, and belonging in schools, workplaces and communities. From 2010-2016, Bhargava led federal civil rights enforcement and policy in schools and higher education institutions nationwide at the U.S. Department of Justice. She directed the education practice at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, where from 2004-2010, she advised and litigated seminal cases related to schools and higher education institutions, including in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Bhargava has advised and executive produced numerous documentary films and projects; including the Oscar-nominated and Peabody winner, Writing With Fire, Peabody Winner While We Watched; Our Body Politic, A Shot At History, and The Vow. She is currently directing her first documentary chronicling the teaching of African-American studies in Arkansas, and co-raising a fund to support South Asian content creators.

From 2018-2022, Bhargava served as Chair and Commissioner of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom; her efforts to fix problems across political and ideological divides were profiled in the NYT.

Bhargava chairs the U.S. Board of Doc Society, co-chairs the National Advisory Board on Public Service at Harvard, and serves on the board of the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, Democracy House, and Big Thought. She advises numerous political campaigns and organizations, including South Asians for America; served on the DNC Platform Committee; and co-founded a multiracial PAC Anthem of America. She graduated from Harvard College and Columbia Law School and was born and raised on the south side of Chicago.

Beesham A. Seecharan

Beesham A. Seecharan is Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel, and a Client Advisor at Matthews South. Previously, Beesham advised the equity derivatives and convertibles businesses of Goldman Sachs for over fifteen years as a Managing Director and Senior Counsel, where  his other duties included serving as co-chair of its Legal, Compliance, Internal Audit and Executive Office Asian Professionals Network. Beesham previously worked as a vice president and assistant general counsel at JPMorgan Chase and in the New York and London offices of Davis Polk & Wardwell. Prior legal experience includes work at the New York and Paris Offices of Shearman & Sterling, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the U.S. Department of Education.

Beesham is the current chair of the board for Sakhi for South Asian Survivors and also serves on the Board of the Orchard Project, on the Board of Visitors of Columbia Law School, on the Advisory Boards of the Center for Public Research and Leadership at Columbia University and the Center for Leadership at Florida International University, on the Legal & Finance Advisory Committees for the New York City Urban Debate League, and on the Private Sector Steering Committee of the South Asian Bar Association of New York (SABANY). He previously served on the Board of Directors of South Asian Youth Action (SAYA), The Columbia Law School Association, and SABANY. Beesham also supports impactful arts that bring marginalized stories to larger audiences such as through BAFTA-nominated and DuPont-Columbia Award-winning film Beyond Utopia and Tony-nominated Here Lies Love on Broadway. 

Beesham received a JD and the Parker School Certificate in Foreign and Comparative Law from Columbia Law School and earned an MS in Mathematics and an AB in International Relations at the same time from Stanford University.

Entertainment

Soles of Duende

Amanda Castro
Amanda Castro is a Puerto Rican-American multidisciplinary Bessie-winning artist rooted in rhythm. Most recently seen in Rhythm is Life by Dormeshia Sumbrey Edwards and Chasing Magic by Ayodele Casel, Castro is a graduate of California Institute of the Arts where she studied under Glen Eddy of Nederlands Dans Theatre and Andre Tyson from Ailey Company. Once a principal dancer of the renowned company, Urban Bush Women, she’s gone on to star in musical theatre productions such as Singing In the Rain in the role of Kathy Seldon, Jared Grimes’ ensemble in 42nd Street, “atomic” performances as Anita in Glimmerglass Festival’s West Side Story (NYT ‘18) and Lyric Opera of Chicago, among others. Castro has worked for and collaborated on various projects with artists from around the country including Soles of Duende, Justin Peck, Julio Monge, Caleb Tiecher, Michael Heitz, Jared Grimes, Francesca Zambello, and many more. She’s been fortunate to work with innovative artists in the field and is constantly on the search to be a part of stories that help elevate our collective humanity. www.acastrodance.com for more info! 

Arielle Rosales
Arielle Rosales is a Bessie-nominated Performing Artist who interweaves the worlds of Flamenco, Percussion, Theater, and Improvisation as a means to explore concepts of duende. As a performer, she has graced the stages of Carnegie Hall and The Joyce, been featured on “The Today Show” (NBC) and “Good Morning America” (ABC), and commercials for Nokia and Target. Her choreography has been featured in Man of La Mancha (Shakespeare Theater Company, Washington DC), The Latin Quarter Show (REVEL Casino & Resort, Atlantic City), and as the Flamenco Consultant for Mrs. Doubtfire on Broadway. Her most recent short film, “Becoming Mother Duende: An Ode to NYC” premiered in 2020 for CapitalOne CityParks Foundation SummerStage. Arielle is a Teaching Artist and the 2020-2021 Artist in Residence with Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana. She is a Co-Founding Dancer with the all-women percussive dance trio @solesofduende and a Band Member of the all-women Afro-Brazilian samba reggae band @batalanewyork. Follow @ariellerosales and visit www.ariellerosales.com for more info!

Brinda Guha
Brinda Guha identifies as a non-disabled, caste-privileged, cisgender and queer South-Asian American, and is a Bessie-nominated artist based in New York City with roots in the Jersey shore and Kolkata. Her base of training is in Kathak (Malabika Guha; Ashimbandhu Bhattacharya), Manipuri (Kalavati Devi; Bimbavati Devi), Flamenco (Carmen de las Cuevas; Dionisia Garcia) and hybrid contemporary vocabularies (various). In 2010, she co-founded Kalamandir Dance Company, a contemporary Indian dance ensemble.  She's choreographed for several national stages and self-produced original feature-length dance productions which earned her artist residencies at Dixon Place (2018) and Dancewave (2019) to continue to develop work. Brinda is represented by CESD Talent Agency, directs Kalamandir of NJ dance school, is on faculty at theAiley Extension, is a co-founder and lead artist in multicultural percussive trio, Soles of Duende, and is pursuing freelance artistic direction, performance and arts education. She continues to train in Kathak, Manipuri and contemporary dance. As a producer and curator, her vision to allow art and activism to collide was realized when she createdWise Fruit NYC in 2017, a seasonal live arts installment dedicated to the feminine divine and honoring select women-led organizations. She is also the lead researcher and curator of NCCAkron’s How People Move People Podcast, Season 4, works at ADC Consulting as a consultant for production & marketing, and works as the Senior Producing Coordinator for Dance/NYC, a dance service organization rooted in values of JEI and serving the NYC metropolitan arts worker constituency.brindaguha.com

Param Singh

Param Singh was born in northern India, near Dehradun. Moved to Queens, New York at the age of 10, and got into music during high school. Param also attended SAYA during High School where he took part in multiple bhangra performances along with attending SAT classes. 
Param went on to study business and graduated from Queens College, keeping the musical passion alive, he continued to practice singing and songwriting. In 2016, he released a song that brought him immense fame and assured him that he was on the right path. That song was called “Daru Badnaam”, which has over 1.1 Billion views on YouTube alone. He continues to follow his passion for music and is looking to release some fresh music very soon.

 

Biks

Biks is the longtime international tour DJ for Pop/RnB Jay Sean and has performed at high-profile events for Michelle Obama and Kamala Harris. His energetic sets have also been featured on major shows like The Ellen Show and The Jay Leno Show.

 
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 Emcees

Sheetal Sheth is an acclaimed actress, author, producer, and activist. She is known for her provocative performances in a wide range of memorable roles on film and television. She has starred in over 20 feature films and many TV shows and has earned a loyal, international following. Sheetal has become a favorite in the independent film world, having won five best actress awards on the festival circuit. Sheetal began her career at a time when few South Asians were making their living as actors. Despite being told she'd have to change her name to work, her successful career has trail-blazed paths for other women of color across media. Sheth supports traditionally marginalized communities not only through her own pioneering work as an actor and author, but by also appearing at workshops and panels and speaking directly to issues facing those communities. She has delivered talks and keynotes at festivals and charity galas and has had op-eds published on CNN, The Daily Beast, and Thrive Global.

She is a founder of the non-profit, 1001 Diverse Books, served in President Clinton's AmeriCorps and is currently on the advisory board of Equality Now. Her first children's book, Always Anjali was published in 2018 to wide acclaim. It won the 2019 Purple Dragonfly Storybook Grand Prize (voted on by teachers and librarians) and is set to be a series, the first and only in this age group featuring an Indian American girl hero. Her latest book, Making Happy will be out Fall, 2022.

Sendhil Ramamurthy

Sendhil is currently shooting the Netflix hit series ONE PIECE and a lead role in season 2 of the Channel 4/Starz series THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR. He can currently be seen in a recurring role on Mindy Kaling’s Netflix show NEVER HAVE I EVER, and the CW series THE FLASH, for producer Greg Berlanti, and is currently shooting the HBO MAX series DOOM PATROL, and CBS series GOOD SAM. Previously he recurred on NBC’s drama series NEW AMSTERDAM, starred in the lead role in HATEFUCK for the Women’s Project Theatre, as well as the Amblin TV and NBC’s series REVERIE, opposite Sarah Shahi and Dennis Haysbert. He is best known for his lead roles in Tim Kring's NBC sci-fi dramas, HEROES and HEROES REBORN. Previously, he was seen in Hannah Marks and Joey Power’s romantic comedy AFTER EVERYTHING with Marisa Tomei and Joe Keery. In 2016 he starred in Stan Lee's Sky television series LUCKY MAN, opposite James Nesbitt. He was also seen on the USA series COVERT AFFAIRS and had a memorable arc on the final season of NBC’s THE OFFICE as Mindy Kaling’s love interest, as well as the hit on Bravo series ODD MOM OUT. Sendhil also appeared in Liz Garcia’s THE LIFEGUARD, opposite Kristen Bell, which premiered at Sundance 2013 and in Gurinder Chada’s comedy, IT’S A WONDERFUL AFTERLIFE, which premiered at Sundance 2010. On the theater side, Sendhil starred in the RSC production of Carlo Goldoni’s A SERVANT TO TWO MASTERS in London’s West End, Tom Stoppard’s INDIAN INK at the Soho Repertory Theatre, and Ayub Khan-Din’s EAST IS EAST at the Manhattan Theatre Club.