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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 two exceptional leaders whose work exemplifies the values we hold dear—Amna Nawaz, Co-Anchor of PBS News Hour 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.

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Our Honorees

Amna Nawaz

Amna Nawaz serves as co-anchor of PBS News Hour.

Prior to joining PBS News Hour in April 2018, Nawaz was an anchor and correspondent at ABC News, anchoring breaking news coverage and leading the network’s livestream coverage of the 2016 presidential election. Before that, she served as foreign correspondent and Islamabad Bureau Chief at NBC News. She is also the founder and former managing editor of NBC’s Asian America platform, built in 2014, to elevate stories from America’s fastest-growing and most diverse population.

She also serves as an NBC News and MSNBC contributor.

Throughout her career, she has covered major events such as the January 6th attacks on the U.S. Capitol; the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas; the elections and inaugurations of President Joe Biden, President Donald J. Trump, and President Barack Obama; Hurricane Katrina; the 2010 Haiti earthquake; the U.S. war in Afghanistan; and the September 11th attacks.

Nawaz has also received four Peabody Awards for News Hour team coverage of some of the biggest stories of our time: in 2024 – reporting from Israel after the Hamas October 7th attack; in 2023 – reporting from Uvalde, Texas after the mass school shooting as part of a gun violence series; in 2021 - reporting from outside the U.S. Capitol during live coverage of the January 6th insurrection; and in 2019 - for an in-depth look at our global plastic pollution problem.

She is the first-generation American daughter of Pakistani parents, born and raised in Virginia. Nawaz earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and later earned her master’s degree from the London School of Economics.

She lives with her husband, Paul, and their two daughters in the Washington, D.C. area.

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.

For corporate or in-kind sponsorship opportunities, please contact Saphia Najafee, Chief Development Officer.

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 cost of attendance 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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