Keynote by Preet Bharara.

The Network of Indian Professionals, North America hosted their annual conference, Oct. 9-11 in New York City. The 2015 conference celebrated the organization’s Silver Anniversary. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, Former Miss America Nina Davuluri, Comedian Hari Kondabolu, Sree Sreenivasan, Chief digital officer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jimmy Soni, author and former managing editor of The Huffington Post and NetIP Founder, Dr. Satish Chandra were just a few of the big names that were a part of making this conference one of the largest in NetIP history.

”It was wonderful to be part of the NetIP silver anniversary conference! What a wonderful group of individuals to share my story about diversity, cultural competency, and Girl Rising. I was so proud to be an integral part of the conversation and connect with future leaders to mobilize our community together” says Former Miss America and Girl Rising Advocate, Nina Davuluri.

Dhaval Shah with Founder Dr. Chandra.
Dhaval Shah with Founder Dr. Chandra.

NetIP’s annual conference brings together South Asian professionals, empowering them to explore their heritage and move beyond their traditional boundaries.  The theme for 2015 “Begin Again” aims to inspire individuals to reinvest in the organizations and communities in which they live and work. “Begin Again” signifies that NO challenge is too big to overcome and that “You are only as strong as your next move.”  This three-day event was hosted in New York City at the iconic Marriot Marquis hotel in the heart of Times Square. For the first time organizations such as AAPI NYC Metro, SABA NYC, SAJA, TiE and SAALT have worked together on such a large platform. These collaborations allowed NetIP to feature panels on Health, Legal Advice, Media, Technology, Unconventional Careers, Non Profit, Cooking and the history of NetIP.

Dhruv Marwaha with Nina Davuluri.
Dhruv Marwaha with Nina Davuluri.

Special events included the screening of “Girl Rising – Woh Padegi Woh Udegi,” a health fair sponsored by AAPI NYC Metro, Comedy Show, Fashion Show by India’s POPUP and a Startup Competition hosted by Sava360. The Startup competition was one of the highest attended panels with standing room only. The competition was based on TV’s Shark Tank where creative leads and start ups were given an opportunity to present their ideas in front of a panel of investors and venture capitalists.

Emcee Nina Davuluri.
Emcee Nina Davuluri.

NetIP serves as an organization that meets the needs of South Asian professionals in North America as they grow in their professional and personal lives. NetIP’s goal is to develop and engage a cohesive network of professionals to benefit the community in areas of business, philanthropy, political and cultural awareness. NetIP has 23 chapters across North America with 60% of NetIP members having graduate or professional degrees and over 35% work for Fortune 1000 companies.

Comedian Hari Kondabolu.
Comedian Hari Kondabolu.

“As we look ahead into the next 25 years, NetIP will continue its mission to serve as the unequivocal voice for the South Asian Diaspora by developing and engaging a cohesive network of professionals to benefit the community.” said Dhaval Shah, president of NetIP North America. Shah worked very closely with conference chair Dhruv Marwaha for this sold out gathering with over 600 attendees.  “We are absolutely thrilled with the response the NetIP Conference has received. We look forward to continuously raising the bar as we did with the Begin Again Conference in our 25th year” said Marwaha

NetIPBoard with Ravi Chaudhary.
NetIPBoard with Ravi Chaudhary.
NetIP Board. (Vijay Shah)
NetIP Board. (Vijay Shah)

More information on the 2015 Begin Again Conference can be found on: http://ny2015.netipconference.org.