NETIP NORTH AMERICA SILVER ANNIVERSARY
NetIP North America board of directors at the 2014 Annual NetIP NA Conference in Atlanta, GA. (Diya TV)
NetIP has been an inspirational leadership training platform. I networked with some amazing emerging South Asian leaders and valued sponsors (such as Marriott International, Inc.) across North America, building valuable friendships, writes Ritu Singh.
The Network of Indian Professionals (“NetIP”) is a non-profit organization that is incorporated as NetIP North America, a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that includes 24 local chapters across North America, and the NetIP Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focusing on charitable endeavors. NetIP North America has a 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. And the NetIP Foundation has a mission to promote leadership and service to benefit the community. NetIP North America, founded in 1990 by Dr. Satish Chandra in Chicago, IL, USA, focuses on hosting events implementing the following four pillars: Professional Development, Cultural Awareness, Community Service, and Political Awareness.
My name is Ritu Singh, and I recently finished a two-year term as President of NetIP North America, and the NetIP Foundation, after being with the organization since 2008 at both local and North American levels. I joined NetIP Pittsburgh in 2008 as a member, which was the same year I attended my first NetIP North America Annual Conference (hosted in Boston that year). In fact, that first Boston conference impressed me so much with its intellectually stimulating panel sessions and fantastic networking events that I jumped into volunteering with NetIP directly afterwards. I have attended every conference since my first 2008 conference, and I am greatly looking forward to attending the upcoming 25th Silver Anniversary Annual NetIP North America Conference in New York City this Columbus Day weekend (October 9-11) at the Marriott Marquis, Times Square.
First of all, let me inform you that NetIP North America and the NetIP Foundation are purely volunteer run organizations without paid staff. In my “day-job,” I currently work as a patent attorney at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, a law firm in Cincinnati (a demanding and intellectually stimulating job in its own right). Adding on countless hours of volunteering a month as a North American lead of these two great NetIP organizations was not easy, but I am a person who is passionate about giving back to my community, and in particular to the NetIP community and what it represents. To me, NetIP has been an inspirational leadership training platform. I networked with some amazing emerging South Asian leaders and valued sponsors (such as Marriott International, Inc.) across North America, building valuable friendships. Along the way, I learned what it means to be a leader and how I operate as one. From assisting with planning annual conferences, to organizing officer leadership conferences to teach volunteers about being effective non-profit leaders, to learning and implementing fundraising skills, and to participating in and assisting with various local NetIP events, I’ve learned a variety of lessons while simultaneously expanding my network and knowledge base. I’ll be happy to share these lessons learned with you during a NetIP Leadership Panel at the upcoming conference. What will NetIP mean to you? I invite you to explore this rewarding opportunity.
As we approach our upcoming Silver Anniversary Conference in NYC this October, I and NetIP North America invite you to join its community members at the conference while following the conference theme of Begin Again: You are Only as Strong as Your Next Move. I’ll certainly be following this theme. After years of leadership with NetIP, I am back to enjoying it as a member, and I have NetIP to continue to help inspire me as I move along my future path within a cycle of new beginnings that challenge me and allow me to continually grow and evolve as a person.
Detailed information about events and ticket registration may be found at the conference website: http://ny2015.netipconference.org/. The conference has a lineup of esteemed and accomplished speakers, ranging from Key Note Speaker and leading U.S. federal prosecutor Preet Bharara, to NetIP founder Dr. Satish Chandra, to yours truly. And if you attend, please find me to say hello & share your own NetIP stories while embracing new NetIP experiences.
