After the tremendous success of their programming this past year, The Boston Chapter of the Network of South Asian Professionals (NetSAP-Boston) is looking forward to another eventful year. Elections were held on November 20th at Saffron Restaurant during Annual Holiday event, bringing a slew of new officers to the organization's Executive board. The group's new officers include: Yash Chitre, President, Kas Sharma, Vice President; Vijay Daryanani, Treasurer; Binita Pathak, Secretary; Anil Gopala, National Liaison; Anjali Udoshi, Communications Director; Kini Shah and Bobby Sheth, Professional Development Chairs; Manasi Voruganti, Kaushik Patel, and Sangita Joshi, Social and Networking Chairs; Dimple Patel, Anisha Shastri, and Aradhana Kumar, Membership Chairs; Ramsesh Kalkunte, Political Chair; Ravi Chamarti, Community Service Chair; and Mihir Shah and Reema Bosmia, Website Co-Directors.

"We are excited by the increased interest in our organization and have high hopes for the upcoming year," said Yash Chitre, currently serving in his second year as the organization's President. "The partnerships we have established with other South Asian organizations in the Boston area, such as The Indus Entrepreneurs - Boston, American India Foundation, and FORUM, over the past year have enabled us to reach a wider audience and co-brand our events to meet the needs of the South Asian community."

Chitre remarked on the growing interest in NetSAP-Boston, attributing the increase to the tremendous success of the Network of Indian Professionals National Conference held in Boston over Labor Day weekend 2002, and the extensive programming options provided to the South Asian and South Asian American community of the Greater Boston area over the last year. Events ranging from the popular monthly networking mixers, to political roundtable sessions, to community service events at local shelters bring a wide variety of people with different backgrounds together. “We try to hit the four corners—professional development, community service, political awareness, and social/cultural programming. This is done twofold--by following NetIP North America’s quarterly themes as well as responding to the immediate needs of the South Asian community.”

As the holiday season commences, look for community service events to begin, including the popular food-sorting event at the Greater Boston Food Bank. Kas Sharma, Vice President of NetSAP-Boston said, “The food bank event is a great way to not only fulfill civic responsibilities as part of the Boston community, but also a way to meet new people with similar interests.” Next year being a national election year will no doubt pave the way for political awareness. NetSAP will co-sponsor roundtable events, bringing South Asian issues and involvement to the forefront. Look for membership alliance perks with other organizations as well. Yash Chitre added, “We are already in talks with professional organizations to offer co-branded discounts to both our membership bases, for example at TiECON-2004.”

About NetSAP-Boston
Founded in 1995, the Network of South Asian Professionals of Boston (NetSAP) is a professional, 501c(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to serving the professional, political, cultural and civic needs of the South Asian community in the Greater Boston area. NetSAP-Boston was founded in 1995 to provide a forum to communicate about business, politics, social trends and issues affecting the South Asian community. We seek to unite South Asian professionals, nurture leadership, and build partnerships in the New England area through professional programs, networking events, and community service efforts. NetSAP-Boston is part of NetIP-NA, The Network of Indian Professionals, North America. For more information on events, membership and other initiatives, visit www.netsapboston.org . To learn more about NetIP North America and other chapters in other cities, visit www.netip.org.

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