Meet the Board
Karan Dhruve
President

Year: 2012
School: The School of Engineering and the Wharton School (M&T)
Hometown: Mumbai, India
Favorite SAS Event: Semiformal and Senior Banquet
Interesting Fact: I have watched all 10 seasons of FRIENDS at least 10 times.
Favorite Quote: "It's not our abilities that define who we truly are - it's our choices."
If you were a food, what would you would be?
Thai Singha's 4-star spicy Pad Thai
Responsibilities

To Constituency:  Maintain a coherent vision for where the society is headed.
This vision must coincide with the vision of the constituency.  Make sure the society's individual events are in line with the desires and needs of the constituency.  Use feedback solicited from VP external and VP marketing to ensure this.

To board: Use the board to execute this vision. Assist and advise the board on their responsibilities and evaluate their ideas for events.  Ensure that the board members are fulfilling their responsibilities, but also ensure that they are not spread too thin by undertaking too many responsibilities.   Continually update the board on what their individual focuses should be, especially as they change and evolve.

The president is also responsible for:

  • General Body Meetings
  • Elections
  • Delegation of tasks
  • Lotus
Tarang Kapoor
Vice President of Internal Affairs

Year: 2013
School: The School of Engineering and the Wharton School (M&T)
Hometown: Plano, TX
Favorite SAS Event: The Cultural Shows
Interesting Fact: If you are right handed, you will tend to chew your food on the right hand side.
Favorite Quote: "Is a hippopotamus a hippopotamus or just a really cool opotamus?"
If you were a food, what would you be?
Saad's Chicken Maroush

Responsibilities

To Constituency: Ensure that the current and future alumni of the organization are always in touch.
Build and maintain an alumni database and maintain a solid connection between former and present members of the society.  Generate and execute ideas for doing so. Harness the alumni to assist with development of the society and to provide opportunities for current members.

To Board: Ensure fluid communication and solidarity between other board members.
Ensure that other board members are utilizing their committees and resources to execute the vision of the president.  Ensure that any conflicts of interest between other board members are resolved as soon as possible.  Maintain the day-to-day efficiency of board operations.  Recognize new responsibilities as they develop and consult with the president to delegate them to other board members.

  • Intra-board communication
    • Minutes
    • Delegation of tasks
    • Board calendar
  • Board dynamics/board events
  • Facilitation of transition between boards
  • Alumni relations
Mili Mehta
Vice President of External Affairs

Year: 2012
School: The College of Arts and Sciences
Hometown: Roslyn Heights, NY
Favorite SAS Event: Freshmen Dance
Interesting Fact: Tigers have striped skin, not striped fur.
Favorite Quote: "Hey mr. grumpy gills.. what do we do when life gets you down? Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming swimming swimming; what do we do-- we swim!"
If you were a food, what would you be?
Jerk chicken & mango chutney wraps - spicy and sweet AND what SAS almost won Iron Chef with ;)

Responsibilities

To Constituency: Act as the official representative of the society to constituent groups and resource centers.
Ensure that their interests are represented and that the decisions of the rest of the board, including the President, reflect the needs and desires of the constituent groups.

To Board: Ensure that the board is in touch with the constituency and umbrella organizations.
Act as the link between the rest of the board and 1) the constituency and 2) the external resources of the society.  Ensure that all resources, both organizational and financial, are secured in a timely fashion.  Maintain a relationship between constituent members and groups, working closely with the VP Marketing to survey and solicit other feedback to present to the rest of the board, so they can make decisions with this feedback in mind.

  • Communication with constituents
  • Acquisition of funding
  • Communication with resource centers
Akash Kumar
Vice President of Marketing

Year: 2014
School: The School of Engineering
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Favorite SAS Event: Semi-Formal
Interesting Fact: Charlie Chaplin once won third prize in a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest
Favorite Quote: "You know the difference between you and me?... I make this look GOOD" - Men in Black
If you were a food, what would you be?
Kabobeesh's Chicken Roll
Responsibilities

To Constituency: Ensure that the constituency is fully aware of all events and programs, and that attendance and membership is optimal.
Have a vision for the overall message being conveyed to the constituency.  Work with the VP External to survey and solicit feedback from members to ensure that the rest of the board makes decision with this feedback in mind.  Ensure that the entire constituency is in touch, and generate ideas for expanding the constituency.

To Board: Work closely with VP Political, VP Social, and VP Cultural to ensure that all of their respective events are fully publicized through all available outlets.
Take the visions of the rest of the board and communicate them to the public in a way that builds solidarity amongst the membership and the board.

  • Bi-weekly e-mails
  • Facebook marketing
  • Flyers
  • Execution of themes
  • Updating website
Trisha Avasthi
Treasurer

Year: 2013
School: The School of Engineering
Hometown: Potomac, MD
Favorite SAS Event: Class Dinners
Interesting Fact: Most toilets flush in the key of E-flat.
Favorite Quote: "I have the simplest of tastes. I am always satisfied with the best." Oscar Wilde
If you were a food, what would you be?
Melted Ice Cream with Caramelized Apples and Cranberries (SAS's Iron Chef Dessert Fiasco)

Responsibilities

To Constituency: Work to ensure that funding is allocated and accounted for in such a way that the society's programming is financially feasible and sustainable for coming years.
Ensure that the funding is allocated in a way that reflects the desires and needs of the constituency.

To Board: Work closely with VP Cultural, VP Social, and VP Political to ensure that their ideas for programming are financially feasible.
Develop a budget for annual events at the beginning of each year, and allocate profits and excess funding to other programming as necessary.  Work with VP External to ensure that programming is funded well in advance, and that budget requests are complete and accurate and filed in time.

  • Allocation of funds
  • Budget for annual events
  • Acquisition of funding
Priyanka Varma
Cultural Chair

Year: 2014
School: The College of Arts and Sciences
Hometown: Rochester, MI
Favorite SAS Event: DHOOM: Spring Cultural Show 2011
Interesting Fact: I shook Michelle Obama's hand at the rally in November!
Favorite Quote: "Live as if you were to die tomorrow, learn as if you were to live forever." -Mahatma Gandhi
If you were a food, what would you be?
Mango because it's my favorite fruit

Responsibilities

To Constituency: Build awareness of South Asian culture among the entire South Asian community at Penn, as well as the non-South Asian student body at large.

To Board: Idea generation for new events and having an idea of where the position is evolving.  Use feedback from constituents (provided by VP Marketing and VP External) about new events pertaining to cultural programming.

  • Annual show(s)
  • Mini-cultural show
  • Mela
  • Cultural events
Alina Jamil
Social Chair

Year: 2014
School: The College of Arts and Sciences
Hometown: Cortlandt Manor, NY
Favorite SAS Event: Downtown Dinners
Interesting Fact: Almonds are a part of the peach family.
Favorite Quote: "The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous." (V, V for Vendetta)
If you were a food, what would you be?
Shrimp Pad Thai
Responsibilities

To Constituency: Build and a cohesive social community between each class of the member body as well as among the entire body itself, simultaneously working to increase the membership of the society. 

To Board: Idea generation for new events and having an idea of where the position is evolving.
Use feedback from constituents (provided by VP Marketing and VP External) about new events pertaining to social programming.

  • NSO/Freshman Event(s)
  • Parties
  • Sibling program
  • Class events
  • Semiformal
  • Social events


Rupi Sureshkumar
Political Chair

Year: 2013
School: The School of Engineering and The College of Arts and Sciences
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Favorite SAS Event: Open Format Cultural Show
Interesting Fact: The original name for butterfly was flutterby.
Favorite Quote: "The most wasted of all days is one without laughter." -- E.E. Cummings
If you were a food, what would you be?
Sweet and sour sauce ;)

Responsibilities

To Constituency: Promote political awareness of South Asian issues for both the constituency and those outside the community while encouraging involvement in political affairs pertaining to them.

To Board: Idea generation for new events and having an idea of where the position is evolving.
Use feedback from constituents (provided by VP Marketing and VP External) about new events pertaining to political programming.

  • Speakers
  • Community service
  • Political events
Srishti Kedia
Programming Chair

Year: 2014
School: The Wharton School and The School of Engineering (M&T)
Hometown: Torrance, CA
Favorite SAS Event: Be the Change Day
Interesting Fact: Once I locked myself out of my house in my sleep.
Favorite Quote: "Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it" - Maya Angelou
If you were a food, what would you be?
Franklin Fountain's Mt. Vesuvius Ice Cream Sundae

Responsibilities

To Constituency:

To Board:

Raina Dhir
Freshman Liason

Year: 2015
School: School of Engineering
Hometown: Washington Township, NJ
Favorite SAS Event: Be The Change Day at the Philadelphia Zoo
Interesting Fact: Even though I was born December 20th, I didn't come home from the hospital until Christmas Day!
Favorite Quote: "What would you do if you knew you could not fail?"
If you were a food, what would you be?
Tiramisu!

Responsibilities

To Constituency: Build and a cohesive social community between each class of the member body as well as among the entire body itself, simultaneously working to increase the membership of the society.

To Board: Idea generation for new events and having an idea of where the position is evolving.
Use feedback from constituents (provided by VP Marketing and VP External) about new events pertaining to social programming.

  • Speakers
  • Community service
  • Political events
Savar Sareen
Freshman Liason

Year: 2015
School: The College of Arts and Sciences
Hometown: New Delhi, India
Favorite SAS Event: Cultural Shows
Interesting Fact: There are more chickens than people in the world.
Favorite Quote: "-You can't just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the mood.
-What mood is that?
-Last-minute panic." -Calvin (Calvin and Hobbes)
If you were a food, what would you be?
Cheesecake.

Responsibilities

To Constituency: Build and a cohesive social community between each class of the member body as well as among the entire body itself, simultaneously working to increase the membership of the society.

To Board: Idea generation for new events and having an idea of where the position is evolving.
Use feedback from constituents (provided by VP Marketing and VP External) about new events pertaining to social programming.

  • Speakers
  • Community service
  • Political events

2010-2011

President: Isha Mehta
VP Internal: Karan Dhruve
VP External: Tarang Kapoor
VP Marketing: Karthik Kumar
Treasurer: Kanica Allagh
Cultural Chair: Kavita Iyer
Social Chair: Ammar Mian
Political Chair: Umar Sheikh
Freshmen Liaisons: Nishat Shahabuddin & Priyanka Varma

2009-2010

President: Vandana Rao
VP Internal: Isha Mehta
VP External: Harshil Shukla
Treasurer: Shantenu Agarwal
VP Marketing: Karan Dhruve
VP Cultural: Pallavi Thatai
VP Social: Mili Mehta
VP Political: Karishma Shah
Freshmen Liaisons: Kanica Allagh & Tarang Kapoor

2008-2009

President: Sherene Joseph
Vice President: Chethan Mudiyam
VP Internal: Manika Garg
VP External: Vandana Rao
Treasurer: Maneesh Singhal
VP Marketing: Raj Gokal
VP Cultural: Isha Mehta
VP Social: Ria Bharadwaj
VP Political: Vidya Puthenpura
Freshmen Liaisons: Pallavi Thatai & Shantenu Agarwal

2007-2008

President: Swathi Bonda
Vice President: Anup Bharani
Treasurer: Sal Dhanani
VP Cultural: Sherene Joseph
VP Outreach: Raj Parikh
VP Social: Sohum Trivedi
VP Public Relations: Chethan Mudiyam
Secretary: Supriya Challa
Webmaster: Raman Gupta
Freshmen Liaisons: Vandana Rao & Sejal Shah

2006-2007

President: Rita Bagai
Vice President: Vikas Chhabra
Treasurer: Neil Mulchandani
VP Cultural: Swathi Bonda
VP Outreach: Sherene Joseph
VP Social: Raj Parikh
VP Public Relations: Anup Bharani
Secretary: Anjeli Prabhu
Webmaster: Raman Gupta
Freshmen Liaisons: Supriya Challa & Roopa Gogineni

2005-2006

President: Swati Bagaria
Vice President: Shalini Ramanadhan
Treasurer: Sundeep Kasi
VP Cultural: Swathi Bonda
VP Outreach: Amanda Dewundara
VP Social: Archana Nadig
VP Public Relations: Rita Bagai
Secretary: Anjeli Prabhu
Webmaster: Vikas Chhabra
Freshmen Liaisons: Sherene Joseph & Rajiv Bhagat

Positions
President

VP Internal
VP External
VP Marketing
Treasurer
Cultural Chair
Social Chair
Political Chair
Programming Chair
Freshmen Liasons
Past Boards