Copy of Wate Havuk Team

 Renu Tickoo Wokhlu

Director

Anjali Raina( Kaul)

Wate Havuk Project Lead USA

Anjali Raina( Kaul) was born and brought up in Srinagar , Kashmir in a Joint family . She completed her Bachelors in Science ( 1993 ) and Bachelors in Education ( 1995) from Jammu University . Anjali worked as a High School Science Teacher in Jammu from 1993-1997 . Anjali Moved to United Stated with her husband in April 1999 . Anjali Completed her Masters in Biological Sciences at University of Houston , Clear Lake , TX in 2008 .Anjali Raina is a Manager Clinical Protocol Admin at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston TX , and has 12 years of experience in Medical field , being directly involved in patient care , and working as an Oncology Researcher in drug development . She has worked through the Phase 1 Program that involves intra-tumoral Injections , Immunotherapy , and Targeted therapies with stage IV patients who have no standard curative therapy option left. Anjali believes in her roots and is proud to call herself Kashmiri Pandit Women . Anjali is culture lover , firmly believes in all Kashmiri Festivals , follows all traditions at home ,and loves to cook and sing. Anjali has given back to community by hosting local- gathering , Yearly Kashmiri camps in Texas ( 2007-2022 ) Anjali’s passion for volunteering led her get connected to HemAth Team in Feb 2022 . Anjali is serving as Coordinator for Wate-Havuk Mentoring program that will help displaced , privileged Women of Kashmir by sharpening their skill set .

Rita Bhan Zutshi 

Program Advisor

Rita Bhan Zutshi was born and grew up in Srinagar, raised in a progressive joint family, where there was no difference between boys and girls. She was raised and spent her life surrounded by strong, highly educated women. They taught her the value of family ties, trust, equality, education, and community. Always passionate about justice and advocating for others, Rita received a degree in law at Kashmir University and Masters of Law from -Punjab University, Chandigarh and went on to practice as an attorney at the Delhi High Court, before moving around to different parts of India for her family. She continued to be a strong supporter of education as a Principal at a Junior College in Hyderabad. After moving to the United States, Rita took some time at home to raise and support her two daughters with the cultural transition. She instilled in them the same values her family had instilled in her, encouraging them to do good for the world and help others whenever possible. Sahana now works in clinical sustainability and Ananya in biotechnology. After helping her daughters and husband find their footing in America, Rita joined Bank of America. Given her dedication to community, she started in local roles before moving on to regional over a long year career at the company. Rita professionally excels in team dynamics, client advocacy, process control, and emotional intelligence, currently serving as Business Control Specialist. Rita has maintained deep ties to the Kashmiri community throughout her life, and her family has many fond memories of Kashmiri Overseas Association (KOA) camps throughout the years, starting all the way back to camping in Moodus, CT. Rita believes a well-rounded life is important, often making it a priority to travel and have adventures with her daughters. She believes this program is the perfect way to build the next generation of strong, independent women. Rita lives in Connecticut, although she can often be seen visiting her daughters in New York and Boston. 

Shivani Raina

Program Advisor

Shivani lives in New Jersey, USA with her family. She was born in Kashmir and grew up in the Middle East, before moving to the United States. As an educator, her work integrates research and teaching in the areas of culture, language, and cognitive communication development. Shivani is interested in history, literature, and museum studies. She is passionate about global empowerment initiatives focusing on developmental education and wellness.

Sunita Durrani

LinkedIn Coach

Sunita Durrani is a Consultant in Public Health in Noida and was born in Srinagar, Kashmir. She completed her B.Sc. from Udhampur, J&K and Masters in Public Health from Hong Kong University. Sunita worked with WHO for the Polio Eradication Program in India. She is engaged with the underprivileged population in the remote areas of Uttar Pradesh & Bihar to create awareness & monitor immunization campaign.
She worked with The University of Hong Kong for conducting research studies related to Influenza transmission and control.
Engaged in creating awareness about Kashmiri Hindu displacement through presence/debating in India’s national media channels, posting on social media, participating in talk sessions organized by various groups etc.
An active member of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, an organization working towards awakening and protection of Dharma while educating on Dharma
Taken headway into spiritual journey by actively participating in programs organized by ISKCON, IshaFoundation, Art of Living etc.

Anjali Mahaldar

Wate Havuk Jammu Coordinator

Respected all members of HemAht group . My name is Anjali Mahaldar wife of Lt. Shri Sunil Mahaldar. I have done 3 years diploma in Library and Computer Science from Women's Polytechnic Jammu. I had also worked with M.M creation Export House Gurugoan . My hobbies are to listen music and play badminton . Being a Kashmiri women make's me proud because of our culture , language, etc.  Actually After Sudden death of my husband I was very discouraged and also i became very afraid to go outside but HemAth changed my life actually my sister told me about HemAth group .After meeting the people of HemAth my confidence boosted up my anxiety was gone they give me opportunities and gave me a suitable work to do I am very thankful to HemAth . My future goal is to work really hard with HemAth and make our community proud.

Sharda Cherwoo

Mentor

Sharda Cherwoo, was born in Calcutta, India and is proud of her Kashmiri heritage and values. Her parents were born in Kashmir and she feels a deep connection to her Kashmiri ancestry. Growing up, it was very exciting for her to spend summer and puja holidays, almost every year, to visit her ancestral home in Srinagar, Kashmir. She cherished spending time with her grandmother, uncles and aunts, cousins and relatives in Kashmir.  Right after getting married in Srinagar, Sharda moved to the New York area, in early 1977. 

After graduating from college in Connecticut as a Valedictorian, Sharda joined Ernst & Young LLP (EY), where she was the first woman partner in the EY Stamford, Connecticut office in 1991. Sharda also was the first woman of Indian origin to be admitted to partnership in any of the “Big 8” accounting firms in the U.S.  Currently, Sharda received the Gold Medal in the CPA examination and serves as an Independent Board Member on three US public companies, which includes a Fortune 150 company and is an Advisory Board member on a Fortune 250 company. 

Sharda also serves on several prominent, mission-driven, not-for-profit boards in the US, like the International House, founded by the Rockefeller and the Dodge families,  whose mission is to empower global leaders of tomorrow, foster cross-cultural understanding and build lifelong connections between the world’s next changemakers.

Sharda is passionate about advocating for and mentoring talent from under-represented populations and women; advising seasoned executives; and promoting innovative, outcome-driven programs, focused on democratizing opportunities.

Sharda and her husband Satish live in New York City and are lifetime members of the Kashmiri Overseas Association (KOA).

Asha Wazir-Biswas

Mentor

Ms. Asha Wazir-Biswas, was born in Srinagar and spent her formative years in Karan Nagar and Habakadal there. A chemical engineer from NIT Durgapur, she is presently Chief General Manager (Corp Mgmt Services) and Mgmt Representative, at MECON, a PSU under GoI. She has experience in varied functions, ranging from IT, Marketing, HRD, Administration, to Corporate Communication and Branding, apart from being chairperson of various committees like Disaster Management, Risk Management, Women in Public Sector Cell, etc.

She is an Internal Quality Auditor of ISO 9001 Quality Assurance system and a certified Lead Auditor. She is certified by CICC & AOTS, Tokyo, Japan in ‘Case Tool based Object Oriented System Development’. She has been awarded the Distinguished Service Award by Computer Society of India, Ranchi Chapter. She is also recipient of the Eminent Engineer Award by Institution of Engineers (India), Ranchi Chapter.

With about 37 years of experience in diversified functions, she is acknowledged for her leadership skills. She is passionate about mentoring and guiding youngsters to realize their potential and has been a role model in her varied fields, while empowering others to overcome challenges and surge ahead.

She and her husband Tapan live in Ranchi, India.

Anila Bhan

Mentor

AnilaBhan was born and raised by a typical Kashmiri middle-class family in Srinagar.  Both of her parents worked in education and instilled in her the value of education from an early age.  Her grandparents also influenced her, especially her grandfather who is an inspiration for her and  founded Vishwa Bharti, an institution for education of women from all sects of life in the valley.  Anila became passionate in tutoring and helping others around her from an early age.

After getting her Masters Degree from J&K University, she obtained a Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry and started teaching as an Assistant Professor in the Regional Engineering College, Srinagar.  She got married in Srinagar and in 1985, moved to Univ. of Maryland as a Post- Doctoral Research fellow in Cancer Research.  Her research work was published in several reputable International Science Journals.  After her studies, Anila started her professional career in Life Science Research and Development, pursuing new therapies for human health.  With extensive technical and global market knowledge in pharmaceutical and Biopharma research, Anila has held roles with increasing leadership responsibilities  in her career. 

Anila has a proven track record in business and development of new opportunities with key biopharma players in the market, as well as leading cross-functional teams in business.  In the position of a Senior Global Product Manager at Cytiva (a Danaher OpCo), she is currently  focused and responsible for improving efficiency and profitability of a major product line used in Biologics development and commercial manufacturing.

With Anila’s extended family  living in different parts of India,  she has strong ties to the Kashmiri community. Anila is caring, and passionate about mentoring women in biotech-trends and career opportunities in different modalities needed for the development in the field of biotechnology. Anila and her husband Purshotam Bhan live in the Boston metropolitan area and are lifetime members of Kashmiri Overseas Association (KOA).

 

Anshu Kak

Mentor

Anshu Kak has a passion for mentoring and guiding the next generation to reach heights and their full potential. Born and brought-up in Srinagar, Anshu lived in Kashmir through the exodus in 1990. She has had a front seat view of the plight of Kashmiri Pandits like herself and her family, who had to migrate and leave their childhood homes and cherished memories behind in Kashmir.

Anshu serves as a Distinguished Engineer at Google in the US, and leads global teams architecting digital transformation solutions helping transform and grow businesses using state of the art technologies for US Fortune 100 clients of Google. Anshu is a technologist and recognized in the software industry broadly, for innovative solutions in area of Cloud, Quantum, Data and AI technologies. Anshu is sought after by clients to take them on digital transformation in the financial services industry.

Prior to Google, Anshu served as Vice President & CTO for Financial Services at IBM, where she worked for almost 12 years in various leadership roles.  Her focus on customer centricity and leadership enabled a step-change improvement in operational efficiency and THINK 10X for IBM’s businesses, which drove significant revenue growth. In a prior leadership role at IBM, Anshu was responsible for the strategy, revenue and direction for the technical sales team as the Vice President for Data and AI division, which is a multi-billion-dollar business for IBM. In another prior role, as the CTO for IBM Middle East and Africa, Anshu was involved in the sales growth and expansion in the area.

Anshu has achieved the title of Distinguished Engineer (first woman of Indian origin in the US), is a member of the Academy of Technology and Women in Technology.

She has received numerous awards from the industry and 

was recognized as a Top 50 Asian Americans in Business by

Asian American Business Development. She has received the

Women In Color Technology "All Star Award" twice from a

national publication.

Anshu and her husband Yoginder live in New Jersey.

Rasika Raina

Mentor

Rasika Raina was born in Srinagar, Kashmir and spent her early formative years there, schooling in Presentation Convent and surrounded by her immediate and extended family. She left Kashmir in 1984 and completed her education in various other cities in India. She moved to the US in 2000. Rasika has embraced the syncretic Kashmiri culture by living its traditions, culture and language.

After completing her Masters at Columbia University, in New York City, Rasika joined the United Nations Development Programme, where she travelled around the globe and learned about program delivery and helped make it transparent and efficient. Those are the learnings that she wants to leverage in the service of the Kashmiri community at large, especially the parts of it that remain  dispossessed. She brings both passion and critical thinking in delivering these outcomes. She believes that HemAth’s “Wate Havuk’ mentoring program is the perfect program to channel her learnings and experience and help women with potential, grow and find their own space professionally and personally.

Rasika has been working in the payments domain for the last 13 years and is currently a SVP at Mastercard and working as a senior executive in the digital area

Rasika and her husband Vipin live in New York.

Seema Kaul

Mentor

Seema Kaul, was born and brought up in Kashmir. Seema received  her engineering degree from Regional Engineering College, Srinagar, so practically spent most of her young life in Kashmir, Even though she did not experience the exodus, as she had just left the valley to start her first job, but knows how her parents and two sisters had to leave the valley overnight, packing whatever they could take. The education for the two sisters was in flux, as one sister was in the middle of medical school and the other one was just admitted to Srinagar Medical College.

Seema is proud of her Kashmiri heritage, is passionate about keeping the Kashmiri culture and traditions alive and would love to see the next generation of women from the community reach new heights with so many opportunities out there . She is looking forward to being a mentor in HemAth’s Wathe’ Havuk mentorship program to utilize her extensive experience and enable Kashmiri women achieve a better and brighter future by providing direction, building their confidence and channeling their strengths towards the right path.

Seema is currently leading Quality and Customer Escalations with ServiceNow, a leading cloud-based SaaS company, in California, USA, in the R&D group,. She is responsible for managing product quality for emerging products and also involved with working with escalated customers, managing their issues and guiding them to achieve their digital transformation journey.

Prior to working with ServiceNow, Seema worked as a Architect/Lead with BMC Software/Remedy Corporation, where she worked for over 20 years since 1997 in various engineering positions. She was seen as a expert in Business Service Management domain and involved with the launch of various products over the course of her career. She was instrumental in the architecture, design and implementation of multiple products over time to automate workflows and improve efficiency for customers.

Seema and her husband Rajeev live in Fremont, California.

Ambika Raina

Mentor

Born and brought up in Kashmir, I completed graduation from Govt. College for Women and pursued Post Graduation from the University of Kashmir.

Having lived outside the Valley till 1987 but never had the feeling of being at home, I always wanted to go back to Kashmir and pick up the threads from where I had left those. I grabbed the opportunity in 1987 and returned to Kashmir. Being deeply rooted with the valley I wanted to further strengthen the bond with my homeland, and dreamt of starting a school in the valley. Unfortunately, that dream could not be realized as the gloom of militancy hovered over Kashmir and we all had to flee in 1989 leaving behind everything, in order to save our lives.
To kindle the spark in me to run my own school I joined a school in Gurugram as the founder Principal and shaped it into a full fledged senior secondary school.
Having an urge to contribute to the community I always looked for an opportunity and now HemAth has provided me a platform to work for the cause I am passionate about.
Dr. Shakun Malik has carved a niche for herself among the displaced Kashmiri migrant ladies by doing unflinching service towards making them financially independent and taking care of their mental health. It is a pleasure to be associated with an organization under the leadership of Dr. Shakun and work for for the benefit of the community and help the needy. I may not be able to bring a big change but I can certainly bring in a hope for some.
“Not all of us can do great things but we can do small things with great love” ~ Mother Teressa

Shobita Dhar

Mentor

Ms. Shobita Dhar, was born in Srinagar (J&K) but was brought up in a small town in Uttar Pradesh where her father worked in a Public Sector Undertaking. Her father worked as an engineer and her mother taught in a high school. She has a younger sister who now works with Amazon in Canada.
Shobita chose journalism as a career path when most Kashmiri children would either go into engineering or medical streams. Her passion for reading and writing helped her decide to take up journalism at an early age and her parents were progressive enough to support her decision. She flourished as a lifestyle writer/editor and got a chance to work with leading editors such as Mr. Vinod Mehta and Mr. Shekhar Gupta. As a journalist, she got an opportunity to meet and interview a number of celebrities including writers, filmmakers, social activists and business leaders who inspired her by their stories of grit, courage and achievement. She strongly believes in storytelling as a powerful tool for social transformation and behavioral change. Her rich experience in writing on health has also given her a ringside view of India’s health sector and its inherent inequities. While she hasn’t mentored anyone before, she is excited about the opportunity presented by Wate Havuk and looks
forward to sharing her knowledge and experience to empower young Kashmiri women. She lives in Delhi-NCR, India with her husband and five-year-old son.

Megha Koul 

Mentor

Ms. Megha Koul, was born in Norwood, Massachusetts and spent the first 18 years of her life living in Mansfield, MA. She grew up in a very Kashmiri family, speaks fluent Kashmiri and has stayed very connected to her Kashmiri roots. She graduated in the Top 10 from Mansfield High School in 2016 and went on to pursue a biology degree at Northeastern University. While at Northeastern University, Megha completed 3 different medical cooperative learning opportunities - 1) clinical research in ALS, 2) rehabilitation therapy, 3) clinical research in osteoarthritis pain. Since graduating from college, Megha worked as a medical assistant at Massachusetts General Hospital Sports Medicine Clinic where she assisted
exceptional orthopedic physicians in treating patients with sports-related injuries. She is currently on her own medical journey as a first-year medical student at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in Maine, USA. Megha aims to pursue a career in sports medicine - an extremely male-dominated field at the moment. As a Wate Havuk mentor, Megha intends to help young women like her achieve all their dreams and goals, now matter how big. She has taken on many leadership roles throughout her life and will use the skills she has learned to help her community members thrive, just like her community has helped her. Megha lives in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Divya Dhar

Mentor

Ms. Divya Dhar, was born in Delhi, though having lived her early years in Kashmir. Both her parents are doctors
& were in government service, which took her family to remote parts of Kashmir. She is an alumnus of St. Joseph’s School Baramulla & Presentation Convent Srinagar. Her family (parents, grandparents & brother), moved out of Kashmir in the 1990 displacement & since then her parents have settled in Moradabad U.P, where they till this day continue to practice their first love – medicine. Her brother was a Cardiologist & Healthcare executive working as CEO with a renowned hospital chain. Divya graduated as B.E in Computer Technology from Nagpur University in 2001, during the worst economic recession year in recent times. Through perseverance & sheer hard work she landed her first job at a small start up before moving into an IT Consultancy – Sapient and later joining Accenture in 2019. Her work took her to Canada & later to the US, where she spent many years experiencing a rich global culture while pushing her limits
professionally. Divya came back to India to settle in Bangalore in 2014 & since then has made it home. Coming back to India also re-ignited a connect to her roots, where now she does her best to speak the language and be an active part of the thriving Kashmiri community in the city. Divya in her role as Inclusion & Diversity Lead for a group 5000+ people within her firm, believes that social
change needs to start with each one of us. If all of us in our capacity are vocal examples of how women can be successful, driven, inspirational & empathetic it will lead to a natural uprising of the next generation of women leader. Hemath’s “Wate Havuk’ Mentoring program would be the perfect platform for her to engage & mentor other aspirational & talented women.
She and her husband Dr. Manish Mattoo and six year old son Agastya live in Bangalore, India.