Recognition for Contribution in Political Leadership – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal 

 Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal is the U.S. Representative for Washington state’s seventh congressional district, representing Seattle and neighboring cities. Born in Chennai, India, Congresswoman Jayapal is the first Indian American woman elected to the U.S House of Representatives. She is a Senior Whip for the Democratic Caucus, Vice Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, First Vice Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and she also serves on the prestigious House Judiciary Committee. Before getting elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, Congresswoman Jayapal served in the Washington State Senate and was the founder and executive director of OneAmerica, the largest immigrant advocacy organization in Washington State. 

Recognition for Achievement in Legal Services – Appen Menon 

 Appen Menon is a partner at Wormser, Kiely, Galef & Jacobs LLP, a law firm in New York and has been providing legal service for the last 3 decades.  He represents banks in problem loan workouts and litigation involving debt recovery and mortgage foreclosures and advises financial institutions in their compliance and regulatory matters and on Letters of Credit and secured lending.  His corporate law practice includes domestic and foreign corporations in matters relating to domestic acquisitions, cross-border acquisitions involving India and the United States, setting up of subsidiaries and affiliates for Indian companies in the United States and advising and assisting United States corporations in setting up business entities in India. He also represents business entities in their corporate transactions, litigation and corporate governance. Mr. Menon also represents corporations in their professional visa matters such as H-1, L-1 and PERM. His clients include technology companies, banks and multinational corporations. A graduate of Calicut and Bangalore University, Appen holds an LLM from Temple University and admitted to practice in New York and India. 

Recognition for Achievement in Literature – Dr. Sheela N.P. 

 Dr. Sheela N.P. is an accomplished writer in numerous journals and periodicals. She has seven published works including a novel, for which she was the recipient of an international award. She began her teaching career at St. Xavier’s College, Aluva, where she served as the Head of Hindi Department for 35 years. She had also served as a visiting faculty in several seminaries for Malayalam and Sanskrit. She has a Ph.D. in comparative literature and elegy from Cochin University of Science and Technology. In addition, Sheela have post-graduate degrees in Hindi, English, Sanskrit and Malayalam and also diplomas in Theology and Christian women education. Dr. Sheela is a New York resident since 2006, and has served as the co-organizer and participant of several workshops and seminars.  

Recognition for Outstanding Contribution in Humanities - Dr. A.K.B. Pillai 

 Dr. A.K.B. Pillai is an integrated personality of wisdom, spirituality and creativity. He has higher levels of education in many disciplines, including an M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University in Anthropology, for which he held a Research Fellowship from the National Institute of Mental Health, USA. He continues as an Associate of University Seminars (post-doctoral) at Columbia University. His specializations include Comparative Literature with techniques of creative writing, other disciplines in the humanities and medical sciences. Dr. A.K.B. Pillai is a practitioner of his own Integral Development Therapy, Personality Development System and Developmental Transcultural Psychiatry, with resources also drawn from psychological and mystical Yoga sciences. Dr. Pillai’s lifelong dedicated philosophy is that all wisdom is for social well-being, which he practices with his spouse, Professor Donna Pillai. Dr. Pillai holds Fellowships from the American Anthropological Association, the American Board of Medical Psychotherapists and the National Institute of Mental Health. He is listed in many Who’s Whos of the world.  

Recognition in Community Service – Sheela Sreekumar 

 Sheela Sreekumar is involved in many local, national and global community organizations in the US and is working for the community around her.  Born and brought up in Vayalar, Kerala, she attended N.S.S. Women's College, Trivandrum and later completed her Law Degree from The Government Law College in Ernakulam.  During her School and College years, she has proven her leadership as the President of Malayala Manorama Balajanasakhyam, Cherthala Union; University Union Counselor of Kerala University and as the Vice Chairman of the Government Law College, Ernakulam. After coming to the US, she has served as the President of Karuna Charities of New York; the President and Board of Trusty Chair of Kerala Association of NJ; Advisor to World Malayalee Council of NJ; Chairperson of FOMAA's Mid-Atlantic Region; Representative of D.C. 37, and also as the Secretary of Asian American Association at New York City Housing Authority. Currently Sheela works as a Community Coordinator of Resident Economic Empowerment and Sustainability Unit at the New York Housing Authority to help the residents for their job education and financial stability. 

 Recognition for Contribution in Media – Ginsmon Zacharia 

 Hailing from Thodupuzha, Ginsmon Zacharia dedicated 17 years of his life to the news media. Currently he is coordinator of the Indo-American Press Club, an organization that he founded and chaired. His decision to choose print and visual media indeed served him right. He is also the Director of Jaihind TV USA, which made headlines hosting reality shows in all major North American cities. It served as a platform for young talents to be heard and seen and loved by the viewership of the channel. The weekly program US Dairy brought to the attention of the authorities the difficulties and problems the Indian immigrants face in the US. Having successfully started and established newspapers in UK and US with circulation in Canada, he strategized techniques to earn the reader's trust. He is the publisher and chairman of Jaihind Vartha, Aksharam magazine and Asia Era in the US.

 Kerala Center Pioneers Being Recognized with Life Time Achievement Awards 

DR. ABRAHAM GEORGE 

Dr. Abraham M. George is presently engaged in several social projects including: Shanti Bhavan Residential School (www.shantibhavanonline.org) for children from socially and economically disadvantaged families; Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media (IIJNM – www.iijnm.org); Baldev Medical & Community Center to address the healthcare needs of over 15 villages in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. His work in the field of environmental health was instrumental for the removal of lead from gasoline throughout India in April 2000 and the creation of National Referral Centre for Lead Poisoning in India. He is the author of four books in international finance and environment, and a recent book, “India Untouched: The Forgotten Face of Rural Poverty.” Earlier, Dr. Geroge worked in Corporate America and was a successful entrepreneur.

 DR. MUHAMMED MAJEED

 Dr. Muhammed Majeed, Founder & Chairman of Sami-Sabinsa Group, is a researcher, a scientist and an entrepreneur who pioneered in bridging Ayurveda and Modern Medicine to benefit millions of lives across the globe providing ‘total health and wellness’ with his new ‘nutraceuticals’ and ‘cosmeceuticals.’ After working in the R&D Divisions of well-known pharma companies like Pfizer Inc, Carter Wallace and as Head of Research at Paco Research, Dr. Majeed first set up Sabinsa Corporation in New Jersey in 1988 to provide alternative and complementary natural products, using innovative approaches for human nutrition and well-being. In 1991, Dr. Majeed set up Sami Labs Ltd in Bangalore, which does ground-breaking work in unlocking the mystery of herbs, extracting the goodness, and gifting the world with good health, by combining ancient Ayurveda and modern medicine. Its research facility in Bangalore has over 200 scientists involved in specialized work in areas of phytochemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, tissue culture, and plant biotechnology. Dr. Majeed also researched and scientifically validated the values of medicinal plants which are not mentioned in the Ayurvedic texts. The manufacturing of the standardized herbal extracts happens in India with marketing arms all across the globe. In 2010, Sami Direct was launched in India offering unique clinically relevant nutraceutical and cosmeceutical products inspired by Ayurveda. Dr. Majeed also introduced his Premium Beauty Brand of Sami Direct, Johara® Cosmeceuticals in later years. To produce rich food supplements, the ingredients should also be of very high quality. To ensure good crops, he has identified small and marginal farmers in Salem and surrounding districts in Tamil Nadu giving them technical assistance and training cultivate organic and sustainable Ayurvedic herbs used to develop dietary supplements. For all these efforts, Dr. Majeed was recognized with several awards from Govt. of India and other agencies. Dr. Majeed has also launched a Foundation in his name to support underprivileged children in India with thousands of students across the country successfully completing the training in MS Office & Desktop Application software. 

SREEDHAR MENON 

Sreedhar Menon, Retired Deputy President of American Express Bank Ltd, and one of the Founders and equity partners of Viteos Group of Companies, is currently a Member of the Board of Advisors of Sutherland Global Services Inc, (SGS). SGS is an integrated research and BPO/KPO company, headquartered in Rochester, NY, with a current headcount of 36,000+ employees spread across 17 countries in 43 locations.  SGS has over US$ 1.3 billion in annual revenues, growing at 20-25% CAGR consistently, and serves the needs of Banking and Financial Services, Insurance, Telecommunications, Technology, Healthcare, and Airline and Travel. Mr. Menon was also a Member of the Board of Directors and Audit Committee of United Spirits Limited, India, the largest alcoholic beverages manufacturing company in the world and it’s then wholly owned subsidiary, Whyte and Mackay Limited, Glasgow, Scotland for a period of seven years from 2006 to 2013.Previously, he held a variety of Senior Management positions in Asia, Europe and the United States with American Express Bank Limited (AEB). Prior to joining American Express, Mr. Menon was associated with the UNION BANK OF INDIA in Calcutta from 1959 to 1962.

 PROF. P. SOMASUNDARAN

 Dr. P. Somasundaran is LaVon Duddleson Krumb Professor of Mineral Engineering at Columbia University, New York. He was inducted in l985 into the National Academy of Engineering, and later to the National Academy of Inventors (2016), Chinese National Academy of Engineering, the Indian National Academy of Engineering, the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and the Balkan Academy of Mineral Technology Sciences. More recently he was the sole Foreign Fellow elected to the Royal Society of Canada in 2010and was awarded the "Ellis Island Medal of Honor" in 1990. In March 2010, the President of India awarded him the Padma Shri. More recently among others he was awarded the 2015 NSF Alex Schwarzkopf award for Technical innovation, the Lifetime Achievement award from IMPC in Quebec City in October 2016 and many other professional and community recognition awards. Dr. Somasundaran has done research work on many critical Indian problems, particularly related to waste water, nanotoxicity, and low-quality phosphate ores, the only kind India has as a domestic source for phosphate fertilizer and beneficiation of iron ore under a U.S. – India co-sponsorship. He has been lead-speaker at PBD-2915 and many other international conferences in the US, India and around the world. Many Indians have graduated under the guidance of Professor Somasundaran and moved to become leaders in Industry and Academia. He serves as honorary professor, among others at Amrita University, India. He had collaborative projects with the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Elkay Chemicals, Pune, and Tata Research Development and Design Center, Pune. 

DILIP VARGHESE 

Dilip Varghese is a successful entrepreneur in New Jersey with a turnover of more than $100 million a year. An engineer by profession, he focuses on engineering projects and contract works for the federal and state governments. He completed more than 1000 projects for the US military alone. Over the years he has earned a reputation for reliability and honesty in his dealings. Varghese is also known for his philanthropy. He runs a public school. He is a noted community leader, who supports programs that benefits the community. Varghese is also noted for his charitable contributions to several organizations. He is the recipient of several National Awards including the most prestigious Pravasi Channel's 'NAMY' Award 'North American Malayalee of the Year' Award.  He is the Founding Chairman of KCCNA Kerala Chamber of Commerce in North America.

KERALA CENTER ANNOUNCES 2017 HONOREES AND SILVER JUBILEE YEAR LIFE TIME ACHIEVERS 

The Indian American Kerala Cultural and Civic Center (http://keralacenterny.com) will honor six Indian American Malayalees for their outstanding achievements in their field of specialization or for their service to the society at its 25th Anniversary (Silver Jubilee) Awards Banquet to be held on November 4th. The Center is also honoring five of its pioneers with Silver Jubilee Year Life Time Achievement Awards 

“Kerala Center has been honoring outstanding achievers since 1991 and every year we invite nominations and the committee has to make a unanimous choice for a candidate in a category to receive the award and this year is no different from previous years in terms of their achievements,” said Kerala Center President Thambi Thalappillil. 

“In 25 years, Kerala Center has become a secular civic institution providing services to the Indian American community and we are recognizing those who were honored earlier by the Center and who went on to become successful achievers and contributors to society with Life Time Achievement,” said Dr. Thomas Abraham, Chairman of the 25th Anniversary Dinner. 

This year’s honorees are: Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, the U.S. Representative for Washington state’s seventh congressional district, the first Indian American woman elected to the U.S House of Representatives in Political Leadership;Attorney Appen Menon, a partner at Wormser, Kiely, Galef & Jacobs LLP law firm in New York for contribution in Legal Services; writer Dr. Sheela N.P. for Literature; Dr. A.K.B. Pillai for Humanities; Community volunteer Sheela Sreekumar forCommunity Service; and Ginsmon Zacharia, for achievement in Media. 

The 25th Jubilee Year Life Time Achievers are Shanti Bhavan Founder Dr. Abraham George, Industrialist and Founder & Chairman of Sami-Sabinsa Group Dr. Muhammed Majeed; Philanthropist Sreedhar Menon; Columbia University Professor P. Somasundaran and Entrepreneur Dilip Varghese. 

The awardees will be honored at the Kerala Center's 25th Annual Awards Banquet on Saturday, November 4th starting at 6.30 p.m. at World’s Fair Marina in Flushing (Queens, New York City, address: 1 World’s Fair Marina, Flushing).  The chief guest is Consul General of India in New York Sandeep Chakravorty. The keynote speaker for the evening is Dr. Abraham George. 

Kerala Center Founder and Executive Director E.M. Stephen said that the Center had recognized 140 achievers in the last 25 years who have continued to become bigger achievers and contributors to the society. 

An entertainment will follow after the award ceremony by Global Arts of New York. Tickets for banquet can be reserved by contacting Kerala Center at 516-358-2000 or e-mail at kc@keralacenterny.com.