Avish Jain
Co-Chair
Avish is a graduate student at The Ohio State University completing his Masters of Public Health with a specialization in Biomedical Informatics. After a fulfilling year as the 2015-2016 Director of IT and Registration Committee Co-Lead, he's excited to be Co-Chair and help the organization grow through innovation. Utilizing a wide variety of experiences, Avish hopes to contribute to the success of the next 25 years of YJA. In his free time, he enjoys sports, technology, playing the violin, and eating at new restaurants. Feel free to reach out to Avish anytime at [email protected] with any questions, concerns, or ideas—Go Bucks!
Hetali Lodaya
Co-Chair
Hetali has been involved with YJA since 2008, as a Local Representative, Southeast RC, Convention Committee member, and now Co-Chair. She loves YJA because it creates spaces for Jain youth to discover what Jainism means to them—and make awesome new friends! Hetali is a proud graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill—Go Heels!—and works in K-12 education. She is a fan of travel, novels about dragons, and all things social justice, and would love to hear from you anytime at [email protected] or @HetaliLodaya on Twitter.
Chintav Shah
Director of Project Development
Chintav is a New Jersey native and a recent graduate of from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied Marketing, Operations, and Systems Engineering. He enjoys learning about the deeper aspects of Jainism, spirituality, and philosophy. If you ever want to talk about Jainism or the projects YJA has undertaken, email Chintav at [email protected]. As the former Director of Education and 2016 Convention Daytime Programming Co-Lead, he’s looking forward to another fantastic year!
Anjali Doshi
Director of Education
Anjali is a Masters student at Columbia University studying Biomedical Engineering. Although she’s lived in NYC for five years, she originally hails from Chicago, Illinois. A former Pathshala teacher and Jain Academic Bowl player, she is excited to share her Jain knowledge and learn even more as the Director of Education. She is fond of editing, be it copyediting writing or editing pictures on Photoshop, and can’t resist vegan desserts. Anjali loves to discuss Jain philosophy, practice, and daily life, so feel free to reach out to her with thoughts, questions, and ideas at [email protected]!
Dharmi Shah
Director of Events
Dharmi is a second year pharmacy student of the Chicago College of Pharmacy at the University of Illinois. When she is not learning the actions of drugs, you will see her playing the piano, being a foodie, running, reading rom-coms, jamming out to music, and lounging in different coffee shops. Dharmi is extremely excited to help plan YJA events for everyone this year. She would love to hear your ideas, so please feel free to email her at [email protected]!
Nilesh Dagli
Director of Finance
Nilesh Dagli was born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, where he was a very involved member within the JSGD, serving on fundraising, temple anniversary planning, and the 2013 JAINA Convention committees. Nilesh currently resides in metropolitan Chicago, working as a CPA for a public accounting firm in audit function. He is a proud alum of the Univ. of Michigan (Go Blue!) and is a football season ticket holder. Nilesh enjoys watching/playing sports, reading books about the economy, and traveling. Nilesh also previously served as a Registration Co-Lead in 2016. Reach out to Nilesh at [email protected] with questions!
Sapna Jain
Director of Fundraising
Sapna is a third year law student at Emory University School of Law. She graduated from Wellesley College in 2014 with a Political Science major and an Economics minor. She was born in Boston, MA, raised in Memphis, TN, and enjoys trying new foods, traveling, cooking, and binge-watching Netflix shows. Sapna looks forward to getting to know you and forging connections with Jain Centers across the U.S. to support YJA. If you have any questions, suggestions, or just want to say hi, feel free to e-mail Sapna at [email protected].
Pujen Solanki
Director of IT
Pujen is a Digital Marketing Specialist at Aetna Medicare from southern California who loves to cook. He is an entrepreneur with a successful Design and Development company, as well as the co-founder of a Los Angeles based event production company, Shehnai. Pujen was the West Regional Coordinator last year and is excited to be on board as the Director of IT. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to e-mail Pujen at [email protected].
Salil Ojha
Director of Publications
Salil is a Fellow at the National Institutes of Health and graduated in May from the University of Houston majoring in Biochemical/physical Sciences. Born and bred in Houston, living in D.C. has been a pleasant change. His guilty pleasure is Chipotle and he loves photography. As Director of Publications, Salil is passionate about writing, philosophy, politics, history, and Indian culture. He is always ready to converse with others and looks forward to an incredible year. Please reach out to him at [email protected] if you have questions and/or wish to write an article for YJA!
Megha Vipani
Director of Public Relations
Megha is a senior at The College of William & Mary studying Chemistry and Psychology. After serving as Public Relations Co-Lead for the 2014 YJA Convention, Megha is excited to be back on board spreading the #YJAPyaR. Outside of YJA, Megha enjoys dancing, photography, and watching soccer. Megha encourages you to share your tweets, posts, and messages about all things YJA with our social media accounts! She would love to hear any thoughts and suggestions, so feel free to contact her at [email protected].
Dipal Savla
Mid-Atlantic Regional Coordinator
Dipal is a fourth year medical student at Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai. Outside of medicine, she loves planning her next travel adventure and talking about technology, politics, and Jainism. The Mid-Atlantic is home to the country's political, financial, and cultural capitals and Dipal is excited to host fun and inspiring events for young Jains living in this region as this year's Mid-Atlantic Regional Coordinator. If you have any ideas for events, please reach out to her at [email protected]!
Anand Shah
Mid-West Regional Coordinator
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Anand Shah, your Mid-West RC! Anand is currently in his senior year at Palatine High School, aspiring to work his way up the medical track. When he's not in school, you can catch Anand debating, making music with his friends, or cracking jokes that make zero sense. After having been a Local Representative for two years, Anand is excited to help prove to the rest of YJA why the Midwest is the #MidBest. So, if you think you've stumbled over a wild mixtape, or have brilliant suggestions on planning the next YJA event, please feel free to email Anand at [email protected]— he can't wait to hear from you all!
Pankti Tamboli
Norheast Regional Coordinator
Pankti grew up in Shrewsbury, MA and recently graduated from NYIT in Long Island. She is working at a pharmaceutical company close to her hometown and aspires to become a physician. Pankti thrives on morning workouts, coffee, and witty puns. On a typical day, you can find her attempting to cook a healthy meal, laughing hard, and adding another country to her travel bucket list. As a past Local Representative and attendee of four conventions, Pankti is wicked excited to help create lasting experiences and friendships in the Northeast Region! Email her at [email protected] if you have any ideas, questions, or concerns.
Siddharth Shah
South Regional Coordinator
A Houston native, Siddharth is a double honors freshman Chemical Engineering major at Texas A&M University. He is an active tennis player and is also part of the Wreckin’ Raas Team. Siddharth loves just about any sport, ranging from basketball to bowling to chess (yes, it is a sport). In his free time, Sidd can be found studying for JAB, playing ping pong, or eating extra dark chocolate. He is super excited to start the new year as the South Regional Coordinator and would love to hear from you at [email protected] with any questions or suggestions! Thanks and Gig’Em!
Neehaar Gandhi
Southeast Regional Coordinator
Neehaar was born in Rochester, New York and moved to Atlanta in 2005. He is a current senior at Cambridge HS where he participates on the Varsity Football, Wrestling, and T&F teams alongside a handful of extracurriculars. He is an avid sports fan, wholeheartedly supporting his Bills and Giants. He intends to pursue an undergraduate degree in biology or biomedical engineering and has aspirations of attending medical school upon completion. He is excited to serve as the Southeast RC and help others experience the lasting impact that YJA has on its constituents. Email Neehaar at [email protected] with any questions or suggestions!
Rea Savla
West Regional Coordinator
Rea is a second year at UC Berkeley, studying Economics and Public Policy. As West RC and founder of her school’s Jain Students Association, she is excited to bring together diverse members of the YJA community and create events that engage with Jainism in a way relevant to youths today. Rea’s passions span from dancing on her school’s Bhangra team, to writing about gender inequality and politics, to watching cute comedy sitcoms. Reach out to her with any questions, comments, ideas, or suggestions at [email protected].