BOSTON, MA– Raj and Nalini Sharma, who were instrumental in founding the Boston Chapter of the American India Foundation (AIF) in 2004, will receive a Special Recognition Award at AIF’s New England Gala, according to an AIF announcement.
The AIF gala will be held on Saturday, March 26th, 2016, at the Boston Park Plaza hotel in Boston.
AIF said Sharmas are trustees of AIF and Raj serves as a member of the Board of Directors. Sharma is a Managing Director and Head of The Sharma Group, a high end private advisory boutique within Merrill Lynch’s Private Banking and Investment Group. He has been recognized as one of fifteen All-Stars by Barron’s Magazine – a recognition bestowed on advisors who have made the Top 100 list for ten consecutive years. In addition, Sharma, and the Sharma Group, have been recognized as the number one advisor in Massachusetts for the past five years. In 2013, Raj was recognized in the FT 400, a list of top global advisors compiled by The Financial Times. Recently, he was profiled in The Boston Globe, according to AIF. “Nalini and Raj are active in philanthropy, civic and arts organizations on a global scale,” AIF said.
Raj serves as a Trustee of Emerson College and as Chair of the Board of YouthLEAD, an innovative organization encouraging respectful dialogue on difficult issues and promoting tolerance and understanding among young people. Raj is a former Chairman and current board member of The Boston Harbor Island Alliance.
Nalini is on the Board of Overseers of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She is also on the Board of YouthLEAD and MITHAS, an organization that promotes Music and Art of South Asia. Through her support of various earth and environment agencies, she is a champion of the outdoors.
The AIF’s New England gala will also honor veteran entrepreneur Jit Saxena, one of the most successful New England entrepreneur and philanthropist. The New England AIF gala chairs are Namita and Santhana Krishnan and Farida and Imtiaz Kathawalla. The New England AIF trustees include Nalini and Raj Sharma, Pratima and Venkat Srinivasan, Drs. Sunita and Brian Periera, and Vandana and Vivek Sharma.
CNBC anchor, Seema Modi will be the gala’s mistress of ceremonies. The evening begins at 6:30 PM and includes a pledge drive along with a charity art auction and scintillating music from ‘Woman of the World’.
The American India Foundation is committed to disrupting poverty, catalyzing social and economic change in India, and building a lasting bridge between the United States and India through high-impact interventions in education, livelihoods, public health, and leadership development. Working closely with local communities, AIF partners with NGOs to develop and test innovative solutions and with governments to create and scale sustainable impact. AIF’s programming seeks to achieve gender equity through developing inclusive models that focus on and empower girls and women.
Founded in 2001 at the initiative of President Bill Clinton following a suggestion from Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee, AIF has impacted the lives of 2.5 million of India’s poor and aims to reach 5 million by 2018-2019. With offices in New York and California, eleven chapters across the U.S., and India operations centered in New Delhi, AIF is transforming lives across 23 states of India while addressing these issues on a regional, country, and international scale. President Bill Clinton serves as Honorary Chair and former Ambassador to India Frank Wisner chairs the Advisory Council.