Honorees 2008

   Congressman Mike Honda
15th Congressional District, California

   Mike Honda has represented the 15th Congressional District of California in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2001. His diverse district includes Silicon Valley, the birthplace of technology innovation and the leading region for the development of the technologies of tomorrow.

Mike was born in California, but spent his early childhood with his family in an internment camp in Colorado during World War II. His family returned to California in 1953, becoming strawberry sharecroppers in San Jose.

In 1965, Mike interrupted his college studies to answer President John F. Kennedy's call for volunteer service. He served in the Peace Corps for two years in El Salvador, returning with a passion for teaching and fluent in Spanish.

Mike earned Bachelor's degrees in Biological Sciences and Spanish, and a Master's degree in Education from San José State University. In his decades-long career as an educator, Mike was a science teacher, served as a principal at two public schools, and conducted educational research at Stanford University.

In 1971, Mike was appointed by then-Mayor Norm Mineta to San Jose's Planning Commission. In 1981, he won his first election, gaining a seat on the San José Unified School Board. In 1990, Mike was elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, where he led efforts to acquire and preserve open space in the county. He served in the California State Assembly from 1996 to 2000.

In 2000, Mike was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and serves on the Appropriations Committee, with postings on that body's Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, Commerce, Justice, and Science, and Legislative Branch Subcommittees. As an appropriator, Mike will focus on directing funding to address such fundamental needs as: Access to affordable healthcare; worker training; port and border security; adequate law enforcement to keep our streets and neighborhoods safe; health care for our veterans; recovery from natural disasters, particularly Hurricane Katrina, and education, particularly fully funding No Child Left Behind and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Mike is serving his second term as Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, coordinating with his colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucuses to champion the causes of under-represented communities by promoting social justice, racial tolerance, and civil rights.

In February 2005, Mike was elected as Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee. In his role as DNC Vice-Chair, Mike works closely with DNC Chair Howard Dean to rejuvenate the Party's grassroots efforts and to incorporate new and emerging constituencies into the Party's agenda.

In January, 2007, he was named House Democratic Senior Whip by House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC). Senior Whips are a select group of Members and Democratic Caucus opinion leaders tasked with strategic planning about how issues impact targeted Members or groups, and will help develop strategies to ensure legislative success.

Mike is widowed and has two grown children. His wife, Jeanne, was a teacher at Baldwin Elementary School in San Jose before her passing in 2004. His son, Mark, is an aerospace engineer and Michelle, his daughter, is a public health educator with three young boys, Trey, Brody and Zachary.

   Congressman Joe Wilson
2nd Congressional District, South Carolina

   From his involvement as a Teenage Republican at the High School of Charleston in 1962 to his current work in Congress, Congressman Joe Wilson has led a life dedicated to public service.

Addison (Joe) Graves Wilson was born on July 31, 1947, in Charleston, South Carolina. After graduating from the High School of Charleston, he received his undergraduate degree from Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia and completed his law degree at the University of South Carolina. A real estate attorney by trade, Joe was a founding partner of the West Columbia law firm Kirkland, Wilson, Moore, Taylor & Thomas.

His career in public service officially began when he served on the staffs of South Carolina legends Senator Strom Thurmond and Congressman Floyd Spence. As part of the visionary Ronald Reagan administration, Joe was Deputy General Counsel to the United States Department of Energy Secretary and former South Carolina Governor, Jim Edwards.

Throughout his life, Joe has also had a tremendous passion to serve his country as a member of the United States Armed Forces. After serving in the United States Army Reserves from 1972-1975, he also served in the South Carolina Army National Guard. In the summer of 2003, Joe retired as a Colonel, having served as a Staff Judge Advocate assigned to the 218th Mechanized Infantry Brigade. At the time, he was the only active Guard member serving in Congress.

Before being elected to the United States Congress in 2001, Joe served seventeen years, with perfect attendance, in the South Carolina State Senate where he was elected Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, the first Republican Chairman since Reconstruction.

Today, Joe serves on the House Armed Services Committee, the Committee on Education and Labor - where he serves as Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections - and the Committee on Foreign Affairs. For further information on these committees, please click here. He was appointed by the Republican Leader to the highly influential Republican Policy Committee and works as an Assistant Republican Whip. He is Co-Chair of the Bulgaria Caucus, the Caucus on India and Indian Americans, the Americans Abroad Caucus, and the Victory in Iraq Caucus.

While serving the Second Congressional District of South Carolina, Joe is committed to promoting peace through a strong national defense, decreasing taxes for all Americans, and limiting the size of the federal government.

Joe is married to Roxanne Dusenbury McCrory, who continues to offer him strength and support in his every endeavor. They are the parents of four sons, all of whom serve in the U.S. military, and the proud grandparents of two boys. Alan, his oldest son, is a Captain in the Army National Guard who proudly served for a year in Iraq; Addison is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and a physician who recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq; Julian was recently inducted into the South Carolina Army National Guard after graduation from Clemson University and served on a peacekeeping tour in Egypt; and Hunter is a freshman at Clemson University where he is enrolled in Army ROTC. Their fours sons are all Eagle Scouts, and Joe is proud to serve as the Republican Vice-Chairman of the House Boy Scouts Caucus.

   Gurvendra Singh Suri
Optimal Solutions Integration, Inc.

   Mr. Suri founded Optimal Solutions Integration, Inc., an enterprise technology consulting firm based in Irving, TX, in 1995, and today serves as the company’s chief executive officer. Optimal Solutions helps Fortune 500 companies, large public sector organizations and rapidly growing midmarket companies leverage core enterprise technology solutions to streamline business processes, fuel supply-chain efficiency, and turn raw data into pure competitive advantage. Optimal Solutions serves global clients from offices in Irving, Texas; Washington, DC; Munich, Germany; and Bangalore, India.

Under Mr. Suri’s leadership, Optimal Solutions has sustained year-over-year revenue growth since its inception. Mr. Suri has been named Entrepreneur of the year by DFW Asian American Chamber of Commerce in year 2004 as well as by Greater Dallas Indo American Chamber of Commerce in year 2002. He has been named an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist for the past three years.

In May of 2008, Tailwind Capital Partners, an independent private equity firm with more than $2 billion under management, announced that it had made an equity investment in Optimal, and will be the lead investor for providing and arranging up to $100 million in financing to fund Optimal’s growth.

Optimal Solutions has received numerous industry awards for its remarkable success, including the DFW Tech Titan Fast 50 consecutively for the last 6 years, the Deloitte Texas Technology Fast 50 every year for the last four years; and the SMU Cox School of Business ‘Dallas 100’ Award consecutively for the last 4 years. Additionally, Optimal Solutions was ranked the 20th largest diversity-owned business in DFW by the Dallas Morning News.

In 2007, Optimal Solutions earned distinction as a DFW Tech Titan Community Hero Finalist for the company’s commitment to community involvement and charitable activity. A selection of Optimal Solutions’ ongoing corporate charity includes supporting a local school for economically challenged families, contributing time and funds to Irving Cares, a non-profit organization supporting families in need, and conducting numerous care package drives to support U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Among Mr. Suri’s many personal charitable activities is Beyond Borders, a private charity which he founded in 2003 with substantially large endowment. The mission of Beyond Borders is to provide care and support for disadvantaged people across borders in the form of medical care, educational grant scholarships and vocational facilities. Mr. Suri also generously contributes time and funds to numerous organizations in India and the U.S. that support the International Sikh community and promote Sikh values to youth. He participates actively in local Dallas Sikh community affairs to fund and promote Sikh values. He serves on the board of Sikh Research Institute and is also and strategic advisor to Sikh Coalition.

   Kenneth Cole Productions

  Kenneth Cole Productions, founded in 1982 and created by world renown fashion designer and businessman Kenneth Cole, designs men's and women's footwear, clothing, and accessories under the Kenneth Cole Reaction Line. In 1994 Kenneth Cole Productions went public, and has been included on Forbes annual list of 200 Best Small Companies approximately four times.

Since 1985, Kenneth Cole Productions has been openly involved in publicly supporting AIDS awareness and research. He, along with the company, is considered the first in the fashion industry to do so. He uses fashion as a medium to promote socially conscious ads to help fight various causes from AIDS to homelessness. He has donated proceeds to such organizations as Mentoring USA, amfAR and Rock the Vote.

In the summer of 2007, Kenneth Cole Productions also began their "Awareness" Campaign, which produced a line of T-Shirts to benefit the charities that the company supports, and proceeds will go to the Awareness Fund.

In 2008, the "Awareness" Campaign continued with a blog and a fashion ad campaign themed "We all walk in different shoes" to mark the company's 25th year of “non-uniform thinking."

Sandeep Singh Caberwal, a member of the Sikh American community, modeled for the first in a series of ads highlighting diversity of ethnicity, life choices, politics and even physical handicaps.

Caberwal's print ad campaign was seen through out the United States, from advertisement billboards to posters seen in local Kenneth Cole stores. To much of the Sikh American community's delight, a 20-feet-high mural of Caberwal was displayed outside of the Kenneth Cole store in Rockefeller Center, New York.

  Sandeep "Sonny" Singh Caberwal
Entrepreneur and Co-Founder of Tavalon Tea

   Sonny is a Sikh entrepreneur who was born and raised in North Carolina. He currently lives in San Francisco, where he helps startups in the Bay Area identify and execute business development and strategic growth opportunities. He graduated from Duke University in 2001, and Georgetown University Law Center in 2004. Prior to moving to the Bay Area, Sonny lived in Manhattan, where he was a practicing attorney with Chadbourne & Parke LLP before leaving to co-found Tavalon Tea, a premium tea brand and trendy tea bar in New York City.

Aside to his entrepreneur vision and being featured as a model in Kenneth Cole advertisements, Sonny is an accomplished tabla player and was featured in Thievery Corporation’s "The Richest Man in Babylon" album.

  Tami Yeager – TRY Productions
Director/Producer, "A Dream in Doubt"

  Tami Yeager made her independent feature documentary debut with "A Dream in Doubt," a film focusing on the life of Rana Singh Sodhi and his family and their sufferings in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 9/11. "A Dream in Doubt" shares the story of Rana’s brothers Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh killed in a hate crime attack in Mesa, Arizona due to mistaken identity, and Sukhpal Singh Sodhi, who was killed several months later in San Francisco, California who was killed on duty while working as a taxi cab driver.

She previously produced award-winning films for national television networks, public broadcasting, and non-profits. Prior to beginning production on "A Dream in Doubt," she co-produced an hour-long documentary about infertility for MSNBC, two half-hour documentaries about education for ABC News and PBS, and a comprehensive film-based school curriculum package about Sikh children. She has covered a wide range of subjects, including youth issues, culture, criminal justice, religion, science, health, and the arts. Previously based in San Francisco, she currently resides in New York and is a graduate of American University in Washington, DC.

Yeager spent more than three years filming "A Dream in Doubt" with the Sodhi family off and on, interviewing authorities and poring over evidence from Balbir's trial.

  Preetmohan Singh – TRY Productions
Co-Producer, "A Dream in Doubt"

  Preetmohan Singh has collaborated with Ms. Yeager on documentary projects for nearly a decade. Their last project, a film-based school curriculum project called "The Sikh Next Door," is being utilized by teachers and non-profits across the U.S. and internationally. He is currently the Deputy Director of Public Policy at The Interfaith Alliance in Washington, DC. From 2002-2005, he was the national director of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund. He has conducted congressional briefings on hate crimes and trained over 6,000 law enforcement officials, including hundreds of FBI agents, about the causes and effects of such crimes. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and also studied at Oxford University in England.

  

Mandeep Singh Dhillon – TRY Productions
Development Director, "A Dream in Doubt"

  As a Sikh raised in the United States, Mandeep S. Dhillon has been involved in a broad range of activities both inside and outside the Sikh community. His current projects include "The Sikh Next Door," a multimedia curriculum program that has been designed specifically for American schools, as well as Development Director for "A Dream in Doubt." As Development Director, Mandeep was active in fund raising and soliciting funds for the feature documentary. As an active member in the Sikh American community for a number of years, Mandeep helped found the several Sikh youth organizations to help Sikh children raised in the US develop confidence in themselves and their communities. In 1991, Mandeep co-founded United Sikh Association (USA), a national Sikh students organization that set up local chapters for young Sikhs to come together and discuss local issues and religion, plan community events that impacted the broader communities they lived in, and provide support for one-another. In addition, USA sponsored youth conferences in California, North Carolina, Michigan and Florida.

In 1992, Mandeep helped found the Lohgarh Retreat, the first Sikh property in the US focused exclusively on the development of Sikh youth. The Retreat takes place on a 60-acre scenic campsite in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania that was purchased by Sikh benefactors specifically for the purpose of running Sikh camps. Each year, about 100 Sikh youth, aged 8-18 come to learn about their religion, history, music and language, as well as undertake projects that help build their confidence in their Sikh identity. Mandeep served as camp director for 10 years, and continues his involvement in a supporting capacity.

In the days following September 11, 2001, Mandeep was also instrumental in forming and running Sikh Communications Council, an advocacy organization that helped provide a voice for Sikhs in the media. Sikh Communications Council established ties with various influential national and regional newspaper, television and radio outlets to provide commentary on behalf of Sikhs in response to the evolving national news story. It helped open local, state and national political channels, and developed various information media, from newspaper advertisements to handouts to educational guides, designed to help keep Sikh safe during a very troubling time.

Growing up in rural North Carolina, Mandeep became involved in a variety of activities that helped shape both his Sikh identity and his confidence. In 1983, Mandeep spoke to an audience of US Senators and Congressmen about the evolving Sikh struggle in India. In high school, Mandeep was actively involved in student government, served as student body president, and was voted most likely to succeed by his class. In 1987, Mandeep was one of 2 senators selected from North Carolina to represent the state in the American Legion Boys Nation program, and was recognized at the White House along with the 100 senators from across the country.

In 2000, Mandeep and his wife Parveen moved to California where he joined the international law firm Latham & Watkins as an associate focused on venture capital and emerging growth technology company law. In early 2003, Mandeep joined the Palo Alto, CA office of McKinsey & Company, an international strategy consulting firm. He serves clients in High Tech and Media industries and focuses on the marketing function across a broad range of companies.

In addition to his work within the Sikh community, Mandeep is on the Board of Directors of the Silicon Valley chapter of the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ), a national non-profit focused on diversity issues.

  Rana Singh Sodhi, and the Sodhi Family

  Rana Singh Sodhi and the Sodhi Family has faced many hardships due to the aftermath of 9/11, with all of it unwanted and unneeded. Rana's brother, Balbir Singh Sodhi, was gunned down in Mesa on Sept. 15, 2001 - the nation's first post-9/11 victim of a hate crime due to his killer apparently mistook him as being from the Middle East. Another brother was murdered in San Francisco less than a year later.

But in these unfortunate times, the Rana and his family have persevered and triumphed by being active in community outreach, and helping to promote an understanding of Sikhism within his Arizona community.

In a time when it was easy to hide or loose faith, Rana and his Family solidified their commitment to their faith and did not bend to any community pressure… making them true representatives of the Sikh faith and its beliefs.

  Darshpreet Singh

  Darshpreet is a recent graduate of Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, and is well known for his leadership accomplishments both within the Sikh and the American communities in the United States.

At Trinity, Darshpreet was co-captain of the Men's Basketball team and fan favorite, and believed to be the only turbaned Sikh to play in an NCAA basketball game.

Other than being a starting member of Trinity's Basketball team, Darshpreet was actively involved in numerous groups and organizations. He was also a resident mentor and an active member of Trinity University's Volunteer Action Committee, served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Council, participated in the group Students Taking Action Now: Darfur and Save Darfur, and was president of the Students Creating Awareness of the Sikh Faith. Darshpreet has volunteered in various Sikh organizations and youth camps in Chicago, Maryland, and Washington D.C., and is a repeat guest lecturer at a Sikh Research Institute’s Sidak leadership development program. Darshpreet also was recently selected as a Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges recipient.

Aside from leading Trinity's Basketball team and actively participating in many organizations, Darshpreet was also an academic scholar. Darshpreet majored in engineering science and is affiliated with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He also has been on the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference's Honor Roll (minimum qualification of 3.20 GPA) for three of his four years at Trinity.

Following graduation, he plans to work while he pursues his professional engineering license and then go on to get his MBA. Darshpreet is minoring in mathematics to prepare him for a position involving investing and budget planning, among other things.

  Dr. Jagjit Singh Khalsa
National Institutes of Health

  Dr. Jagjit Singh Khalsa is the Chief of Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse and Co-occurring Infections Branch (MCB), in the Division of Pharmacotherapies and Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), as part of the United State’s National Institutes of Health. The mission of the MCB is to identify, understand, prevent, and treat the medical/health consequences of drug abuse and co-occurring infections including HIV, Hepatitis C, B, D, etc., STIs, TB and other diseases.

Dr. Khalsa manages activities and resources of the Branch, including domestic and international research on medical/health consequences of drug abuse and co-occurring infections as stated in the Branch’s mission. He is responsible for developing and administering a national and international program of research on medical/health consequences of drug abuse and co-occurring infections (HIV, HCV, TB, STDs, and others). The program covers all aspects of clinical research on drug abuse and infections.

Dr. Khalsa is trained in neuropharmacology, toxicology and epidemiology with a total of 40+ years of experience in many aspects of drug abuse research. This includes research on herbal pharmacology (India), drug development at SmithKline (2 years), environmental toxicology (SRI, 2 years), nutritional toxicology, adverse medical consequences, new drug evaluation (10 years at US Food & Drug Administration) and about 19 years at NIDA initiating and administering research including that on medical consequences of drug abuse. He has several publications in the field of pharmacology, toxicology, epidemiology and medicine. He is a recipient of numerous awards of merit from the FDA Commissioner, Director of FDA’s Bureau of Foods, NIDA and professional societies.

  Raghbir Singh Subhanpur

  Raghbir Singh Subhanpur, based out of New York, is the owner of one of the largest and most successful construction companies in the Sikh community. He is the President of the Association of Punjabis in North America, an organization involved in the social and economic issues affecting Sikhs in the region. Subhanpur serves as the Elder Statesman/Senior Advisor to the Executive Committee of the Makhan Shah Lubhana Sikh Center in Richmond Hill, Queens, where he served as president for three and a half years. He helped establish the annual Sikh Day Parade in Manhattan and the Nagar Kirtan Sikh Parade in Queens.

In 2007, Raghbir was honored by the New York City Comptroller’s office in celebration of South Asian Heritage.



  

Surinder Singh Chawla
Nassau County Commission on Human Rights

  Mr. Chawla is a Commissioner at Nassau County Commission on Human Rights in Long Island, New York. The Nassau County Commission on Human Rights was established on April 8, 1963 with the approval of the County Executive and the Board of Supervisors. The Commission on Human Rights consists of 15 Commissioners representing men and women of various races and ethnicities, and persons with disabilities.

The Nassau County Commission on Human Rights is committed to improving relations and insuring equality of opportunity in Nassau County. The Commission’s mandate is to eliminate discrimination in employment, housing, places of public accommodation and education. In Nassau County, discrimination is defined as any difference in treatment based on actual or perceived race, creed, color, national origin, ethnicity, gender, religion, source of income, sexual orientation, age, marital status, familial status or disability. Persuasion, conciliation, investigation and education are the major tools used to accomplish our goals.

The Commission is committed to promoting harmony among the diverse populations of the County, by developing and initiating programs, literature and projects which promote mutual respect through understanding and education. To that end the Commission is comprised of an Investigation Unit, a Job Development Center, a Community Relations Unit and a Pre-Trial Services Unit.

  Rohit Khanna
O'Melveny & Myers LLP

  Rohit ("Ro") Khanna is proud of his heritage and roots, and he has been profoundly shaped by his family. His grandfather was a freedom fighter in India’s independence movement; after independence he became a member of India's parliament. Ro’s passion for civil rights and social justice comes from his grandfather. His parents immigrated to this country with nothing, and they achieved the American dream of having a good job, a home, and a strong family. Ro is committed to ensuring that this dream can become a reality for all Americans.

As a student at the University of Chicago, Ro organized a conference entitled “The Challenge of Modern Democracy” that brought together Nobel laureates, heads of state, activists, civic leaders, and citizens. The purpose of the conference was to find ways to increase citizen participation in decisionmaking.

More recently, Ro has been involved with a number of groups in the Bay Area that have been opposed to the unilateral rush to war in Iraq. He is a member of the Sierra Club, and has phone banked and walked precincts with the San Mateo Labor Council. He has also volunteered with the America India Foundation, for which President Clinton is the honorary Chair of the Board of Trustees.

Ro is currently an attorney at O'Melveny & Myers in San Francisco. As an attorney, he has worked with the California Civil Rights Alliance to evaluate the impact of the Patriot Act, which greatly expanded the power of the federal government to search homes, intercept communications, and detain individuals without probable cause or oversight by the courts. Ro has also defended affirmative action, represented minority students in expulsion hearings, and fought for low-income tenants.

Ro graduated from the University of Chicago with Highest Honors and a degree in Economics, and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. He later graduated from Yale Law School where he won the Moot Court competition. He then clerked for a federal judge on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.