Seema Dahake
Seema is an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, Hospice and Palliative Medicine in the Department of Geriatrics/Aging at the University of Rochester and is also certified in Lifestyle Medicine. She is originally from Mumbai and did her medical school at Seth GS Medical College, KEM hospital and moved to Rochester in 1995. She enjoys dancing, singing and traveling. She has been passionate about the cultural programs at the Indian Community Center and both her daughters Nikita and Meeta have been performing at the ICC for the past 20 years. Seema’s vision is making ICC an organization that the community would want to join, encouraging community participation, increasing opportunities for all generations and bringing the entire community together.
Somnath Maity
Somnath grew up in a village of West Bengal , India. He completed his undergraduate with Physics Honors and Electronics Engineering. As part of his profession Somnath traveled to a number of countries in Europe and eventually settled in Rochester in 2015. He currently worked as a Project Manager for IBM.
Somnath is one of the leaders for the Rochester Bengali community and has been associated with ICC since 2017 with multiple roles. His passion always to make ICC vibrant for the greater Rochester community and drive the community engagements. Cooking for large scale gatherings is one of his hobbies. Soccer and Cricket are two of his favorite games.
Somnath lives in Pittsford with his wife Chandana and kids Swauchha and Srutahm. He is an extremely family oriented person and loves spending time with his family.
Baal Bhagat
Baal Bhagat has lived in Fairport, NY with his wife and two grown children for the last 30+ years.
After his educational journey with University of Buffalo, NY, his professional career started with Xerox Corporation that lasted for 28 years. This journey took him to Buffalo, NY to Dallas, Texas and then back to Webster, NY in Research and Development.
When his wondrous professional journey was over, his volunteer journey began. Baal has been associated with India Community Center since 2015 and he considers this a privilege to be part of ICC board since then.
Thanks to many founding members of ICC since its inception, guiding him through intricacies of facility management and fulfill his responsibilities as Director of Operation (DO), in short “facility management” for first 5 years.
During his tenure as DO, his dormant passion of “Theater” was awakened by KALIDAS, an Indo-American Community Theater Group. Now along with helping new DO, Baal is also one of the artistic directors for KALIDAS Theater helping produce 20+ plays since 2007. Presenting a KALIDAS Theater play at prestigious GEVA Theater, by invitation, one of his memorable moments.
Rajeev S. Ramchandran
Rajeev grew up in Rochester (Henrietta and Pittsford) and at the India Community Center of Rochester. His mother grew up in Tumkur and Mysore in Karnataka, and his father grew up in Raipur, Chhattisgarh (formerly Madhya Pradesh) and Nagpur, Maharashtra. His family traditions are rooted in Tamil culture, so he grew up hearing Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, and Marathi at home.
Rajeev’s cultural experiences at ICC inspired him to study South Asian Regional Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. His community service experience through ICC motivated him to pursue a career in medicine and become an ophthalmologist. He returned to Rochester and is an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, Director of Population Health, and vitreoretinal surgeon at the University of Rochester Medical Center. ICC was created by his parents, family members, and community Uncles and Aunts for his generation and when he returned to Rochester to support his family, he took it as his duty to help support, grow, and promote ICC as part of my community service to his Greater Rochester family. Rajeev has served on the ICC Board of Trustees for 7 years and has served as its Chairperson for the last 2 years. He also served as Treasurer for the preceding 2 years.
Rajeev is very passionate about his Indian culture and heritage and works to maintain connections with India through family visits and work as well while serving on the Indo-American Eye Care Society Board, the founding board of the L.V. Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad, India, that was established at a kitchen table in Brighton, NY while he was a child growing up in Rochester.
Rajeev enjoy playing tennis, watching American Football, keeping up with Indian cinema and entertainment, and spending time with family and friends. He is a President of the Rochester Flaum Eye Institute Lions Club and participate in activities at the Rochester Sathya Sai Center, the India Heritage Museum, the Hindu Temple of Rochester, and the Srividya Temple of Rochester.
Suresh Totten
Born and brought up in a small village in the southern state of India, Kerala, Mr. Suresh Totten has a deep-rooted connection with the Indian culture, heritage, and rituals. As part of his career with Sutherland Global Services, Suresh moved to Rochester in 2002 and joined the wonderful vibrant Rochester Indian community, which makes him feel home away from home. Listening to music is his passion and he likes to sing songs. Suresh is an ardent fan of Buffalo Bills; he likes to watch the American football. Suresh has been part of the Rochester Malayalee Association leadership for many years. He enjoys being part of the community service, including art and cultural activities.
Jayanti Venkataraman
Jayanti Venkataraman joined the Board of Trustees in 2003 and has served as the ICC Newsletter Editor since that time. In 2007 she established the Education Committee and served as BOT chair in 2008. Jayanti is a professor in electrical engineering at RIT. She is dedicated to education related community service. She lives in Brighton with her husband, Venkat and children, Archana and Vinayak. Jayanti continues to work towards increasing usage of ICC through rental needs from the community.
Vithal Sanapala
Vithal Sanapala lives in Rochester, NY with his wife, Swaroopa, and has two daughters, Sowmya and Chandrika.
Mr. Sanapala moved to Rochester in 1995 after receiving his MS in Computer Science and started working at Sutherland Global Services, based in Rochester, NY. He then went on to receive his MBA from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester. Since then, Vithal has helped the company become a global competitor and now serves as a Senior Executive for Sutherland.
He is grateful to have spent the last 25 plus years in Rochester, where the ICC has become a second home. From directing in the Kalidas theatre to dancing at New Year’s, he never misses an opportunity to hop on the stage.
Vithal wishes to share his appreciation for the ICC by supporting a sustainable future and looks forward to the opportunity to do so.
Jaya Chakravarthy
Jaya came on the ICC Board of Trustees in March 2023. She has many years of experience in teaching computer science, computer networking, and cyber security. She taught cyber security at RIT and computer networking at MCC for several years. She is currently a subject matter expert in cyber security, is on the ECC University’s Advisory Council, and works as an OSINT analyst. Jaya has been associated with the India heritage museum (IHM) since its inception, and is responsible for the design and development of IHM website. She likes classical music and painting.
Aditi Bhandiwad
Aditi is a Physical Therapist and a full-time mom. She loves being a member of ICC and meeting new people. Aditi enjoys traveling, hiking, nature walks, and camping. Her hobbies include drawing, sketching, painting on glass, and crafts. She loves cooking and trying new recipes.
Her goal is to be able to advise the board on financial strategy and fundraising opportunities. She hopes to discover more inclusive ways of engaging with the community to participate in events and become members. Aditi is also a community representative of SAATHI.
SAATHI is a nonprofit organization that helps South Asians who are facing domestic violence. SAATHI provides crisis/ safety planning, case management, advocacy, referral services, housing, education/ career and financial counseling, transportation, immigration, and legal help to those who are in need of assistance.
Naveen Havannavar
Naveen is a Technology Manager at Paychex and an active member of this community. He currently serves as a Judicial Delegate for NYS Judicial District 7 and is a member of the WXXI/Little Theater Community Advisory Board. Naveen is also part of the 2022-23 Cohort of Leadership Rochester and advises various community organizations. He has been recognized for his community service and professional success, receiving the Forty under 40 award from the Rochester Business Journal. In his free time, Naveen enjoys spending time with his wife and two kids, flying single engine airplanes, and acting in movies and plays.
What inspired Naveen to join ICC is the desire to expose his kids to Indian Culture and Tradition. “ICC is a piece of home for me and I am excited to share that with my children”.
Ketul Patel
Ketul is Anesthesiologist by trade and Techie by choice. ICC has been a great source of inspiration to his kids’ development and hopes to return the favor back to ICC. Ketul’s dream project is to create a gathering place that can provide seniors to meet and socialize.
Ruchi Taneja
Ruchi Taneja moved to Rochester in 2016 with her parents. Originally, Ruchi is from Mumbai, Maharashtra. Her dad is from Delhi and mom is from Jalandhar, Punjab. Her family traditions are deeply rooted in Punjabi culture, but Ruchi has grown up learning Hindi and Marathi.
After moving to Rochester, she felt disconnected from her Indian roots. She did not have many friends in her community and wanted to change that. When Ruchi learned about ICC, she wanted to be part of that environment which was like a home to her. India is her first home and learning about ICC was like learning about your home away from home. Apart from feeling connected, her parents have always taught her to give back to the community in whatever capacity we can. This is Ruchi’s way of being able to serve the community in the best ability and feel connected to our roots.
Namita Mehta
Namita Mehta is from Mumbai, India and has been in Rochester for more than 30 years. She works with her husband Uday in managing their business Star D&G Inc. They have two children. Kunal joined the parent’s business in March 2023. Esha is doing her Family Medicine Residency.
Namita has been a member of ICC for many years and has enjoyed many programs over the years. Both her children were HHSC campers and later counselors. They have formed life-long friendships through the camp and learned about Indian culture.
Namita volunteers for Lifespan of Rochester and helps older adults with their financial problems. She loves to read books and enjoys investing in the stock market. She likes hanging out with her friends and family whenever possible. Her most enjoyable pastime is traveling with her family.
She is looking forward to working with the ICC board and helping them come up with new ideas and means to take ICC to the next level.
Abhas Kumar
Dr. Shehanaz Elika
Dr. Shweta Narang
Shweta is a Physician-Scientist working in Oncology clinical trials. She grew up in Durg, Chhattisgarh, India and practiced Anesthesiology for 8 years before moving to Rochester in 2011. Shweta is a medical advisor for a NGO UPWAN ( Raipur, CG) which focuses on maternal and child health.
Unsurprisingly, she has great affection for Indian culture, regional authentic cuisines, and traditions. She has been attending ICC events with her family over several years and wants to bring in novel ideas to showcase rich Indian culture and heritage with active participation of Rochester community.