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    NORTH AMERICAN Newsline                                           SEPTEMBER 11, 2026       |  The Indian Eye 30

                      IAPAC’s “Women Who Inspire”

                Draws a Packed House to Celebrate

                        Courage, Leadership & Legacy

                  Houston gathering honors women leaders and shines a light on the courage and

                                                   resilience behind their achievements

            NEERAJ DHAR
            HOUSTON, TX

                  he Indian American Public
                  Affairs Council (IAPAC) drew
            Ta  packed  house  to  Raindrop
            Turkish  House  for  WE@IAPAC  ,
            Women Who Inspire, an evening
            celebrating women whose courage,
            leadership and service continue to
            strengthen communities and inspire
            future generations.
                Chaired by IAPAC Board Mem-
            bers Ruchi Gupta and Jagruti Sarkar,
            the event brought together elected
            officials,  civic  and  business  leaders,
            professionals and community advo-
            cates, including many accomplished
            women whose own stories of cour-
            age,  leadership  and  service  could
            have equally taken center stage.
                In her welcome remarks, Gupta
            reflected  on  IAPAC’s  commitment
            to  civic engagement  and  the  signif-
            icance of honoring women whose
            leadership and contributions contin-       From left to right: Sanjay Ramabhadran, Dr. Rathna Kumar, Nory Angel, Paula McCann Harris, and Dr. Kavya Manyupu
            ue to shape America’s story as the
            nation  marks  its  250th  anniversary.
            “As America commemorates 250          The centerpiece of the evening
            years of independence, this evening   was a candid conversation moder-
            is an opportunity to celebrate cour-  ated by civic and business leader
            age, leadership, and the lasting leg-  Sanjay Ramabhadran, Founding
            acy women continue to create for   Principal of Versa Infrastructure and
            those who follow,” she said.      former Chairman of Houston MET-
                ABC13 News Anchor Pooja       RO. Moving beyond professional
            Lodhia adeptly guided the evening   accomplishments and polished biog-
            as emcee, bringing warmth and ease   raphies, Ramabhadran drew out the
            to the program.                   rarely told stories behind each wom-
                A highlight of the evening was   an’s  journey,  the  doubts,  sacrifices,
            the presentation of the 2026 IAPAC   turning  points  and experiences that
            Community Impact Award to Vaish-  shaped who they are today. The con-
            ali Dev, an entrepreneur, author and   versation offered  a deeper glimpse
            philanthropist who transformed pro-  into four extraordinary women and
            found personal adversity into a life of   the courage, resilience and sense of
            purpose, service and impact. IAPAC   purpose behind their achievements.
            Founder and Board Member Dr.          Paula McCann Harris, author,      Dr. Roopa Gir, presenting the IAPAC Community Impact Award 2026 to Vaishali Dev
            Roopa Gir introduced Dev and pre-  speaker  and  former  global  sustain-
            sented the award, highlighting her re-  ability executive at Schlumberger, re-  the times that you were scared and   your career to live the life you want.”
            silience, entrepreneurial journey and   flected on navigating corporate spac-  felt like, ‘Do I belong here?’ I want   Nory Angel, President of the
            commitment to empowering women    es and overcoming self-doubt. “A big   to remind young women that you do   American Leadership Forum, spoke
            through the Blume Foundation.     part of what’s never on the resume is   belong at that table, and to design   Continued on next page... >>

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