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NORTH AMERICAN Newsline JUNE 05, 2026 | The Indian Eye 18

GOPIO-CT To Honor Five Indian American

Achievers At Its 20th Anniversary

OUR BUREAU
GOPIO-CT AWARDEES 2026 (From left to right): Dr. Anil Diwan, Senator Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox, Ajay Ghosh, Nitin Mhatre and Prof. Hemchandra Shertukde
New York, NY
he Global Organization of role models for our new generations on constitutional law, human rights, was Chairman during 2019–2020, and
People of Indian Origin (GO- and GOPIO-CT has a done great job in media studies, civic education, and holds engineering and MBA degrees
TPIO)-Connecticut Chapter will building up a good image of India and social justice. from Mumbai University along with
honor outstanding achievers of the Indian Americans in Connecticut.” executive education from Harvard
Indian American community in Con- Ajay Ghosh Business School.
necticut and those provide service to Dr. Anil R. Diwan Journalism
the community or the society at large Entrepreneurship and Business Prof. Hemchandra Shertukde
at its 20th Anniversary Celebration Achievements jay Ghosh is a veteran jour- Engineering and Applied Sciences
with an Annual Awards Banquet on nalist, media leader, educator,
Saturday, June 13th at the Water’s r. Anil Diwan is the Found- Aand healthcare professional emchandra M. Shertukde,
Edge Banquet Hall, Darien, CT start- er, President, and Executive with more than three decades of ex- Ph.D., P.E., DMS, has been a
ing at 6 p.m. Five Indian Americans DChairman of NanoViricides, perience in journalism, academia, and Hdistinguished professor in the
will be honored for their achieve- Inc. (NYSE American: NNVC), clinical social work. He is the Publish- College of Engineering, Technology,
ments in profession and service to the where he pioneered antiviral “nano- er and Chief Editor of The Global and Architecture at the University
nation. Several Connecticut lawmak- viricide” technology designed to Net News and Health and Wellness of Hartford for nearly four decades.
ers are expected to attend this event. target and destroy viruses. He led News, and has held senior editorial A graduate of the Indian Institute of
The 2026 awardees are: Con- roles with The Asian Era, The Indi- Technology Kharagpur with a Ph.D.
necticut State Senator Prof. Sujata the development of NV-387, a an Express (North America), and the from the University of Connecticut,
broad-spectrum antiviral drug can-
Gadkar-Wilcox who is also a profes- didate, not a vaccine, that has shown Universal News Network, while is the he is an accomplished educator, re-
sor of Legal Studies at Quinnipiac activity in company studies against Founder President of the Indo-Amer- searcher, inventor, and entrepreneur.
University for Political Leadership; viruses including COVID coronavi- ican Press Club. In addition to teach- Dr. Shertukde is the author of 13
Dr. Anil Diwan, Founder, President ruses, influenza, RSV, Mpox, Small- ing at Fordham Graduate School, he solo books, co-author of more than
and Executive Chairman of Nano- pox, Measles, and Ebola. NV-387 is currently serves as a Licensed Clinical 40 technical books, has published
Virisides, Inc. for Entrepreneurship currently in Phase II clinical trials for Social Worker at Yale New Haven over 100 research papers, holds 10
and Business Achievements; Veteran Mpox in the Democratic Republic of Hospital, reflecting his commitment U.S. patents, and has founded several
Journalist Ajay Ghosh, who is a me- Congo and is also being advanced for to ethical journalism, public health, technology and medical device com-
dia leader and founder of Indo-Amer- potential use against Ebola outbreaks and community service. panies in Connecticut and Florida.
ican Press Club for Journalism; First in Africa. The awardees will be honored
County Bank of Fairfield CEO Nitin Nitin Mhatre at GOPIO-CT’s 20th Anniversary
Mhatre for Corporate Leadership Senator Sujata Gadkar Corporate Leadership Celebrations with Awards Banquet.
and Prod. Hemchandra Shertukde of Wilcox – Political Leadership Recognition will be given to the
University of Hartford Achievement itin Mhatre became CEO of chapter’s Founding Members Dr.
in Engineering and Applied Sciences. First County Bank on April Thomas Abraham, Viresh Sharma,
Commenting on the award se- ujata Gadkar-Wilcox has served N15, 2026, leading a community Sangeeta and Paul Ahuja, Meera and
lection, GOPIO-CT President Ma- in the Connecticut State Sen- bank that has served Fairfield County Bhom Banta and Gharry Gill. Past
hesh Jhangiani said, “We select the Sate since 2024, representing the and Connecticut for more than 174 presidents who served the chapter
awardees, who have made an impact 22nd District, and is also a Professor years. Previously, he served as CEO are Sangeeta Ahuja, Shailesh Naik,
in our society and/or those who pro- of Legal Studies at Quinnipiac Uni- of Berkshire Bank and held senior Shelly Nichani, Anita Bhat, Ashok
vide outstanding service.” versity. A Fulbright-Nehru Scholar leadership roles at Webster Bank and Nichani and Jaya Daptardar will also
GOPIO International Founder from 2015–2017, she conducted re- Citibank. He has also served on the be recognized. A special recognition
President Dr. Thomas Abraham and search in India on constitutional val- boards of several nonprofit and indus- will be given to the Chapter’s Youth
Chairman of GOPIO-CT Awards ues and democratic institutions. Her try organizations, including the Con- Coordinator in the early years Ms.
Committee said, “these awardees are scholarship and public service focus sumer Bankers Association, where he Sharon Priya Banta.

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