Neelam Jaiswal

Lead Co-Coordinator

Dr. Neelam Jaiswal holds a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Medicinal Chemistry, and she worked as a Senior Scientist at Procter & Gamble—one of the world’s largest consumer products companies—for over 15 years. In addition to her scientific background, she earned an MBA with specialized training in business management, including corporate strategy, international business, project planning, and project management.

For the past several years, Dr. Jaiswal has been actively involved in the initiatives of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA). She played a key role in founding and co-leading the Hindu Women Network of Cincinnati, with the mission of cultivating the three core strengths of Hindu women: Shakti (empowerment of self and others), Seva (social contribution), and Sadhana (spiritual enlightenment). Currently, she leads the Hindu Women Network National Team. Dr. Jaiswal also served as the National Coordinator for Fundraising Events for the Support A Child (SAC) project. Out of her passion and commitment, she volunteers several hours each week to these initiatives, finding deep fulfillment in making a meaningful difference in the lives of others. In addition to her leadership roles, she previously served as the Editor of VHPA’s Seva-Patri Newsletter and is actively involved in mentoring others within the community.

Neelam loves to paint, art/craft, cook and enjoy quality time with her husband, two sons and three grand children.  

Toral Mehta

Vice President

coming soon

Jaya Asthana

Secretary

Jaya Asthana has been working as a Karyakarta in VHPA for several decades. Her passion has been working with children, to pass on the culture and heritage of Bharat to the coming generations. She has been a leading force behind the VHPA community programs such as Bal Vihars, Youth Conferences, Family Camps, and Hindu Women’s Network, where she has served in various capacities as a teacher, organizer, administrator, counselor, guide and mentor. She has co-authored and edited several VHPA publications, including the Vivah Sanskar, Hospital Prayer Book for Chaplains, “Prarthanayein-Prayer Book for children”, the Vrat book, and numerous articles pertaining to Hindu Dharma.

Professionally, she retired as a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker. She has worked extensively in the mental health field and in Hospice.

She is married to Dr. Abhaya Asthana and has three children and seven grandchildren.

Shobha Patel

Joint Secretary

Shobha has been an active member of Hindu Women’s Network Cincinnati chapter since 2014. With the HWN team, she provides workshops and community services based on HWN mission of Seva, Shakti and Sadhana including fund raising event of Support a Child program. She is also a member of the National HWN Team helping with Virtual workshops. Besides volunteering, Shobha enjoys reading diverse books about philosophy, psychology, and spirituality. Her favorite activities are dancing, hiking, drafting poems, taking part in various book clubs including study of Hindu Scriptures and learning Sanskrit.

Shobha Patel is a retired manager of Cardiopulmonary Services at a local hospital. During her tenure at the hospital, she was one of the trainers of Diversity, Human Relations, and Soft Skills for Leaders. She was a facilitator of SPC Quality Management and Transition teams. As a member of the Wellness Committee, she offered Meditation, Guided Imagery, and Stress Management classes to staff, Cancer Patients and the community. She authored articles on complementary Therapies in Holistic Newsletters. She received many awards including the Ohio Health Care Worker of the Year, Leadership Award for Service Excellence and Friend of Nursing.

Shobha considers herself being blessed in life with a very happily married life of 35 years, wonderful children and three beautiful grandchildren. She is extremely appreciative of her friends from diverse backgrounds and ethnic cultures all over the world.

Geetanjali Chaturvedi

IT Manager

Geetanjali Chaturvedi is a Program Manager at a major IT company and has lived in Virginia for over 20 years. Originally from Jaipur, India’s Pink City, she earned master’s degrees from both Rajasthan University and George Washington University.

For the past 15 years, Geetanjali has been an active volunteer with VHPA where she currently leads the Washington DC DMV chapter of HWN. She has been teaching Hindi for 12 years and has led several fundraising initiatives in the DMV area for SAC and has played a vital role in shaping VHPA presence in DMV area by spearheading many cultural and educational events. Working with children and youth is her greatest source of joy. Geetanjali also serves on VHPA's National Governing Council and was advisor for former VHPA DC chapter (now MD chapter). She continues to be an advisor for newly formed chapter in VA.

Her passion lies in sharing the true essence of Hindutva with the world. She is dedicated to increasing awareness, preserving Hindu heritage, and fostering a sense of pride in future generations by addressing misconceptions and celebrating the richness of this cultural legacy.

Veena Katadare

Media Coordinator

Veena Katdare has Masters in Computer Science and has retired from Software Industry after twenty years of working in web and app development. She has been part of VHPA Atlanta Chapter for past 25 years as Balvihar teacher, Volunteer for Hindu Women;s Network and has worked in all programs of VHPA Atlanta Chapter. She has passion for volunteering and has served on several non-profit organizations as President, Treasurer. Currently she is also involved as news reporter in a media channel.

Smita Dafatardar

Media Coordinator

Smita Daftardar has been part of the Hindu Women Network since its first annual conference in Atlanta in 2013. Additionally, she is a volunteer at VHPA’s Hindi language and culture school, Balvihar, since 2004, and is currently the convener for Balvihar National Network. She is active in the Sharda Hindu Scholarship and the upcoming Nachiketa Scholarship program, and local programs of the VHPA Atlanta chapter.

Smita has a masters in Chemical Engineering from IIT, Mumbai, and has worked as R & D Engineer. She has also completed MA in Hindi-Urdu Pedagogy from Kean University, New Jersey. She has attended training at NYU and CARLA, University of Minnesota and worked on curriculum development with the National Foreign Language Center (NFLC) at the University of Maryland .

Smita has served as faculty at Gwinnett Technical College. She is faculty for Hindi at Georgia Institute of Technology, Department of Modern Languages, in Atlanta GA. Smita recently contributed a chapter to a textbook titled Global Humanities Approach to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals- Understanding Planet, People, and Prosperity, published by Routledge, UK. An initiative of the School of Modern Languages, Georgia Institute of Technology, the book uses literature, documentaries, movies, and art from across the globe to highlight sustainable development, as the UNSDGs envision it.

Smita lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband and two kids, and enjoys reading, singing, arts & crafts and gardening in her spare time.

Sheela Kene

Advisory Board

Coming Soon