Our Team
Dr. Annapurna Devi Pandey
Dr. Annapurna Devi Pandey teaches Cultural Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Dr. Pandey holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, and a Post- doctorate in Social Anthropology from Cambridge, UK. Her research interests are diaspora studies, South Asian religion immigrant women’s identity making in the Diaspora in California. Most recently her research focuses on the struggles and challenges of H1-B and H-4 visa holders in the context of the pandemic.
Annapurna was born and brought up in Odisha, India and has made Santa Cruz, California her home for more than three decades. She is the author of numerous essays on Women’s activism, agency, entrepreneurship and empowerment in India and Indian diaspora and has lectured about them in several universities and research forums all over the world. Dr. Pandey recently completed a senior Fulbright U.S. Scholarship working in India. She is an accomplished filmmaker (Homeland in the Heart; The Myth of Buddha’s Birthplace (with Prof. James Freeman) and Road to Zuni. Her most recent film, Road to Zuni has already been nominated to several international film festivals and has received multiple national and international awards.
Daisy Ray
Daisy Ray is an HR professional. Currently, she is working as a Business Operations Analyst at Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA. She lives in Seattle with her husband Bikram Mohanty and daughter Tarasha.
Daisy is very attached to her Eastern Indian culture, traditions, and heritage. Especially she wants to promote Odisha weaving which comes in different designs with its stand-out quality. Her mission is to help, promote the Odisha weaver community, their cultures, arts, and traditions. She is interested in helping improve the livelihood of weavers especially women in the villages of Odisha.
She also has been a volunteer for many Non- Profit organizations in the greater Seattle area.
Suchitra Pattnaik
Suchitra Pattnaik is an Information technology professional with over 15 years of experience. Besides her profession, she is passionate about women’s social and economic growth as well as women empowerment. She has a deep love for community services and has volunteered for many charitable organizations and NGOs. Suchitra is very much attached with her Indian culture and heritage. She has promoted Eastern Indian music and art by organizing cultural events. She believes by joining SASI, she can support the unique art and artisans of Eastern India.
Manorama Choudhury
Manorama Choudhury is a first generation immigrant, now U.S. citizen, originally from Berhampur, Odisha. She is the author of ‘Ashtanayika-tatwa O kabita’ in the Odia language, a research based book that explores various romantic moods of women as described in Natyashastra supported by her classical and modern poems. A homemaker, passionate poet, and compassionate philanthropist from Massachusetts. She has delved into her creative intellectual pursuits through the art of poetry (in Odia/Hindi/English), songwriting, painting, fashion designing, and other visual art mediums. She has been reciting poetry on many platforms. She was awarded ‘Outstanding Women of the Year for Art and literature for 2023’ by India New England. A few of her poems have been adapted into songs and videos.
Manorama dedicates much of her time to philanthropy work in charities that focus on education and health and wellness programs in rural India. She has been supporting Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation’s efforts for over ten years and has worked extensively to promote its cause. She actively fosters handloom products and indigenous artisans. During the early stages of the pandemic, she also dedicated her time and manual labor for the SewWeCare team in making 25k handmade masks for hospitals and other organizations in the New England area. She often writes nonfiction reflective articles for various magazines.
Manoramachoudhury.com
