Geetha Arakeri - Education Model Founder, Board Member
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Geetha Arakeri has an an extensive & broad experience of 25 yrs, bachelors in Electronic Engineering, Bangalore University, India, Program & Project Mangement certification from Santa Cruz University Ext., Santa Clara. Being an entrepreneur by nature, she was instrumental in co-founding a nonprofit org in Bangalore, focusing on providing resources for early education for orphans. Her entrepreneurial skills in creative education, passion in spirituality & social well-being of one & all led her to develop PIE focusing on providing a holistic, creative, educational experience to children and adults. She has been the Tradeshow Manager of ‘Yogathon’, the 1st of its kind Yoga event, Santa Clara by IAHV, attracting 750 people. She has been an active volunteer in World Forum for Ethics in Business, and in the Art of Living Foundation since 10 yrs. She is a multifaceted person by profession, dynamic & solution-driven, with over 10 yrs of experience in hi-tech (Lucent Technologies, Motorola, Ezdia) & 10 yrs in Entrepreneurship & Small Business Development. Developing business partnerships (B2B & B2C), strategic alliances, innovative business solutions & business plans by leveraging communication and relationship management is her key forte. Her field of work also includes academics, visual arts, business, yoga & meditation besides other developmental programs. For Geetha, the flow of Creativity is sheer magic !
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Geetha Arakeri has an an extensive & broad experience of 25 yrs, bachelors in Electronic Engineering, Bangalore University, India, Program & Project Mangement certification from Santa Cruz University Ext., Santa Clara. Being an entrepreneur by nature, she was instrumental in co-founding a nonprofit org in Bangalore, focusing on providing resources for early education for orphans. Her entrepreneurial skills in creative education, passion in spirituality & social well-being of one & all led her to develop PIE focusing on providing a holistic, creative, educational experience to children and adults. She has been the Tradeshow Manager of ‘Yogathon’, the 1st of its kind Yoga event, Santa Clara by IAHV, attracting 750 people. She has been an active volunteer in World Forum for Ethics in Business, and in the Art of Living Foundation since 10 yrs. She is a multifaceted person by profession, dynamic & solution-driven, with over 10 yrs of experience in hi-tech (Lucent Technologies, Motorola, Ezdia) & 10 yrs in Entrepreneurship & Small Business Development. Developing business partnerships (B2B & B2C), strategic alliances, innovative business solutions & business plans by leveraging communication and relationship management is her key forte. Her field of work also includes academics, visual arts, business, yoga & meditation besides other developmental programs. For Geetha, the flow of Creativity is sheer magic !
Dr Smita Garg - Principal
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Dr. Smita Garg is Chairperson for City of San Jose Arts Commission. She is a San Jose-based artist, arts educator, and an accomplished Holistic healer-therapist. In 2016, she co-founded the Campbell Union High School District Education Foundation, a nonprofit serving over 8000 high school students. Smita Garg earned her doctorate in Arts Education from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her work has been presented and published in national and international conferences and publications. As a passionate advocate for the transformative power of the arts, Smita has been working on developing practices that bring a deep level of healing, calm, and peace through mindful artmaking. She has found the practice of mindfulness and meditation to greatly inform her personal creativity and art. Last year she helped form Creatives for Compassionate Communities, an incubator for artist activists. Smita is an active member of her community, who volunteers regularly for several local and international organizations.
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Dr. Smita Garg is Chairperson for City of San Jose Arts Commission. She is a San Jose-based artist, arts educator, and an accomplished Holistic healer-therapist. In 2016, she co-founded the Campbell Union High School District Education Foundation, a nonprofit serving over 8000 high school students. Smita Garg earned her doctorate in Arts Education from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her work has been presented and published in national and international conferences and publications. As a passionate advocate for the transformative power of the arts, Smita has been working on developing practices that bring a deep level of healing, calm, and peace through mindful artmaking. She has found the practice of mindfulness and meditation to greatly inform her personal creativity and art. Last year she helped form Creatives for Compassionate Communities, an incubator for artist activists. Smita is an active member of her community, who volunteers regularly for several local and international organizations.
Ronnie Newman - Board Member (Harvard Research, Educator)
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Ronnie Newman. Ed.M., C.A.S., is a Harvard University trained, award winning researcher, educator and published author in the field of Mind/Body Medicine. She has spoken internationally on 4 continents and for such organizations as the United Nations, The World Bank, the National Institutes of Mental Health, and many medical and nursing schools. She shares insight on some of the key research and studies conducted on meditation that evaluates overall brain health improvements. Being a meditator herself for over 20 years, she articulates different meditation related researches done that can help in modern times with regards to stress, productivity and team building. She has spoken at various corporates like Oracle, Kaiser, Facebook. She has also been featured in PBS, NBC and CNN International.
Nivedita Kumar - Dean, Board Member (Education)
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Nivedita Kumar, the Middle School Head Staff in K-8 Private School called Delphi Academy, Campbell Bay Area, one of the popular schools in Bay Area. She has been in the field of Education for over 12 years. Her expertise & teaching lies in for grades 5th. 7th and 8th in Reading, Language, Math, Computer Science and Science. Her vision, leadership & team building skills led to Delphi Academy’s expansion/development by building a strong Middle School and adding new age Technology subjects into the existing curriculum. She has devised a more challenging Science program for the school by encouraging & inspiring her students participate in several Contests and Technology Challenges. A Counselor, a great guide & coach, to parents and students, who apply to Private High Schools in Bay Area, California, one of the most competitive state for High school Academics. She has successfully placed many students into several top Private High Schools in the United States. Nivedita, has a Bachelors in Architecture from Bangalore University & Associates degree in Graphic Designing, Mission College, Santa Clara. As an architect, she worked for 9 years, 5 years in India & 4 years in US. One of her most favorite project was the design of SOS village in Bangalore for orphans & destitute women in a nurturing environment. This triggered her passion & deep interest in teaching. Generous by name & nature, Nivedita has spent considerable amount of time caring & cooking for the homeless by leading organized groups of high school children & different adult groups for centers such as Caring Hands and the Mother Theresa center in San Francisco. Her passion in spirituality, music, theater & event management has led to many traditional programs at the school & in her community. Her journey towards the higher-self has led her to host many discourses in Bay Area for 5 years in a row.
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Nivedita Kumar, the Middle School Head Staff in K-8 Private School called Delphi Academy, Campbell Bay Area, one of the popular schools in Bay Area. She has been in the field of Education for over 12 years. Her expertise & teaching lies in for grades 5th. 7th and 8th in Reading, Language, Math, Computer Science and Science. Her vision, leadership & team building skills led to Delphi Academy’s expansion/development by building a strong Middle School and adding new age Technology subjects into the existing curriculum. She has devised a more challenging Science program for the school by encouraging & inspiring her students participate in several Contests and Technology Challenges. A Counselor, a great guide & coach, to parents and students, who apply to Private High Schools in Bay Area, California, one of the most competitive state for High school Academics. She has successfully placed many students into several top Private High Schools in the United States. Nivedita, has a Bachelors in Architecture from Bangalore University & Associates degree in Graphic Designing, Mission College, Santa Clara. As an architect, she worked for 9 years, 5 years in India & 4 years in US. One of her most favorite project was the design of SOS village in Bangalore for orphans & destitute women in a nurturing environment. This triggered her passion & deep interest in teaching. Generous by name & nature, Nivedita has spent considerable amount of time caring & cooking for the homeless by leading organized groups of high school children & different adult groups for centers such as Caring Hands and the Mother Theresa center in San Francisco. Her passion in spirituality, music, theater & event management has led to many traditional programs at the school & in her community. Her journey towards the higher-self has led her to host many discourses in Bay Area for 5 years in a row.
Paul Hoyt - Board Member (Finance, Business)
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Paul Hoyt, President, Hoyt Management Group, serves as a business advisor. Paul has over 40 years’ experience leading teams to improved profitability and productivity, and is an expert at helping new and growing businesses develop and execute their growth plans. Paul is the author of two business books: The Foundation Factor® - Critical Measurements in Business Strength (2004), and The Capital Coaching Program (2010). He is also the author of three inspirational works: Remember: A Simple and Powerful Pathway to Your Higher Self(2005), The Practice of Awakening (2010) , and the best-selling book, The First Light of Joy (2013).
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Paul Hoyt, President, Hoyt Management Group, serves as a business advisor. Paul has over 40 years’ experience leading teams to improved profitability and productivity, and is an expert at helping new and growing businesses develop and execute their growth plans. Paul is the author of two business books: The Foundation Factor® - Critical Measurements in Business Strength (2004), and The Capital Coaching Program (2010). He is also the author of three inspirational works: Remember: A Simple and Powerful Pathway to Your Higher Self(2005), The Practice of Awakening (2010) , and the best-selling book, The First Light of Joy (2013).
Mahesh Nihalani - Board Member (Community Leadership)
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Mahesh Nihalani, is a Graduate in Public Administration & Economics, a multiple award recipient. He has played Board Member roles many times in many organizations, championed many Community Leadership roles and Business Management. He has over 40 years of working experience across Asia, Africa, Europe and America. Mahesh was the Chair of the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce’s, Asian American Business Council and many others. He has been active in educational, civic, cultural, social organizations through out his life. He has a special passion for social work. International Association for Human Values awarded him the "Heroes of Humanitarian Award". He is a recipient of "Citizen of the Year Award" by City of Cupertino & Rotarian of the Year Award.
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Mahesh Nihalani, is a Graduate in Public Administration & Economics, a multiple award recipient. He has played Board Member roles many times in many organizations, championed many Community Leadership roles and Business Management. He has over 40 years of working experience across Asia, Africa, Europe and America. Mahesh was the Chair of the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce’s, Asian American Business Council and many others. He has been active in educational, civic, cultural, social organizations through out his life. He has a special passion for social work. International Association for Human Values awarded him the "Heroes of Humanitarian Award". He is a recipient of "Citizen of the Year Award" by City of Cupertino & Rotarian of the Year Award.
Murali Koteshwar - Board Member
(Inner Science - Syllabus Design)
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Muralidhar Koteshwar is an IITian with nearly three decades of experience in multinational organisations across the complete product lifecycle. He is currently the Managing Director of Mentor Cloud an online mentoring platform & Onya Digital – a web portal and mobile apps development company. He is also a visiting faculty at IIIT-B for post graduate students. He is equally passionate about education and as a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Art of Living’s Educational Trust was responsible for establishing over 100 educational institutes in India. Courses pioneered by him for parenting and teacher education are being taught by a thousand trainers in more than 150 countries. He was involved in preparation of value integrated books for K-12 education, writes blogs, has participated as invited speaker in many conferences worldwide. He has been featured many times on Television.
(Inner Science - Syllabus Design)
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Muralidhar Koteshwar is an IITian with nearly three decades of experience in multinational organisations across the complete product lifecycle. He is currently the Managing Director of Mentor Cloud an online mentoring platform & Onya Digital – a web portal and mobile apps development company. He is also a visiting faculty at IIIT-B for post graduate students. He is equally passionate about education and as a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Art of Living’s Educational Trust was responsible for establishing over 100 educational institutes in India. Courses pioneered by him for parenting and teacher education are being taught by a thousand trainers in more than 150 countries. He was involved in preparation of value integrated books for K-12 education, writes blogs, has participated as invited speaker in many conferences worldwide. He has been featured many times on Television.
Ari Weinberg - Inner Science & Self Knowledge (Faculty)
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Ari Weinberg has been an instructor of Yoga and Meditation to teenagers since 2004. He has led regular classes for the Los Angeles Unified School District in three of their most populated high schools from 2004-2008, in two San Jose, California high schools from 2010-2011, at De Anza College and San Jose State University from 2009-2012, at Santa Clara Juvenile detention center from 2017-2019, and to the general public via community centers and after-school programs. An entrepreneur at heart, he has started 3 businesses in the past and is currently working on his fourth. He also has been a professional Project Manager for high profile technology companies such Cisco and is now at Paypal, Inc. Ari holds a bachelor's degree in communications and media production, has several project management related certifications, and is currently enrolled in an MBA program. Ari has learned his first meditation technique at age 5 with the Transcendental Meditation organization and has attended their Vedic Wisdom school in Fairfield, Iowa from 3rd through the top of ninth grade. He has been actively participating in the Art of Living Foundation programs for 30 years and has been trained as a Yoga and Meditation Instructor in both the Art of Living Foundation and with the International Association for Human Values techniques for all ages.
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Ari Weinberg has been an instructor of Yoga and Meditation to teenagers since 2004. He has led regular classes for the Los Angeles Unified School District in three of their most populated high schools from 2004-2008, in two San Jose, California high schools from 2010-2011, at De Anza College and San Jose State University from 2009-2012, at Santa Clara Juvenile detention center from 2017-2019, and to the general public via community centers and after-school programs. An entrepreneur at heart, he has started 3 businesses in the past and is currently working on his fourth. He also has been a professional Project Manager for high profile technology companies such Cisco and is now at Paypal, Inc. Ari holds a bachelor's degree in communications and media production, has several project management related certifications, and is currently enrolled in an MBA program. Ari has learned his first meditation technique at age 5 with the Transcendental Meditation organization and has attended their Vedic Wisdom school in Fairfield, Iowa from 3rd through the top of ninth grade. He has been actively participating in the Art of Living Foundation programs for 30 years and has been trained as a Yoga and Meditation Instructor in both the Art of Living Foundation and with the International Association for Human Values techniques for all ages.
Anisha Sharma - Yoga Anatomy & Physiology (Syllabus Design)
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Anisha Sharma is an advanced Yoga Teacher, certified by the QCI (Quality Council of India) for Yoga, AYUSH Ministry, India. She has a work experience of 20 years with students and educators in teaching art-based academics and yoga. Anisha has a Masters in English Literature from Lucknow University and has been a freelance writer for newspapers, websites, travel magazines and DFID, United Kingdom government. She has been a journalist with The Times of India, and writes for Department of Tourism (India).
Dr. Srinivas Kadaba - Sanskrit (Syllabus Design & Faculty)
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Srinivas Kadaba is a Samskritam (Sanskrit) enthusiast, speaks and has been teaching the language since 2014 in the Bay Area. Teaching, is his passion and has been doing the same for about 30 years, on various subjects. He has been the coordinator for the Samskrita Bharati kendram (center) in Fremont, CA and currently coordinates spoken Samskritam classes for adults in the Fremont center. He regularly teaches workshops and classes at various levels. Being an engineer by profession with a PhD in Electrical Engineering, he is also the CTO of a media and financial technology company. Srinivas, a man of eclectic interests is a practitioner of Shaolin Kung Fu and trained vocalist in the Carnatic style of Indian Classical music who loves nature, wildlife, travel and photography.
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Srinivas Kadaba is a Samskritam (Sanskrit) enthusiast, speaks and has been teaching the language since 2014 in the Bay Area. Teaching, is his passion and has been doing the same for about 30 years, on various subjects. He has been the coordinator for the Samskrita Bharati kendram (center) in Fremont, CA and currently coordinates spoken Samskritam classes for adults in the Fremont center. He regularly teaches workshops and classes at various levels. Being an engineer by profession with a PhD in Electrical Engineering, he is also the CTO of a media and financial technology company. Srinivas, a man of eclectic interests is a practitioner of Shaolin Kung Fu and trained vocalist in the Carnatic style of Indian Classical music who loves nature, wildlife, travel and photography.
Shiksha Thakur - Ayurveda (Syllabus Design)
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Shiksha Thakur, an Ayurvedic Doctor, Yoga and meditation Teacher at the Art of Living Org, is a Professional Member of National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA, United States) since 2018. She is a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Science (BAMS) degree from Sri Sri Ayurveda College, Banglore, India. She has treated over 1000 patients during her course of time. She is an expert in Nadi Pariksha (Pulse Diagnosis), Mayo-Facial Release, Marma Chikitsa and various Panchakarma Therapies. Shiksha has conducted more than 20 Ayurvedic Research trials on various diseases like diabetes, digestive disorders, menstrual disorders, and skin infections. She has been teaching various Ayurvedic Wellness programs since more than 9 years. She is a Happiness Program Trainer with the Art of Living Foundation and has taught this program to over 300 youth in India. An expert in Vedic Cooking and Yoga for Women Health she has conducted various cooking and yoga workshops for women in India. She loves nature walks, gardening, music and good food.
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Shiksha Thakur, an Ayurvedic Doctor, Yoga and meditation Teacher at the Art of Living Org, is a Professional Member of National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA, United States) since 2018. She is a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Science (BAMS) degree from Sri Sri Ayurveda College, Banglore, India. She has treated over 1000 patients during her course of time. She is an expert in Nadi Pariksha (Pulse Diagnosis), Mayo-Facial Release, Marma Chikitsa and various Panchakarma Therapies. Shiksha has conducted more than 20 Ayurvedic Research trials on various diseases like diabetes, digestive disorders, menstrual disorders, and skin infections. She has been teaching various Ayurvedic Wellness programs since more than 9 years. She is a Happiness Program Trainer with the Art of Living Foundation and has taught this program to over 300 youth in India. An expert in Vedic Cooking and Yoga for Women Health she has conducted various cooking and yoga workshops for women in India. She loves nature walks, gardening, music and good food.
Dr. Anand Priyadarshee - Self Knowledge (Syllabus Design)
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Dr. Anand Priyadarshee got his training from IIT-B, Duke, and Carnegie Mellon University in Electrical engineering, Physics, and Computer Science. He has co-designed and taught novel courses to a range of age groups. This includes a Scientist's outreach to 4th grader and making cloud and lens with them, an online delivery platform for K-12 standard state assessments, designing 4-hour "Learning by Doing" modules to promote discovery-oriented thinking in an intermediate level rural students from India, undergrad level courses on laws of motion to how the universe can evolve from cellular automata at Duke and Carnegie Mellon University, and assisting Art of Living workshops on how laws of emotion work to how our inner universe evolves to general adults. Dr. Priyadarshee is multi-faceted and comes from a humble family of educators from Nalanda, recognized at the state and national level in India. He has worked for different sectors of Information Technology, which ranges from Hardware to Software to Business Process Architecture currently. He likes to use his diverse background to bring unifying perspectives on the interconnectedness of things.
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Dr. Anand Priyadarshee got his training from IIT-B, Duke, and Carnegie Mellon University in Electrical engineering, Physics, and Computer Science. He has co-designed and taught novel courses to a range of age groups. This includes a Scientist's outreach to 4th grader and making cloud and lens with them, an online delivery platform for K-12 standard state assessments, designing 4-hour "Learning by Doing" modules to promote discovery-oriented thinking in an intermediate level rural students from India, undergrad level courses on laws of motion to how the universe can evolve from cellular automata at Duke and Carnegie Mellon University, and assisting Art of Living workshops on how laws of emotion work to how our inner universe evolves to general adults. Dr. Priyadarshee is multi-faceted and comes from a humble family of educators from Nalanda, recognized at the state and national level in India. He has worked for different sectors of Information Technology, which ranges from Hardware to Software to Business Process Architecture currently. He likes to use his diverse background to bring unifying perspectives on the interconnectedness of things.
Avni Bid - Fine Arts, Photography (Syllabus Design & Faculty)
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Avni Bid, is a passionate freelance Photographer since 7 years & is a graduate in Commerce. She particularly enjoys and has worked with children on multiple photographic projects. She has assisted in the research of Inner Science through Photography during middle & high school students' photography camps. She believes children from the age of 8 need to be introduced to photography as they will have a direction & give an expression to their immense creativity. In this day and age, where multimedia is way of social conversation and self-expression, this enrichment is a great tool that adds value to their life, community, school projects & activities. She has done over 200 photography assignments and many of her photographic work are published in many of both India and US magazines. Her expertise lies in corporate events, weddings and family portraits. Her special interest is in Modelling/Fashion photography. She has been working with "IClickforacause" and has conducted Corporate Workshops. She is always amazed at the curiosity of the young minds! For Avni, Photography is "Art" & a medium of expression. It is beautiful moments frozen in time! It is life!
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Avni Bid, is a passionate freelance Photographer since 7 years & is a graduate in Commerce. She particularly enjoys and has worked with children on multiple photographic projects. She has assisted in the research of Inner Science through Photography during middle & high school students' photography camps. She believes children from the age of 8 need to be introduced to photography as they will have a direction & give an expression to their immense creativity. In this day and age, where multimedia is way of social conversation and self-expression, this enrichment is a great tool that adds value to their life, community, school projects & activities. She has done over 200 photography assignments and many of her photographic work are published in many of both India and US magazines. Her expertise lies in corporate events, weddings and family portraits. Her special interest is in Modelling/Fashion photography. She has been working with "IClickforacause" and has conducted Corporate Workshops. She is always amazed at the curiosity of the young minds! For Avni, Photography is "Art" & a medium of expression. It is beautiful moments frozen in time! It is life!
