BY RAVI R. PONANGI

Shiv Aggarwal, Dr. Rama Rao Amara, Ph.D., Dr. Sujatha Reddy and Dr. Seshu Sarma were four Indian awardees among "25 Most Influential Asian Americans in Georgia." Georgia Asian Times hosted an awards dinner to celebrate this year's 25 Most Influential Asian Americans in Georgia at Nam Phuong Restaurant in Norcross on Thursday, July 15. These individuals who made an impact in arts, business, government, politics, social work, education, research, judiciary, and areas that influence every aspect of Georgian’s daily life. Some names are familiar as they continue to strive to make our community a better place to live. New faces are recognized for their effort and dedication to make a difference. Over 200 guests including Hon. Takuji Hanatani, Consul General of Japan, Hon. Larry Tseng, Director General of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Madam Sue Everhart, Chair of Georgia's Republican Party, and Alex Wan, Atlanta City Council member.

Among Indian awardees, Shiv Aggarwal is the president & CEO of American Management Services. He migrated to USA in 1982 and started as a real estate agent in Baton rouge, Louisiana. He moved to Atlanta in 1987 and started investing in mid scale properties. For the past 15 years, Aggarwal has successfully invested in several large apartment complexes, shopping centers and hotels. Aggarwal is currently realizing a vision of creating North America’s first Indian indoor mall. A firm believer in giving back to the community, he has opened the doors of the mall for social causes. “Global Mall has two-in-one purpose,” he says. “A shopping mall and a community hub.”

Dr. Rama Rao Amara, Ph.D. is a research associate Professor in the division of Microbiology and Immunology of the Yerkes National Primate Research Center of Emory University and Associate professor in the Emory school of Medicine department of Microbiology and Immunology. As a research associate, Dr. Amara played a major role in the preclinical development of the AIDS vaccine now in phase I clinical trails. Now as an EVC faculty member, Dr. Amara is working to develop a version of this vaccine that could be used to control AIDS on the Indian subcontinent, where the strains of HIV that predominant differ from those most frequently transmitted in the US and other western countries.

Dr. Sujatha Reddy is a Psychiatrist in River Edge Behavioral Health Center and founder & activist of SAI health Fair. Over 300 EKGs, over 150+ vision and glaucoma screenings, over 50 bone density tests, and over 340 blood tests. These are the statistics from just the most recent SAI health Fair—a charitable forum providing free and low cost medical services to the poor, uninsured, and the underinsured. . Multiply these numbers by 23—the number of health fairs held so far – and you get close to the number of folks who are indebted to the generosity and spirit of Dr. Sujatha Reddy, the driving force behind these health fairs.

Dr. Seshu Sarma is Associate Professor, department of Obstetrics and gynecology in Morehouse School of Medicine. Dr. Sarma is a shining example of a multidimensional empowered woman who provides clinical care to woman and teaches medical students and residents. As a consultant, she provides reproductive health care to women who are infected with HIV at the Fulton county Health Department’s Ryan white Program. She served as a consultant to Emory University’s Regional Training Center for 16 years. Twice she won “The Best Teacher Award” from More House School of Medicine. She is widely regarded not only as an outstanding teacher but also a well known visionary in bringing awareness of Indian arts and culture in these parts of America. Dr. Seshu Sarma is a writer and proficient in playing veena. On community front she raised several thousands of dollars for Shankara Netralaya, the premium eye Care Institute, India. Dr. Seshu also played an exemplary role in helping Bhutanese refugees to settle down in Atlanta

This year marked the fifth year by Georgia Asian Times in honoring 25 Asian Americans in Georgia who have contributed to improving the quality of life and the image of Asians in the community.

"There are 16 new honorees this year; 12 are women honorees; and 8 individuals are repeat honorees from previous years," said Li Wong, publisher of Georgia Asian Times in his remark.
Honorees are selected based on nomination submitted by journalist from several local Asian newspapers including Indian Tribune, World Journal, and Korea Times.

Hugh Hu, master of ceremony for the evening introduced a brief profile for each honoree. Several honorees of the evening have urged more active participation by Asian Americans in the coming primaries and general elections. 

This year's 25 honorees represents diverse backgrounds from different fields including business, education, legal, legislative, medicine, non-profits, and governments.

"I am impressed with the depth and different background of the honorees. It goes to shows that Asian Americans are giving back to the community and improving the lives of others," said Alex Wan, first Asian American elected to Atlanta City Council.

Official announcement of the 25 honorees was announced earlier in May in conjunction with Asian American Heritage Month celebration.

"The awards is to recognize the contributions by the 25 honorees and hopefully, to inspire someone along the way," added Wong.