________________
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
Aakash Shah Aakash is the proud Canadian serving on this year's YJA Convention Committee. Being bom and raised in Toronto, ON has led Aakash to be a passionate Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors fan! Aakash is a dentist in private practice who enjoys watching sports, staying active, and eating pizza. This will be Aakash's final year on the YJA board after serving as Director of Public Relations (20102011) and Director of Project Development (2011-2012), and he hopes everyone has a legen - wait for it - dary time at the Convention!
Aamir Hussain Aamir graduated from Georgetown University in 2013. He is a Muslim of Indian origin, and speaks Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, and Urdu. He worked with the Interfaith Youth Core and the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships to promote interfaith leadership. He is a blogger for the Huflington Post Religion, has appeared on Al Jazeera English and PBS, and has been quoted in the New York Times. Aamir will attend medical school at The University of Chicago this fall.
Aashika Damodar Aashika is a social entrepreneur, artist, tech-enthusiast, and anti-trafficking activist. She currently serves as a Human Trafficking TTA Specialist. Previously, Aashika founded Freedom Connect, a non-profit working to develop and extend innovative technology platforms for anti-trafficking efforts. In 2008, she was awarded the UN Association Community Human Rights Award and the Zimmerman Fellowship and Freedom Award for her anti-trafficking work.
Adam Garner Adam, mission delivery associate at Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), spends his time supporting and developing resources for student interfaith organizations. Adam graduated from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a degree in philosophy. He spends most of his time at IFYC supporting campuses as they work to make interfaith cooperation a social norm on their campus. When not interfaithing, he spends his time coding, reading, and trying to be a better person.
Akash Shah Akash was born in Brookfield, CT, but grew up in Cary, NC. He is a rising junior studying quantitative biology at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Go Heels!). This is his first time speaking at a YJA Convention, though he has volunteered for YJA Executive Boards and Convention Committees in the past. In his free time, Akash enjoys playing basketball, listening to music, and hanging out with friends. He also spends a lot of time watching Boston and UNC sports teams.
Amam Vasanwala Amam is an engineering manager at Mars, Incorporated. He graduated from Duke University with an Master of Science in Engineering Management and obtained a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Amam enjoys traveling, photography, playing sports, and spending time with family and friends. At the Jain Society of Metropolitan Chicago, he currently teaches Pathshala class for kids ages 10 to 1l.
Amit Shah Amit is from Chicago, IL. Born and raised in the Mid-West, Amit has been very active in YJA for many years. Currently, he is the Director of Public Relations on YJA's Executive Board. He loves to dance (especially to Bollywood music), photography, and just chilling with his friends. Amit is really excited to share his wisdom with you all.
M
2014 YJA CONVENTION WASHINGTON, D.C.
