Keynote Speaker

Gurbir Singh Grewal

Attorney General, State of New Jersey

SPEAKER

Gurbir S. Grewal was nominated to serve as New Jersey’s 61st Attorney General by Governor Philip D. Murphy on December 12, 2017. He was confirmed by the New Jersey Senate and assumed the office on January 16, 2018.

Since assuming office, Attorney General Grewal has focused his attention on protecting the interests of New Jersey residents by expanding affirmative litigation, strengthening police-community relations, reducing violent crime and fighting the opioid epidemic.

Before becoming New Jersey Attorney General, Grewal served as Bergen County Prosecutor, the chief law enforcement officer of the most populous county in New Jersey and home to nearly 1 million residents living in 70 municipalities. As Bergen County Prosecutor, Grewal supervised a staff of 265 personnel and had supervisory authority over approximately 2,700 sworn law enforcement officers across 74 law enforcement agencies. Among other accomplishments during his tenure, he developed and implemented several creative approaches designed to tackle the heroin and opioid crisis, including “Operation Helping Hand,” a program that offers low-level drug offenders treatment options upon arrest. He also established a Community Affairs Unit, which is dedicated to assisting local departments improve police/community relations.

From 2010 to 2016, Grewal worked as an Assistant United States Attorney (“AUSA”) in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, where he served as Chief of the Economic Crimes Unit from 2014 to 2016 and oversaw the investigation and prosecution of all major white collar and cybercrimes in the District of New Jersey. He was the lead prosecutor in United States v. Drinkman, et al., the largest known data breach prosecution in which the conspirators participated in a worldwide scheme that targeted major corporate networks and stole more than 160 million credit card numbers, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. He was also the lead prosecutor in United States v. Weinstein, et al., a $200 million Ponzi scheme in which the lead defendant was sentenced to 24 years’ imprisonment.

Before becoming a federal prosecutor in New Jersey, Grewal also served as an AUSA in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York from 2004 to 2007, where he was ultimately assigned to the Business and Securities Fraud Unit. As an AUSA in the Eastern District of New York, he investigated and prosecuted a wide range of narcotics offenses, white collar crimes, and terrorism cases. His significant matters included the successful prosecution of 12 men charged with providing material support to the Tamil Tigers terrorist organization.

In addition to his work as a federal prosecutor, Grewal has also worked in private practice, including at Howrey LLP (from 1999 to 2004 in Washington, D.C., and from 2008 to 2010 in New York, NY). While at Howrey LLP, he counseled clients on a range of matters including securities, trademark, antitrust and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act issues; represented individuals and companies in government investigations and criminal proceedings; conducted internal investigations for public corporations; and conducted civil trials.

Attorney General Grewal graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in 1995. He obtained his law degree from the College of William & Mary, Marshall-Wythe School of Law in 1999.

 

Civic Engagement & Politics

Ravinder Singh Bhalla

Mayor of Hoboken, NJ

SPEAKER

Featured Guest Ravinder Bhalla

Born and raised in New Jersey, Mayor Bhalla is an 18-year resident of Hoboken, serving eight years on the Hoboken City Council before being elected Mayor in November 2017.

Ravi first set his roots in Hoboken at the age of 26, a bachelor fresh out of law school starting his first job at a small law firm in Newark, New Jersey. Ravi developed expertise as a civil rights lawyer, earning national recognition from The New York Times for his legal advocacy after suffering a violation of his own constitutional and civil rights during a jail visit to a client. The incident motivated Ravi to lead a successful campaign to reform the federal government’s visitation policies at correctional facilities nationwide.

Ravi successfully ran for Hoboken City Council, promising to restore honesty, professionalism, and fiscal responsibility to Hoboken. Once in office, Ravi worked hard to establish tangible reforms to the way government is run in Hoboken. Municipal taxes were reduced and Hoboken’s finances were put on a responsible long-term path. The City’s bond rating was improved from junk bond status in 2009 to AA+ in 2013, the second highest rating, and had a responsible cash surplus for the first time in years.

As his very first act as Mayor, Ravi signed an Executive Order declaring the City of Hoboken a Fair & Welcoming City. This order, along with a Police Directive from the Hoboken Police Chief, mandates that local law enforcement resources will not be used to enforce civil immigration laws. As Mayor, Ravi has pledged to ensure Hoboken sets the highest bar in advancing local issues such as smart city technology, infrastructure, recreation, and open space, while promoting a progressive policy agenda protecting the rights of Hoboken residents from assaults against the federal government.

He received his undergraduate education from the University of California at Berkeley, where he received a B.A. in Political Psychology. Upon graduation, he attended the London School of Economics (L.S.E.) in the United Kingdom and received a Master of Science degree in Public Administration and Public Policy, and a Juris Doctor Degree from Tulane Law School in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Ravi and his wife Bindya live in Hoboken with their two children, Arza Kaur, age 10 and Shabegh Singh, age 6.

 

Ruby Sahota

Member of Parliament for Brampton North

SPEAKER

Born in Toronto and raised in Brampton, Ruby Sahota is an active member of her local community, and is driven by the desire to give back to her riding of Brampton North.Before entering politics, Ruby worked as a lawyer, practicing for five years in the areas of criminal law, civil litigation, and dispute resolution in both the public and private sectors, handling a wide range of complex files at the national and international level.Ruby holds a combined Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Peace Studies from McMaster University and a J.D. with a concentration in Litigation from Thomas M. Cooley Law School where she was awarded the Blue Book Award in Immigration Law for achieving the highest GPA in her graduating class.Ruby is a dedicated mother of a four year old and a natural leader, she is passionate about engaging the youth vote, and is experienced in galvanizing people toward a common goal.As a Member of Parliament, Ruby is the elected Federal Liberal Ontario Caucus chair, vice chair of the Genocide Prevention Group, co-chairs the all-party Entrepreneurs Caucus and is vice-president of the Canada-India Friendship Group.Ruby is a member of the Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, which studies and reports on the rules and practices of the House and its committees. Ruby was previously a member of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women and the Special Committee for Electoral Reform.Outside of Ottawa, Ruby believes in being an accessible MP for her constituents, providing mentorship to young people and highlighting the diversity of Brampton North.
 

 

Gurratan Singh

MPP for Brampton East

SPEAKER

Gurratan Singh is the Member of Provincial Parliament representing the riding of Brampton East

A lawyer by profession, Gurratan’s unique upbringing has fueled his passion for justice and equity

He has spent over a decade serving the Brampton communities through pro–bono legal advice, youth mentorship, organizing and advocating for young people

A community champion, Gurratan is the City of Brampton’s Chair of the Equity and Inclusion, founding member of Sikh Heritage Month Foundation and a Board Member of Peel Art Gallery

He was an instrumental figure behind Jagmeet Singh’s ascent to MPP and leader of the Federal NDP and is determined to fight for change for the better and bring Brampton East the leadership people need in order to access better health care, seniors care and education

 

 

Prabmeet Sarkaria

MPP for Brampton South

SPEAKER


Prabmeet Sarkaria is the MPP for Brampton South.Prabmeet worked as a corporate and commercial Associate at Miller Thomson LLP prior to being elected. He has a law degree from the University of Windsor as well as a Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University where he majored in Finance. Prior to going into law, he worked at TD Securities.
Passionate about community service, Prabmeet is an active volunteer. He sits on the City of Brampton’s Property Standards Committee and serves on the Board of Directors for Hockey for Humanity and KarmaGrow.
Prabmeet is an avid sports fan who enjoys playing and watching hockey, basketball, baseball, and football.

Prabmeet strongly believes that Ontario families deserve a change. He will work tirelessly so that Brampton families pay less and get ahead.

 

 

Ramandeep Kaur Grewal

Partner, Strikeman Elliot, L.L.P.

MODERATOR

Ramandeep Kaur Grewal is a partner in the Canadian law firm Stikeman Elliott LLP. She practices principally in securities and mergers & acquisitions, having expertise on a wide range of corporate finance matters, including corporate governance and securities law. She has counselled boards of directors of public and private issuers, for profit and charitable/ non-profit corporations, dealers and advisers, funds and asset managers. She also advises on capital market infrastructure matters including stock exchanges, trading facilities and other marketplaces and market participants.

Ramandeep has written and presented extensively on a wide range of topics relating to corporate finance and corporate governance and is currently the co-editor of the Corporate Governance Report, a quarterly newsletter focussed on governance developments, and teaches corporate governance as part of the Master of Finance Program at the Schulich School of Business, York University.

Community Involvement

  • Most recently Co-Chair of the Sikh Heritage Month Foundation (Ontario) and currently on the Board of Advisors of the Sikh Research Institute (SIKHRI). With SIKHRI, has developed a program for the Sikh diaspora focussed on training Gurdwara administrators on effective governance and leadership based on a combination of charitable/not-for-profit best practices and traditional Sikh principles. This program was rolled out in North America in 2015 and will be extended to the UK and Australia in 2016.
  • Serves as spokesperson/community liaison on various topics involving the Sikh community for a range of community initiatives, governmental and non-profit organizations and interfaith groups, as well as radio, television and print media.
  • Held various voluntary board and advisory positions, including with the Sikh Human Rights Group, the Sikh Centennial Foundation, the William Osler Health Centre Foundation and the William Osler Health Centre Board of Directors.
  • From 1990 -1994, hosted a nationally broadcast Sikh television program in Canada (Dhur Ki Bani).

 

 

Business & Entrepreneurship

Mohanbir Singh Sawhney

McCormick Foundation Professor of Technology
Clinical Professor of Marketing
Director, Center for Research in Technology & Innovation
Kellogg School of Management
Northwestern University

SPEAKER

Prof. Sawhney is a globally recognized scholar, teacher, consultant and speaker in business innovation, modern marketing and enterprise analytics.

Prof. Sawhney has written seven management books as well as dozens of influential articles in leading academic journals and managerial publications. His most recent book, The Sentient Enterprise: The Evolution of Business Decision Making, was published in October 2017 and was on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list. He has also written a book of poetry called Love, Longing and Loneliness in 2014. His research has been published in leading journals like California Management Review, Harvard Business Review, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Management Science, Marketing Science, MIT Sloan Management Review, and Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. He is a frequent contributor to publications like Fortune, Forbes and Financial Times.

Prof. Sawhney has won several awards for his teaching and research, including the 2006 Sidney Levy Award for Teaching Excellence at the Kellogg School, the 2005 runner-up for Best Paper in

Journal of Interactive Marketing, the 2001 Accenture Award for the best paper published in California Management Review in 2000 and the Outstanding Professor of the Year at Kellogg in 1998. He has been nominated for the Outstanding Professor of the Year at Kellogg in 2008 and 2009. He received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta in 2011. In 2014, he was ranked 16th on the list of most influential thinkers of Indian origin by Thinkers50 and the Institute of Competitiveness. In 2016, he received the Thought Leadership Award from NASSCOM, India’s consortium for the IT and BPO industry.

Prof. Sawhney advises and speaks to Global 2000 firms and governments worldwide. His speaking and consulting clients include Accenture, Adobe Systems, AT&T, Boeing, Cisco Systems, Dell, DuPont, Entergy, Ericsson, Fidelity Investments, GE, General Mills, Goldman Sachs, Honeywell, Intuit, Jenner & Block, Jones Lang LaSalle, Johnson & Johnson, Kellogg Company, McDonald’s, Microsoft, Nissan Motor, Raytheon Missile Systems, Rockwell Automation, SAP, Sony, Teradata and Textron Inc. He serves on the boards and advisory boards of several technology companies, including Bahwan Cybertek, Cross-Tab Group, Reliance Jio Infocomm, Georama, Kognetics, LawGeex, PomVom, Sprinklr, Smartmedia, StartupWind and vMock. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Study for Business Markets (ISBM) at Penn State University and a member of the Advisory Board at Chicago Innovation.

Prof. Sawhney holds a Ph.D. in Marketing from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; a Master’s degree in Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta; and a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi.

 

Paramjit Kaur Matharu

Managing Director
JP Morgan Chase
Global Head for Indirect Taxes

SPEAKER

Paramjit is a Managing Director at JP Morgan Chase Bank and is the Global Head for Indirect Taxes. She is married with three grown up sons. Paramjit was educated in Kenya and emigrated to the UK in 1980, starting a career with HM Revenue and Customs, moving on to Price Waterhouse for 9 years before taking her current role in industry. At JP Morgan Paramjit started her career as the U.K. head for VAT going on to lead at European level and then globally for broader indirect tax matters. Apart from the technical advisory aspects, she has been at the

forefront in creating in house technology solutions with technology partners for her area of tax specialism.

She is the chair of the VAT working group at UK Finance ( previously BritIsh Bankers Assn); represents the FS industry in indirect tax matters for Europe at the European Banking Federation and is a participant in the OECD in matters related to consumption taxes through her trade body roles.

From 2012 to 2016 Paramjit was an Executive Member of the Sikh Council UK, and chaired the European and International Affairs sub committee volunteering to work on projects linked to inter and intra faith education, campaigning for Sikh human rights within the EU and representing the Sikh Community on various platforms.

She is a member of the JP Morgan Women on the Move as well as Aspire and BAME forums. She is a keen supporter of Sikh forums in the Big 4 professional accountancy firms and has been a part of Sikhri events in the U.K.

 

Kulvir Singh Gill

Senior Partner, Clareo

MODERATOR

Kulvir Singh Gill has almost 20 years of experience working at the intersection of innovation, technology and sustainability. As a Senior Principal with the strategy firm Clareo, Mr. Gill leads international projects across multiple industries including mining, oil and gas, heavy industrial, banking, retail and media.

 

 

 

Mr. Gill has also recently served as the founding Executive Director of the Development Partner Institute to advance sustainability in mining. He began his career as a management consultant with Oliver Wyman before holding several positions with Barrick Gold Corporation.

Mr. Gill is also passionate about community service. He is a co-founder and current interim volunteer Executive Director of the Seva Food Bank in Mississauga. He also serves as Board Chair for the William Osler Health System Foundation and the Sikh Research Institute (Canada). Mr. Gill is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and a 2010 Action Canada Fellow. Mr. Gill holds a B.Sc. and a B. Comm. from the University of Calgary. He lives with his family in Brampton, Ontario.

 

 

Diversity & Inclusion

Ritu Bhasin

President of bhasin consulting inc.

SPEAKER

Ritu Bhasin, LL.B., MBA, President of bhasin consulting inc., is an award- winning speaker, author, and globally recognized expert in diversity and inclusion, women’s advancement,and authentic leadership.

Since 2010, Ritu has delivered leadership training, coaching, and advisory services across sectors, working with top organizations and senior leadership teams around the world to develop inclusive cultures. Ritu is known for her expertise in cultural competence, unconscious bias, and neuroscience strategies, and has coached hundreds of professionals,leaders, and executives to be more inclusive. A passionate advocate for authenticity, inclusion, and empowerment, Ritu has won numerous awards for her work, including the City of Toronto’s William P. Hubbard Award for Race Relations in 2014.

Ritu’s Amazon-bestselling book, The Authenticity Principle: Resist Conformity, Embrace Differences, and Transform How You Live, Work, and Lead, was released in the fall of 2017. In the same year, Ritu also co-authored a ground-breaking research study, called Sponsor Effect: Canada, with the Center for Talent Innovation, which examines the experiences that people of colour, Indigenous peoples, and women have with advocacy and sponsorship in the workplace.

Before founding bci, Ritu spent ten years in the legal profession, first as a civil litigator and then as the director of legal talent for a preeminent Canadian law firm.

Ritu, who is also an avid yoga and mindfulness teacher and practitioner, lives in Toronto, Canada, but travels all over the world to eat, swim, hike, dance, and work.

To learn more about Ritu, visit http://www.ritubhasin.com. Follow Ritu on Facebook at facebook.com/authenticityprinciple, and on Twitter and Instagram @ritu_bhasin.

 

 

Amandeep Singh Sidhu

Partner
McDermott, Will & Emery LLP

MODERATOR

Amandeep (Aman) Singh Sidhu is a partner in the Litigation practice group of the international law firm of McDermott Will & Emery, based in Washington, DC. He focuses his practice on compliance counseling, state and federal government investigations, and complex civil litigation involving regulated industries. Aman has substantial experience representing companies in high stakes “bet the company” disputes, including clients across the health care, life science and pharmaceutical industries.

Aman’s commitment to client service and delivering results is reflected in his recent recognition as a “40 Under 40” by the Washington Business Journal, “DC Rising Star” by The National Law Journal, “Rising Star” by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, and “Best Under 40” by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. He was also named one of 2017’s “Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business” by the Asian American Business Development Center.

Aman is also a co-founder of the Sikh Coalition. In partnership with the Sikh Coalition’s legal team, Aman serves as lead counsel in the multi-year #LetSikhsServe campaign to end the U.S. military’s presumptive ban on the service of observant Sikhs and other religious minorities. Over the past nine years, the McDermott/Sikh Coalition team has obtained historic accommodations for over 20 individuals—including Lieutenant Colonel Kamal Singh Kalsi, Major Tejdeep Singh Rattan, Corporal Simran Lamba, and Captain Simmer Singh—each of whom has been allowed to serve in the U.S. Army with distinction while maintaining their religious articles of faith. In January 2017, the U.S. Army adopted an historic new policy that substantially lifts the obstacles to Sikhs and other religious minorities seeking religious accommodations.

Previously, Aman was a judicial clerk for Chief Judge Walter S. Felton, Jr., of the Court of Appeals of Virginia. While clerking, he was a member of the National Association of Appellate Court Attorneys and was appointed by Supreme Court of Virginia Chief Justice Leroy R. Hassell, Sr., to serve as a task force member of the Commission on Virginia Courts in the 21st Century: To Benefit All, To Exclude None.

Aman is deeply committed to supporting underrepresented and underserved communities, serving on McDermott’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee and Pro Bono and Community Service Committee. He recently wrote an article for the National Law Journal about his experience as a Sikh growing up in Virginia and the many “firsts” he has experienced in his career, including being the first turbaned Sikh partner at an AmLaw 100 firm in U.S. history (link below).

Aman and his wife, Jasmeet Kaur, live in Washington, DC with their twin daughters, Prabhnoor Kaur and Ajuni Kaur.
 

 

Sharanjeet Kaur

WSO VP for Ontario

PANELIST

Sharanjeet Kaur has a diverse professional background in the health sector, having worked across different levels of government in a broad range of areas. Her international experience includes progressive positions in public health, social services, built environment/planning, health research, health policy, health system administration and currently, as Director of the Strategy and Project Management Office with the Central West Local Health Integration Network.

Sharanjeet holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Applied Health Sciences from the University of Waterloo, and a Master of Public Administration from Queens University.

Sharanjeet is passionate about advancing public policy, advocacy, and community capacity building with the Sikh community. She has over two decades of experience supporting charities in Punjab, local Gurdwara youth engagement initiatives, and interfaith forums across numerous communities.

 

 

LTC Kamal Singh Kalsi D.O.

Emergency Medicine Physician
Founder of Sikh American Veterans Alliance (SAVA)

PANELIST

LTC Kamal S. Kalsi, D.O. graduated from Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine and went on to complete his residency in Emergency Medicine and subspecialty training in EMS and Disaster Medicine. He trained in Israel as a special guest of the IDF to learn about their Disaster Preparedness and Response. He joined the Army in 2001, and has served in active and reserve duty positions for 16 years. He became the first Sikh to be granted a religious accommodation in the military in nearly a generation. LTC Kalsi deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, and treated hundreds of combat casualties. LTC Kalsi was awarded a Bronze Star Medal for his service there. He served as EMS Director to the military’s largest stateside EMS system at Fort Bragg for 3 years. LTC Kalsi’s operational experience includes mass casualty planning and response, triage, tactical medicine and expeditionary care in austere environments. In his spare time he advocates for civil liberties with regards to religious freedom. He has been featured in TIME, CNN, BBC, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Stars and Stripes, NPR, PBS, and many other news outlets. His efforts to improve diversity in the military led to the recent Army policy change 2017-03 which opened the doors for religious accommodations in the Army. He has been an honored guest and speaker at both the White House and the Pentagon. LTC Kalsi has recently transitioned back into the Army Reserves and is the medical officer for the 404th Civil Affairs Battalion in Ft. Dix, NJ. LTC Kalsi is a Truman Fellow, serving on the Defense Council of the Truman National Security Project and was awarded their “Innovation in Policy award”. Most recently, LTC Kalsi served as co-chair to the Military and Veterans Affairs committee for Governor Phil Murphy’s transition team. Last year, he founded the Sikh American Veterans Alliance (SAVA) in order to promote diversity, Sikh military history and service. And whenever anyone asks him where he’s from, he tells them he’s from “Jersey.”


 

 

Sikhi Education & Awareness

Inni Kaur

CEO of Sikh Research Institute

SPEAKER

Inni Kaur serves as the CEO of Sikh Research Institute (SikhRI), with a mission to connect people with the influential and inspiring teachings of Sikhi.

As an accomplished representative of the Sikh community, she is a dedicated advocate for raising awareness on key interfaith and women’s issues. Inni Kaur’s list of career achievements include addressing the U.S. Office of the Pentagon Chaplin several times, speaking at Yale and Fairfield Universities, as well as presenting to the Connecticut Board of Education and local police departments to further dialogue regarding the Sikh identity.

Presently, Inni Kaur is an active member on the Board of the Interfaith Council of Southern Connecticut, an organization devoted to increasing interfaith understanding. She serves on the editorial board of Nishaan, a magazine celebrating Sikh heritage, and is a board member for Munshi Bishan Singh Kochhar Foundation. Inni Kaur continues to extend her services and expertise on the Advisory Board of the Sikh Family Centre and is a frequent contributor for the daily online magazine, Sikhchic.com. In addition, she serves as a local Justice of the Peace.

Inni Kaur is an esteemed and passionate author, poet and painter. She broadened her creative artistry into publishing a children’s book series, Journey with the Gurus that was inspired by the life and teachings of Guru Nanak Sahib. Her other children’s books are Sakhi-Time with Nani ji and Thank-You, Vahiguru. She is passionately involved in trans-creating Sabad and the writings of Bhai Vir Singh.

A uniquely transnational identity, Inni Kaur was born in Kuwait, then lived in New Zealand, Australia and Greece, before relocating to the United States in 1982. Today, she resides with her husband in Fairfield, Connecticut, and continues to bring multi-faceted perspectives to her work.

 

 

Dr. Jaspreet Kaur Bal

Professor of Child and Youth Care
Humber College

SPEAKER

Dr. Jaspreet Bal is a Professor in the Child and Youth Care program at Humber College in Toronto. A community organizer and educator, her practice involves radical youth work with underserved populations across North America. Bal serves on the Board of Directors of the Sikh Feminist Research Institute and Kaurs United International. She is also on the advisory board of the Sikh Research Institute.

 

 

Dr Harpreet Singh

Harvard University
Board of Religious, Spiritual, and Ethical Life

MODERATOR

Dr. Harpreet Singh is a scholar of South Asian traditions and languages at Harvard University. His scholarly interests range from studying the formation of religious identities in the premodern South Asia to the nationalization of religious communities in the modern era. He works with a wide range of sources in Persian, Sanskrit, Classical Panjabi, Brajbhasha, Awadhi and Urdu. His teaching responsibilities at Harvard have ranged from introductory courses on South Asian religions to advanced courses on religious nationalism and literary cultures. He co-founded the Sikh Coalition—the largest Sikh civil rights organization in North America—in the wake of hate crimes against Sikh-Americans after the September 11, 2001 attacks. He received a PhD degree in South Asian Religions from Harvard’s Committee on the Study of Religion and a MTS degree from Harvard Divinity School. Singh currently serves on the Board of Religious, Spiritual, and Ethical Life at Harvard; on the Board of Trustees at the Sikh Coalition and Sikh Scholarship Foundation; and on the Advisory Boards of the Pluralism Project at Harvard, and the Institute for Asian American Studies.

His online course Sikhism Through Its Scriptures is open to the public and launches on August 5, 2018.

As someone who managed a portfolio of startups within Citigroup’s Venture Portfolio Office, he is also active as an entrepreneur and mentor in the tech space. From Harvard Innovation Lab, he has founded several award-winning technology platforms with a focus on bridging the skills gap in AI and emerging technologies. His company Experfy, backed by Peter Diamandis, won the Gartner Cool Vendor Award in Data Science and Machine Learning in 2017. He recently launched a cryptocurrency called Expercoin to support the creation of decentralized learning economies on the blockchain. He is a thought leader in the area of AI and blockchain, recognized by major publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Mashable and Techcrunch. He is also the host of Masters of Blockchain podcast where he has interviewed important personalities such as Tim Draper and Don Tapscott.