r(E)volutionary Woman

Elizabeth Atalay is a Digital Media Producer, the Managing Editor for World Moms Network, and an advocate with the United Nations Foundation. She founded Documama.org as a way to use her documentary film background in a new medium. After having worked on Feature Films and Television series for FOX, NBC, MGM, Columbia Pictures, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, and Castle Rock Pictures, she studied documentary filmmaking and anthropology earning a Masters degree in Media Studies from The New School in New York. More recently she has worked on social media campaigns for non-profits such as Save The Children, WaterAid, ONE.org, UNICEF, United Nations Foundation, World Pulse, and The Gates Foundation. Elizabeth has traveled through more than 75 countries around the world and lives in New England with her husband and four kids.

To learn more about Elizabeth Atalay:
www.documama.org

To learn more about World Moms Network:
www.worldmomsnetwork.com

Today, Tes talks with Dr. Lalitha Dhareshwar. Dr. Dhareshwar retired as the Head, Laser & Neutron Physics Division of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, in 2010 and continued there as a Raja Ramanna Fellow (RRF), Department of Atomic Energy, for five years (2010 – 2015). She has a Ph.D. in Physics, from the University of Mumbai. She joined the B.A.R.C. Scientific Officers’ Training School (13 th Batch), after completing B.Sc. (Hons.) from the University of Bangalore, in 1969.

Dr. Dhareshwar worked for forty-five years at B.A.R.C., in the field of High Power Lasers, Laser Plasmas & applications and was instrumental in carrying out several prestigious projects She has over seventy five publications in International Journals.

As a Ph.D. Guide for University of Mumbai, she has guided several students to obtain their Ph.D.

Dr. Dhareshwar has been the Chairperson and Convener, at various International and National Seminars, Conferences and Symposiums. She has been invited by International Laboratories and Universities, in USA, Japan, Germany, France, Russia, Spain, Italy, Poland, Lithuania, Czech Republic, for Scientific Collaboration & Training scientists and research scholars, in the latest field of Lasers & Plasma physics.

Dr. Lalitha Dhareshwar is a member of Heartfulness Institute (Shri Ram Chandra Mission), a Spiritual organization, for over 30 years. As a Preceptor and Certified Spiritual Trainer and Self Development Facilitator & Mentor, she imparts Spiritual Training through Heartfulness Meditation. She has conducted numerous Heartfulness and Self Development Training Programmes all over India.

Recognizing the fact that Value Based Education was not part of the school curriculum, Dr. Lalitha Dhareshwar had formulated and conducted Value Based Education programs for the first time at the four Atomic Energy Central schools, from 1992-1995. This syllabus of VBE was then taken up by 37 Atomic Energy Central Schools (AECS) all over India covering about 40,000 students. It was then conducted at several schools and colleges in Mumbai, as well as in Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Dr. Dhareshwar, has been recognized for her contributions in Value Based Spiritual Education, by N.C.E.R.T. and AECS and for her contributions to Community Development, she was honored by Rotary Club, Lions Group, Kanara Saraswat Association, Modern College, Amity University, Pillai group of Institutions, MGM group, Anjuman Islam College and many Universities and Associations.

Dr. Lalitha Dhareshwar is the current President of Indian Women Scientists’ Association (I.W.S.A.), an NGO, which has the main mandate of taking science to society, empowering women and nurturing talent amongst school and college students.

She organizes and conducts several Lecture Workshops, Refresher Courses and Training Programs for college students and faculty, on current topics of interest in science. She is actively involved with the Science Nurture Program of IWSA, wherein school students are taught Science through hands-on experiments in their laboratory. Through IWSA, she is engaged in sponsoring the education of students from weaker economic backgrounds. She is also engaged in several community welfare programs.

April is Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month and my guest today is Deb Pollack – Founder of Drive Toward a Cure.
Deb, a publicist for boutique restoration house Singer Vehicle Design, is both a convertible car gal and a Porsche loyalist – equally loving both her 996 C4 Cab and her replica ’57 speedster. Over the past three decades she’s represented small car companies with big names including Mitsubishi Motors, GM, Ferrari and Maserati. A philanthropist at heart, since 2008 she’s teamed cars and camaraderie to support the challenges of Parkinson’s disease – most notably as founder of Drive Toward a Cure (www.drivetowardacure.org), a nationally-recognized non-profit charity dedicated to finding a cure.

To learn more about Deb Polack:
Facebook: Deb Stearn Pollack
IG: @corsaprgal

To learn more about Drive Toward a Cure:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI8JVVHuLgc
IG: @drivetowardacure

Conversations for a Cause
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJU7UBKsBHA

Today, Tes talks with Jennifer Burden. Jennifer hails from the USA and is the Founder and CEO of World Moms Network, an award-winning online media organization and website promoting a world of peace through the common bonds of motherhood. Jennifer has been nominated Global Influencer Fellow and Social Media Fellow by the UN Foundation, invited to the White House, spoken at the World Bank for the right of a universal education for all children, and her writing has been featured on Impatient Optimists, The Huffington Post, ONE.org and BabyCenter. She is currently at Columbia University in NYC, where she is working toward her Executive Masters in Public Administration with a concentration in global policy studies. She is the mother of two girls and practices Heartfulness meditation.

To learn more about Jennifer Burden:
worldmomsblog@gmail.com

To learn more about World Moms Network:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/worldmomsnetwork
www.worldmomsnetwork.com
Twitter: @WorldMomsNetwk
IG: worldmomsnetwk

Born and raised in a family of medical professionals in Kolkata, India, Urmi Basu received her primary and secondary education in the city. On completion of her first Degree in Sociology, Urmi moved to take her Masters in Social Work at the prestigious Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. During her training she had the opportunity to work in the first cell set up for women in distress by the Mumbai Police Department. She also worked as a relief worker during the Bhopal gas leak tragedy in December 1984 which left a lasting impression on her mind about the need to be prepared for disasters, both natural and manmade.

After fifteen years of professional work Urmi set up a small non-profit named New Light in Kolkata in 2000 with a seed money as little as Rs 10,000 along with two other young people from the Kalighat red light district. The mission of the organization is to promote gender equality and fight violence and abuse of women, girl children and young people. That tiny initiative today provides care and support to a couple of thousand people. The organization also works to fight against child prostitution and trafficking for the purpose of sex- trade, child labour and bonded labour. Urmi has been a part of targeted intervention programs for victims of HIV/AIDS, trans-sexual and trans-gender people.

She lives in Kolkata, India and fights for social justice for the marginalized community every day of her life. In her own words her greatest moment of joy was when she was chosen as a recipient of a blessing from His Holiness The Dalai Lama under the title Unsung heroes of Compassion 2009 on the 26th of April 2009 in San Francisco for her work that promotes compassion and peace. In 2019, it was a distinguished honour for all associated with her as Ms. Urmi Basu received the prestigious Nari Shakti Puraskar from His Excellency the President of India through the Ministry of Women and Child Development, GOI, in recognition of New Light Kolkata’s contribution to women’s empowerment on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

Awards & Accolades

▪ Selected as the NGO co-ordinator by the office of the Governor of West Bengal to make a presentation on micro credit, women’s participation in gender sensitivity and health issues during the visit of the former President of the United States Bill Clinton on 7th of April 2001
▪ Part of the core team that met the past Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on her visit to Kolkata in May 2012 and shared the experience of working against trafficking in persons

▪ Featured in the four hour documentary Half The Sky based on the novel by New York Times columnist, Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wu Dunn, which featured Urmi and her work with the victims of trafficking on PBS in October 2012 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXcP7vMnMaM)
▪ Following the documentary she received the Global Citizen Award at the Global Music Festival in Central Park, New York in September 2012 which was organized to mark zero tolerance for hunger, poverty and abuse (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1PW5JFeuPw)
▪ Recipient of Nari Shakti award from His Excellency The President of India on the occasion of International Women’s Day on the 8th of March 2019
▪ Recognized as Person of the Year 2020 By Weekend Leader Chennai at Vellore Institute of Technology for the contribution to the welfare of women and children

To learn more about Urmi Basu:
Twitter: @urmibasu1
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAukNw2T0AY
A life of dignity: dire straits faced by the sex workers in Kolkata – Urmi Basu – TEDxIIFT Kolkata

To learn more about New Light Kolkata:
Twitter: @newlightkolkata
IG: @newlightkolkata
Youtube: https://youtu.be/8hvCr0uxkM8
New Light Kolkata

Today, Tes talks with Christine Wehrli. Christine is a Filipina-American who was born and raised overseas; she considers herself a Third Culture Kid. She is currently an Events Specialist at the Rice University School of Architecture, in Houston, Texas. She graduated with a B.A. from the University of Richmond where she majored in International Studies, and minored in French and History. Prior to working at Rice University, she worked in sustainable tourism in Moshi, Tanzania, and as a library associate for the D.C. Public Library in Washington, D.C.

In her free time, she enjoys engaging in cultural activities and getting involved in the community. In Washington, D.C., she was an ambassador for InterNations, an expat networking group, and a volunteer Math teacher at the YWCA. In Houston, she is an ambassador for the Filipino Young Professionals and was involved with voter outreach for the 2018 midterm and 2020 U.S. elections.She is a licenced Zumba instructor and has led classes in various countries in her five years of teaching.

To learn more about Christine Wehrli:
IG: @filamestiza