Raksha Board of Directors (2010)

Monica Modi Khant. President Ms. Khant received her BA from Rutgers University in 1995 and her J.D. from the New England School of Law in 1998.  Upon graduation and passing the New Jersey bar she began practicing immigration law.  She worked for the public interest group American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) as a staff attorney.  In this position she conducted “Know your Rights” presentations and primarily represented detained asylum seekers – from Somalia, Algeria, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Cambodia, Cameroon, Nepal and many other countries - in their cases in immigration court. In the fall of 2000, Ms. Modi Khant returned to Boston and continued her practice of immigration law with the Law Office of Richard Costa.  She then joined Vakili & Associates, P.C., in the fall of 2003 as an associate where she continued her practice in business and family based immigration issues.  In 2005, Ms. Modi Khant became the Director of Legal Services at the International Institute of Boston where she managed three legal offices which practiced immigration law and also trained DSS and the FBI in trafficking and domestic violence immigration matters.  In 2006, Ms. Modi Khant moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where she became Project Director of the Georgia Asylum and Immigration Network (GAIN).   Ms. Khant previously served on the Board of Advisors for the Boston based South Asian group, Saheli, and was a daily contributing writer for the New England newsletter, Lokvani. She is now the President of the Board of Directors of Raksha.

Shachi Bhardwaj.  Mrs. Bhardwaj has called Alpharetta home for close to 17 years. In 1993, Shachi, with her husband Alok and their two daughters Shuchita and Richa, moved to Atlanta. Shuchita has now finished school and Richa currently attends Johns Creek High School as a sophomore. Throughout these years,  Shachi has been an active member of the community, leading, as well as participating, in a wide range of community activities and events ranging from family events and planning activities for adults and kids for VHP, Ekal Vidyalaya, and SE Vipassana Association. On a professional level, Shashi has been in the service industry since 2003, where an unwavering focus on “Customer Service” has allowed her to excel in her work. Her experience includes retail, retail lending, credit counseling, and mortgage lending. With a significant experience in all aspects of the lending industry and with customer focus as her hallmark, Shachi advises her clients on the smallest details, as well as the big picture.  Her vision for Raksha is to have an organization that provides a happy and nurturing environment for domestic and sexual violence survivors and their children, which in return leads to a strong community. Her commitment to her family, profession, and community energizes her to give back what she has been so abundantly blessed with.

Avni Gandhi. Secretary  Ms. Gandhi works at the Social Secruity Administration as legal counsel.  Ms. Gandhi has also worked as an employment attorney at Kramer & Patel, LLC.  She litigated employment discipline, education due process and funding, civil rights, licensing, whistleblower, worker injuries, disability and benefits, and other employment and education cases.  Avni provides pro bono legal assistance to the Truancy Intervention Project and the American Civil Liberties Union.  She regularly volunteers as a waitress for Cafe 458 of the Samaritan House of Atlanta and does volunteer work for Stand Up For Kids, a nonprofit organization that combats juvenile homelessness.  Avni is a 2004 graduate of Emory University Law School and also obtained her B.A. from Emory University.  She joined the Raksha Board in January 2008.

Rajesh Jyotishi. Vice President   Mr. Jyotishi has been a resident of Atlanta for more than 30 years.  He is the founding partner of Khabar magazine.  One of the oldest and largest magazines for the Asian Indian community in Georgia and surrounding areas.  Rajesh is also an insurance agent and a financial planner.  He is the President/CEO of Shalin Financial Services, Inc, which he founded in 1991.  Rajesh hosts the moneywise section of Khabar magazine.  His professional designations include Certified Estate Planner, Certified Senior Advisor and Certified in Long Term Care.  He is also a member of the Dunwoody Rotary Club and lives in Alpharetta with his wife Pari and two sons Shalin & Shreyas.

Sharleen Rehmann Kazi . Mrs. Kazi is a Georgia native and an alumna of The University of Georgia with a dual BS in Biology and Microbiology and a BA in Spanish.  She is currently a Microbiologist at the US Food and Drug Administration, Southeast Regional Lab, in Midtown.  Sharleen has been involved in community service activities for most of her life and plans to continue furthering this passion by focusing on the South Asian community.  She is excited to help in the effort to spread Raksha's services into the Pakistani community and looks forward to building new ties there.

Sangeeta Patil.  Ms. Patil was born in India but has lived outside India for the past 26 years. She is married with two children. Her oldest son graduated from Gerogia Tech and is serving in the Peace Corps in Togo, Africa.  Her youngest son is a junior at Georgia State College pursuing his degree in Accounting.  Ms. Patil graduated from Southern Polytechnic State College with a degree in computer science. She has been managing her husband’s Internal Medicine practice in Alpharetta for the past 10 years.  Her hobbies include traveling, hiking, tennis, reading and cooking for friends.

Sona Sara. Ms. Sara left the corporate world to raise her daughter. Once her daughter was old enough, she decided instead of going back to the corporate world, she would dedicate her time doing work that benefits the community and society.   Ms. Sara has volunteered her time as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) where she works with children who are in the legal system to help the court to gain better insight into the child’s issues from the perspective of that child.  Being a CASA gives Sona much satisfaction.  Sara also gathered a few Indian females together to form an association called Indian Women’s Association of North Atlanta (IWANA). Their motto is to have fun and to put together resources to make a difference to the society.  IWANA managed to grow to a team of 14 people, and over the course of more than a year, and achieved a few things, including volunteering their time at Jesse’s house and donate to Raksha.  Ms. Sara is sincere and is dedicated to make the world a better place.   Ms. Sara is honored to serve on the Raksha Board. 

Neal Shah.  Mr. Shah is an alumnus of Georgia Tech, employed by KPMG, and currently resides in Atlanta, GA.  Neal has been in Atlanta for over 10 years and has recently become an active member of the local community by co-founding Indian Givers, an organization focused on increasing awareness and the quality of life in the Atlanta area.  Through Indian Givers, Neal became involved with Raksha by organizing a group of members to help coordinate efforts during Ek Shaam, Raksha's annual fundraising event.  Neal is pleased to now be on the board for Raksha and is thankful for the opportunity to assist the organization move forward in its effort to serve domestic and sexual assault survivors.

Minh Van.  Mr. Van was elected to serve on the 2008 Board of the Atlanta chapter of NAAAP (National Assoc. of Asian American Professionals). As Board member & Vice President, Minh was the founding director of SWIM (Successful Women In Motion), a women’s empowerment program, Tuesday Tennis, a weekly tennis clinic, and helped coordinate the Leads & Power Lunch series at NAAAP-Atlanta.  In 2009 he became program director at the Network of Indian Professionals (NetIP), focusing on creating momentum for Aspire, the women’s empowerment program for the organization.  Other local non profits Minh continually support are KAC (Korean American Coalition), JASG-YP (Japan Society of GA-Young Professionals), SCIS-YP (Southern Center for International Studies-Young Professionals), and CPACS (Center for Pan Asian Community Service).  As an insurance professional with American Family Insurance (AFI), Minh’s focus is to serve the local Asian American community and eventually become the undisputed marketplace leader. American Family Insurance offers auto, home, life & health insurance and currently operates in 19 states, which have helped AFI build a strong & stable company with more than $4.8 billion in policyholder equity. Minh graduated in 1996 from Georgia State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.  If not volunteering on the weekends, Minh is playing in golf tournaments with the Taiwanese and Vietnamese Golfers Assoc. which also raises funds for various overseas charities.  He lives in Doraville with his wife, Mayuko Ishikawa, a professional photographer and avid salsa dancer, who performs at conventions around the country with her all women’s performance group. 

Email the Board at board@raksha.org