Raksha Board of Directors (2008-2009)

Monica Modi Khant. President Ms. Khant received her BA from Rutgers University in 1995.  She then graduated from the New England School of Law in 1998.  Upon graduation, passed the New Jersey bar, and 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 in their asylum cases in immigration court. Ms. Modi Khant represented detained asylum seekers from countries all over the world and has direct experience with asylum seekers from Somalia, Algeria, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Cambodia, Cameroon, Nepal, as well as others.  In the fall of 2000, Ms. Modi Khant returned to Boston and continued her practice of immigration law with the Law Offices of Richard Costa, an immigration law firm in Boston.  She then joined Vakili & Associates, P.C., in the fall of 2003 as an associate where she continued her practice in representing asylum seekers, business and family based immigration law.  In 2005, Ms. Modi Khant became the Director of Legal Services at the International Institute of Boston. In that position, 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 has been on the Board of Advisors of the Boston based South Asian group, Saheli.  In addition, Ms. Khant was a daily contributing writer for the New England newsletter, Lokvani. She is now on the President of the Board of Directors of Raksha. 

Avni Gandhi.  Ms. Gandhi is an employment attorney at Kramer & Patel, LLC.  She litigates 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.  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 also 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. 

Raj Natarajan. Treasurer.   Mr. Natarajan is a partner with the Finance practice group for Kilpatrick Stockton LLP.  He concentrates his practice on commercial lending and banking transactions, having negotiated and documented numerous syndicated and asset-based loans in the media, communications, healthcare, manufacturing and retail industries.  Raj is a former president of the Network of Indian Professionals - Atlanta, and currently serves on its board of directors.  In addition, Raj serves as the Chair for the Atlanta March of Dimes WalkAmerica, and as general counsel to CHRIS Kids, Inc., a non-profit organization supporting the needs of children who have been abused and neglected.  Raj has a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center (1998) and B.A. from University of Illinois (1995). Raj joined the Raksha Board in February 2006. 

Sangeeta Patil.  Ms .Patil was born in India but hasved 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.  
 

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 it's effort to help those in need.  

Preeti Vinayak Shah.  Ms. Shah born and raised in Chennai, India, came to the US in pursuit of higher education. She received a BS in Biological Sciences and a MS in Neuro-endocrinology with an emphasis on domestic violence, from The Florida State University. An accomplished dancer, Preeti founded The Narasimha Academy of Arts in 1994, and has become one of the only dance instructors and guest faculty artists at The Florida State University of Bharathanatyam.  She was ranked one of the top ten dancers in South India. Apart from giving numerous performances and directing stage productions, Preeti has served as a counselor at the Florida HIV/AIDS hotline for several years. Preeti went on to publish many papers on domestic violence and its relation to hormones, deviant behaviors and socio-economic status. Preeti joined the Raksha family as a volunteer and has recently joined their Board; hoping to leverage her education, arts and life experiences to raise awareness and to aid those in need. Preeti hopes to focus her skills in raising awareness on child abuse and general fundraising for Raksha. Preeti also works for Khabar Magazine as a community correspondent. She continues to strive to keep Indian classical arts alive in Atlanta through her Academy where she has been imparting knowledge on Bharathanatyam and Carnatic music to aspiring students for the past eight years.

Email the Board at board@raksha.org