Meet the Board - 2023-2024
What does the Board do?
The SILC Board meets once a month and consists of the Executive Board along with several At-Large Members.
Board Responsibilities:
Teacher Recruitment
Curriculum Planning
Long term planning for SILC
Day to day operations at SILC
Looking for ways to improve the SILC experience
Partnering with outside organizations for events (i.e. IAM, Minnesota History Center, Festival of Nations)
Planning for SILC Special events
Working with the Como High School administration to coordinate school use
Who are the Board Members?
President Emeritus - Nirav Vora
Nirav was born in India, then raised in St. Louis, Missouri. His ties to SILC started during his undergraduate days at the U of M, where he volunteered as a SILC mentor. Fast forward 20+ years, where he now resides in Woodbury with his lovely wife Sonali and two children, Ishana and Armaan.
Email me at info@silcmn.com!
President - Aishwarya Menon
Aishwarya was born in India and grew up in Minnesota. She started at SILC in the late 90's as student, before becoming a teacher and general volunteer. She has grown up within the SILC family and is passionate about building and strengthening the SILC community in the years to come.
Email me at info@silcmn.com!
Assistant Principal - Vacant
Looking for qualified nominees!
Email info@silcmn.com to apply or nominate a candidate now!
Secretary - Devi Patnayak
Devi is the Secretary in SILC board and also teaches Social Studies level 1 (Peacocks) class. Devi is a Faculty member at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota. He is associated with SILC for many years and loves to volunteer. Devi has been living in Minnesota since the year 2000 and calls it his home in the US. He lives in Blaine with his wife Kasturee and two loving daughters Shriparna and Sejal. In addition to volunteering at SILC, he loves to visit places, spend time with family and mingle with friends.
Email me at secretary@silcmn.com!
Member At Large - Juli Thompson
Juli first traveled to India in 2011, to adopt her daughter from Hyderabad. They joined SILC that year, and have been enthusiastic members ever since. She is a Lutheran pastor who has served congregations throughout the Twin Cities. She lives in St Anthony Village with her two daughters, LiJun and Vindhya. She enjoys reading, knitting, dancing and Indian cooking.
Director of Technology - Abhi Singh
Born in Kolkata, India, and raised in Houston, Texas, Abhi has spent time in the South, the East Coast for College/Grad school, and the Midwest, as a Minnesota resident since 2006. He's a former Chairperson, Diversity and Arts of Torch Community, and VP of the Network of Indian Professionals - Twin Cities Chapter. He works in IT Consulting and lives in Woodbury with his wife, and their two children, both of whom are enthusiastic SILC students!
Email me at tech@silcmn.com!
Director of Languages - Divya Karan
Bio coming...
Director of Social Studies - Aditya Ranade
Aditya Ranade is the Director of Social Studies at SILC and a Social Studies-3 teacher since 2021-22. His day job is climate and sustainable energy consulting with Guidehouse. Besides his work and SILC he enjoys playing and listening to music, travel, bicycling, and cooking. Aditya holds a B.E. (Polymer Engineering) from University of Pune, a Ph.D. (Macromolecular Science) from Case Western Reserve University, and MBA (Global Management) from Babson College.
Director of Computer Science - Amit Samtani
Amit Samtani is the Director of Computer Science and also teaches Computer Science-5. He was born and raised in Madhya Pradesh, India, but has been living in the US for over 16 years. Amit is a Senior Mobile Engineer for Trane Technologies and resides in Maplewood with his wife Poonam, who is a Hindi 3 teacher at SILC, and their two lovely daughters, Smriti and Yuktika. Amit is actively involved in the community and enjoys biking and running in his free time. He is an enthusiastic biker and has been volunteering at SILC since 2018.
Director of Electives - Durga Balasubramanian
Bio coming...
Director of Internal Outreach - Anamika
Bio coming...
Director of External Outreach - Amruta Patel
Bio coming...