The election to fill positions on the NAMA Board of Directors has concluded. Thank you to all NAMA members who cast their votes. It is our pleasure to announce our 2021 Board of Directors-Elect. Each Director-Elect will serve a three-year term extending from November 1, 2021, to October 31, 2024.

Please start to get to know them. Below are their statements to you, the membership.

Manas S. Kshirsagar, MS, AD
California

I have been an enthusiastic member of NAMA for over eight years, with previous work with the Membership Committee and ongoing efforts as a part of the AD Exam Committee. With my knowledge of Ayurveda coupled with my new and unique ideas for advancing the wisdom of Ayurveda, I believe I will be a strong asset to the Board of Directors. It is my hope to see a unified and cohesive association that will be looked at with respect and hold itself to the highest standards. All through my career, my focus has always been on education, especially for the advancement of Ayurveda. I believe our biggest responsibility is to teach this generation to heal, so we can cure the next generation. I support NAMA’s mission to do just that!

Monika Manohar, BAMS AD
Texas

With NAMA as one of the strong pillars supporting and building standards in the field of Ayurveda, I can see us helping to ensure that Ayurveda reaches every corner of the USA. We want to see every family introduce Ayurveda to each child born into it so the whole family becomes an Ayurvedic family and we can continue expanding the Ayurvedic community. As an immigrant to this country, I’m grateful to NAMA for helping me to understand how Ayurveda is practiced here, and I want to make sure everyone reaps the benefits of NAMA as I did. I want to merge my experience working in an Integrative medical practice and volunteering as a teacher of Ayurveda basics for high school kids and to help NAMA take Ayurveda to the next level as an integral part of medical centers and schools.

Sina Firouzi, MD, CAP
California

Namaste dear friends! As you know, Ayurveda is in a period of major transition, moving from the stage of obscurity to one of general recognition and respect. The path forward to establishing Ayurveda as a legitimate healing science presents varied challenges; it is therefore essential that we work together, using our collective experience and skills to promote and safeguard the interests of our precious field of study. NAMA has played an indispensable role in this process, and much work still lies ahead. For years, I have strived to promote awareness of the gift of Ayurveda, which is unparalleled in so many of its aspects, and I feel honored to serve on NAMA's Board of Directors to further advance the various efforts of this organization.

The board will work to continue growing and establishing the structure that defines what it means to be an Ayurvedic professional, while expanding partnerships with donors and sponsoring organizations, while also focusing on reasonable, balanced operations that will ensure NAMA can continue to exist as a resource for the Ayurvedic profession. Much work lies ahead.

Thank you,

Nominations & Elections Committee

Jolynne Flores, Chair, Membership Manager
Dhanada Kulkarni, BAMS AD, Director
Heather Grzych, MA, CAP, Director