Background Summary

Strong writing and research background in nonprofit and philanthropic organizations (501c3 and 4), health care, media and communication, sports, culture and entertainment, science and technology. Long experience in leadership, administrative, supervisory, public speaking and advocacy work. 


RECENT WORK

2007: President, The Scriptline, Inc. – Established (in 2003) self-owned writing, editing and research agency. Link http://www.thescriptline.com . Work continuing with local, state and national groups.


2007: Development Consultant, organizations in New York and New Jersey. Helping nonprofit groups to formulate action plans and SWOT analyses, expand collaborative work, communicate with media, interview personalities and write press releases, and conduct prospect research and put together grant proposals.


2004-2006: Executive Director, New Jersey Immigration Policy Network, a statewide coalition. Revived organization from serious debacle. Designed and implemented strategies to affect changes. Worked with grassroots and advocacy groups across U.S. on multiple issues. Often quoted in national and local media (print, radio, TV and Internet). Formulated and managed an annual budget of over $350,000. Researched, applied for, and received new grants. Maintained relationship with funders. Worked with board members, coalition partners, politicians, and policy makers. Interviewed, hired, supervised and mentored staff, interns and volunteers. Spoke at numerous local, state, regional and national meetings, forums, and conferences on multiple issues civil rights and liberties, media, and strategizing. Reached out to New Orleans-based refugees and immigrants hit by Hurricane Katrina. Worked with numerous health care professionals and caregivers, and organized statewide symposia and workshops on immigrants’ health.


2000-2003: Mentored and supervised numerous students and young volunteers. Volunteered for Brooklyn Parents for Peace, Beyond Ground Zero Network, 9/11 Environmental Coalition, etc. Worked as interpreter and translator between immigrant workers, women and children seeking immigration, asylum and other social benefits, and authorities. Worked as volunteer at Bellevue Hospital, New York City.

Service on Boards:

  • 2007-: Serving on board of directors at Brooklyn For Peace (Formerly Brooklyn Parents for Peace).
  • 2003-2005: Served on board of directors at Lower East Side Tenement Museum, New York City.
  • 2002-2003: Elected Secretary, Stuyvesant High School Parents Association, New York City.

TEACHING AND ACADEMIC RESEARCH
 

2007: Teaching College Writing and Effective Communication at Empire State College, SUNY.


1985-2005: College and university-level teaching at various U.S. institutions, including CUNY-Hunter College (Human Rights, as guest lecturer, 2005), SUNY-Albany (Media and Journalism, as Graduate Teaching Assistant, 1999), SUNY-Albany (Biology, as adjunct professor, 1993-94), Union College (Biology, as adjunct professor, 1993), Southern Illinois University (Plant Biology, as Ph.D. student-teacher, 1988-92), and Illinois State University (Biology, as Graduate Teaching Assistant, 1985-87).

1985-2000: Research as graduate student and post-doctoral fellow at New York State Department of Health, SUNY-Albany, and other U.S. institutions. Areas of research: mycology, microbiology, molecular biology, systematics and evolution.

EDUCATION

  • 2000: M.Sc., Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
  • 1992: Ph.D. in Plant Biology (research in mycology), Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.
  • 1987: M.S. in Biological Sciences, Illinois State University.

RECOGNITION AND AWARDS (partial list)

  • 2004: Emigrant Savings Bank Award and Proclamation presented by the NY City Council and Speaker.
  • 2004: Independent Press Association Journalism Award for best column in ethnic media.
  • 2000: Columbia University, Sevellon Brown Award for understanding history of American media.
  • 1992: Dissertation Research Award, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

LANGUAGES
Bengali (native language), Hindi (fluent), Urdu (spoken). Preliminary comprehension of Spanish and French.


Quoted in (most recent list)

Wrote in (most recent list)

TV News Story (sample)

DNA tests and the Death Penalty. (Note: As a TV news producer, I did a number of two-minute stories aired nationwide. I wrote and edited the scripts. The present online text about the TV story, however, is written by a colleague). Link http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.php3?article_id=218391441&cat=1_2

 

Journal Articles (partial list)

  • Pharmacodynamics of Fluconazole in a Murine Model of Systemic Candidiasis. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, May 1998, p. 1105-1109, Vol. 42, No. 5.
  • Preliminary Observations on Germination of Pluteus Basidiospores Partha Banerjee, Walter J. Sundberg Mycologia, Vol. 85, No. 5 (Sep. - Oct., 1993), pp. 811-813.
  • Banerjee, Partha; Sundberg, Walter J. (1995). The genus Pluteus section Pluteus (Pluteaceae, Agaricales) in the midwestern United States. Mycotaxon 53: 189-246.
  • A Matter of Extreme Cruelty: Bride Burning and Dowry Deaths in India. Injustice Studies, 1(1), 1997. 

Hobbies:

Translating Indian (Bengali) literature; critiquing feature films and documentaries; Indian music and cooking.

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