Meet Arun Sharma:

Arun Sharma is a tremendous leader who has worked with many US-based Global companies and projects through difficult times dot-com bubble, 9-11, and now a global pandemic. He is an expert in the design and development of Power Controls and Monitoring Systems for Data Centers, Hospitals, Large Commercial Buildings, and Refineries. He has worked with multiple maturity models for Software and overall business sustainability. He was instrumental in the Design and development of an “Engineering Center of Excellence” in India for a large US Corporation that has over 5000 employees today where he worked with multiple engineering disciplines for new product design and development.

Currently, he is running a Medical Center and IT service management company of which he is the owner. He is a graduate of Electrical Engineering and Information Systems from US Universities. He began his career in 1991 as a systems engineer and after working through the ranks he was appointed Director of Engineering in 2005.

Arun’s association with “The Educators Society for the Heritage of India (ESHA)” had been a long one. He was actively involved with ESHA in different capacities since its foundation, later on, in 2020 he was elected as the President of ESHA.“I am humbled by the ESHA board and Ved Ji’s confidence in me. I am honored to carry the legacy of ESHA leadership into the future and look forward to working with all to drive its vital goals” Arun Ji said.

He has been an advisor, supporter, and promoter of the Hindi Language Academy since its inception and plays a pivotal role in all key decisions related to the management of the Academy. He believes in “You are rich by what you give. The only right you can claim in the world is to give. You may dedicate your service, give wealth or knowledge.”

He has a passion for Photography, Videography and loves to play tabla.

Meet Mamta Tripathi :

Mamta Tripathi is an educational leader and a reflective practitioner with a growth mindset who has been teaching Hindi as a volunteer and in professional capacities since 2008. Applying 21st-century pedagogy for Hindi learning via the World-Readiness Standards is her passion which led her to co-conceive & co-found Hindi Language Academy.

Mamta is a native speaker of Hindi with an ACTFL Superior level rating. She has co-authored four Hindi books for the beginner level specifically for students who learn Hindi outside of India. Currently, she leads a specialized program for high school level students to prepare them for the State Seal of Biliteracy and the Global Seal of Biliteracy in Hindi. She also co-founded the Montgomery Hindi School in New Jersey. Mamta regularly mentors and trains emerging Hindi teachers in research-based language acquisition pedagogy. To bring awareness to the benefits of language learning in preparing the young generation for college and career readiness, she hosts and advocates at conferences, workshops, and webinars. Science and technology embedded in India’s rich culture and heritage are of special interest to her. Mamta is ACTFL trained in conducting Oral Proficiency Interviews. To keep her pedagogy and leadership skills current, she regularly participates in professional development training and workshops conducted at esteemed universities and research centers like NYU, Columbia, UCLA, Kean, Stanford, CARLA, and CAL.

Mamta has been residing in New Jersey with her family since 1996. You may find her listening to Hindi poetry and stories when she is free. She also loves to go on hikes and to the beach with her family and friends.

Meet Soma Vyas :

Educator, Co-founder, and Administrator at Hindi Language Academy (HLA), a community-based heritage school for Hindi Language and Indian Culture; Soma Vyas is a committed Hindi educator since 2017. Besides her contribution as a teacher, she takes care of many responsibilities at a core level such as website management, promotions, teacher/student recruitment, teachers’ in-house training, event management, etc. She absolutely loves children and truly believes,” Best teachers teach from the heart and not from the book”.

A STARTALK – NYU-trained teacher, certified AAPPL rater, ACTFL certified superior Hindi speaker, Soma vyas is adept in applying fundamental principles of the most updated Hindi language pedagogy. Besides her role at Hindi Language Academy, she also creates content for NYU’s Hindi / Urdu learners in the form of story podcasts. With training and experience, she has acquired a good understanding of various proficiency levels and is currently pursuing ACTFL OPI Rater Certification. She constantly keeps herself updated by attending various training/workshops organized by NYU, Columbia University, the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL), CLTA (California Language Teacher Association), LACE, etc.

A postgraduate in English Literature, humanitarian and nature lover, Soma Vyas enjoys being with young minds, likes reading & creative writing, playing different sports, traveling, and relates very well to the literary side of language through stories, plays, poetry, articles, etc. She had also been published in different literary magazines and had been invited to recite her creations at various prestigious events.

Her blog link and podcast links : https://morselsofhumanity.com https://wp.nyu.edu/virtualhindi/soma-vyas-sonu-ki-diary/

Meet Avani Shah:

“Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it .”

STARTALK NYU-trained educator Avani Shah is the Co-founder, Administrator & Instructor at Hindi Language Academy (HLA), a community-based heritage school for Hindi Language and Indian Culture since its inception in 2019.

Originally from Gujarat State of India but born and brought up in Delhi, Avani Shah is a multilingual speaker. Due to her technological background, she is adept in applying fundamental principles of the most updated Hindi language pedagogy in a technology-infused classroom in various settings. Through her various training and her teaching experience, she has acquired a good understanding of various proficiency levels and is adept at teaching different age groups and proficiency levels. She has successfully taught in various STARTALK Summer programs. To keep herself updated with the latest, she keeps attending training/workshops organized by NYU, Columbia University, Center for applied linguistics (CAL), CLTA, etc.

Academically she is a Business and Finance major. She also worked as a web designer for many years before becoming a Hindi teacher. In leisure, she likes to spend time with family and friends and enjoys going on hikes and watching movies.

Her motto of Life: “Life never stops teaching, so never stop learning.”

Meet Neetu Pal :

Neetu Pal is another committed educator of the Hindi Language academy since its birth in 2019. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Science , Education & Journalism. She is a STARTALK trained teacher and conducted many STARTALK camps in the last 3 years. She loves working with children and youth, teaching is not only her profession but also a passion. She is adept in the most updated teaching methodology through attending various training/workshops in prestigious universities such as NYU, Columbia, LACE, etc. She is adept in designing wonderful hands-on Art & Craft activities which keep children engaged and enthusiastic about Hindi learning.

Besides teaching, she has various interests such as reading, learning more about human behavior, practicing Yoga/meditation & technology. She also loves to cook gourmet food and plans various trips to spend a lot of time exploring new places and traveling the world.

Meet Manju Gupta:

Mrs. Manju Gupta is an educator and holds a Master’s degree in the field of Education. Back in India, she taught Hindi language and Maths. In 1980, she shifted her base to the USA. She worked for USPS for the last 34 years and after her retirement, decided to pursue her passion for teaching once again.

She had been with the HLA team since its inception in 2019. Manju is a STARTALK-NYU trained teacher. She constantly attends various training and workshops such as Grammar Pedagogy through Columbia University, Effective teaching workshops through NYU, etc to keep herself updated with the latest methods of teaching. She is fluent in Hindi as it is her mother tongue. She loves to learn new methods to teach and is always ready to grab new ideas. Manju likes to write articles and wrote two papers on Hindi Cinema and Dowry system during her college days.

Her husband is a retired COO. Together they are blessed to have 4 kids. All of them are well-settled in their chosen profession. Manju loves to cook gourmet dishes and pursue her hobbies of Art, Sewing, and Painting. Even though Manju has been living in the USA for the past 42 years, she still has a strong base and attachment to Indian culture, of which she is very proud.

Meet Parinitha Panakanti :

An Engineer, Language-Enthusiast, Nature-lover & promising educator at Hindi Language Academy (HLA), Parinitha Panakanti is a devoted Hindi teacher since 2020. Besides her contribution as an educator, Parinitha also adds value to HLA by offering her help in creating resources, administrative activities like creating the annual calendar, and technical help during events and wherever needed.

Parinitha’s journey at HLA began as a parent but she quickly got so impressed with the novel & highly effective teaching methods that she wanted to pursue teaching Hindi at HLA. She is also a STARTALK – NYU trained teacher since 2021 and is keen on adopting the STARTALK principles. She never misses an opportunity to learn more through various training/workshops organized by HLA, NYU, CLTA, LACE, etc. Being a passionate engineer she employs creative ways to solve problems. Having worked for 10 years in the field of Information Technology, Parinitha loves to bring various tools & technologies to her classrooms.

She finds languages fascinating and is fluent in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, and English. She enjoys being with nature and loves exploring life’s little adventures with her husband and their two sons.

Meet Rubina Nagarkatti :

“It is the supreme art of a teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.”A firm believer of these wise words by Albert Einstein; Mrs. Rubina Nagarkatti is a STARTALK- NYU trained teacher. At Hindi Language Academy she also takes the lead in all cultural activities conducted by PTO. Besides her contribution to HLA, she also works in the public school system as a substitute teacher. Recently she has been offered a part-time lecturer position at Boston University.

Rubina is a native Hindi speaker from Mumbai and lives with her family in Massachusetts. She is a certified Zumba instructor and Indian folk and Bollywood dance choreographer. She aims to introduce Indian culture through folk and contemporary dances of India to the kids who grew up in the USA. She also offers her choreography services for events like weddings, cultural programs, and landmark birthdays.

Rubina loves interacting with kids and keeping them engaged in creative hands-on activities like dance moves, physical activities, make n’ eat, and craft activities while following Hindi Language Academy’s updated teaching methodology. She loves to paint, travel, and explore new places in her spare time.

Meet Renu Hooda:

Renu is a science graduate and has a Master’s degree in Education. She has been an IT professional for the last 20 years.

She is a native Hindi Speaker and has been in close contact with the language through reading and cultural activities. She is currently leading a class for younger children.

Renu is passionate about dancing, gardening, listening to music, and reading Hindi literature.

Meet Deepika Singh:

A Science graduate and a Masters in Computer Applications, Deepika Singh has been with HLA for the past year. She is an IT professional for 11 years, currently working as Security Consultant.

She is a native Hindi Speaker and has been in close contact with the language through reading and cultural activities. She is currently leading a class for the younger age group. In her spare time, Deepika enjoys leisure drives, reading Hindi and English fiction, and watching movies.

Meet Vinita Dewangan :

“Teaching is the greatest act of optimism.” Inspired by this thought, Vinita has decided to choose teaching as her profession. She is a bachelor’s in Education from India. She is also STARTALK – NYU-trained teacher.

She belongs to the central part of India and her mother tongue is Hindi. During her school years, Hindi was her first language. She is a Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Education, and Master of Science from Pt. Ravishankar University, Raipur. In India, she taught for 5 years. Currently, she is residing in Tampa Florida with her husband and two kids. She is passionate about cooking and also has experience working as a chef in one Indian restaurant in the USA. Currently, she is running her catering service for the community.

She loves to engage kids with different hands-on activities such as science experiments, cooking, and different craft activities. She loves to whistle different songs, paint, and work in the garden in her spare time.

Meet Garima Agarwal:

Garima Agarwal’s association with HLA began as a parent and later grew into the role of a teacher for younger age groups.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from Banaras Hindu University, is a STARTALK-trained teacher, and a Fulbright-Hays program participant.

She presented at the SALTA Conference 2025 on “Jataka Tales – Lessons in Compassion and Culture.” Hindi is her mother tongue, and she enjoys sharing the language and culture with young learners.

A passionate educator and Kathak dance student, Garima finds joy in both teaching and learning from her students.

Meet Geetanjali Sharma :

Geetanjali Sharma is a STARTALK-trained teacher, true nature lover, self-taught Artist, and a mother of two. She has done her Master’s in Computer Science from Delhi and a Master’s in Biology from Agra, India.

Her journey of teaching Hindi began with her kids, and since then she has been teaching Hindi in community-based schools. For the past three years she has been teaching at Chinmaya Mission.

She has also volunteered at STARTALK Summer Hindi Online Camp 2021. She has always been keen to learn effective methods of teaching and has participated in various training/workshops organized by NYU, CLTA, ACTFL OPI workshop, LACE, etc. Having a Technology background and the training she received, helped her to create various technological instruction and tailored lesson plans for her classrooms.

Hindi is her native language, she uses her skills and time to help wherever it’s needed with a positive attitude.

Meet Gitanjali Gupta

Geetanjali Gupta has been associated with HLA for the past 2 years, but her connection with teaching runs deep. She teaches young learners in a public school and brings a creative touch to her work. A trained Bharatanatyam dancer and a theater enthusiast, she seamlessly integrates her artistic skills into her teaching.

Her creativity and classroom management make her a valuable asset to HLA. As a STARTALK-trained teacher, she taught Middle School and High School students alongside Soma and later on with Deepika Singh.