SAHARA’s Leadership Team pictured L to R: Deepthi Venkatachalam, Manager, Product Development; Sanchita Sabade, Senior Software Engineer, Product Engineering; Keyur Raj, Technical Lead, Product Engineering; Daniel Rutledge, Senior Manager, Product Development.
This Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we’re excited to introduce SAHARA (South Asian Heritage and Resource Association), a new Employee Resource Group (ERG) dedicated to embracing South Asian heritage and fostering inclusivity at PROS. Founded by PROS engineers with a passion for bringing people together and sharing their cultural experiences, SAHARA has come to life as a platform for connection, cultural celebration and support, and welcomes all employees to join and learn from each other’s diverse perspectives and experiences.
Fun fact: SAHARA also means ‘support’ in Hindi.
Let’s get to know the founding members and more about this new ERG!
Deepthi Venkatachalam, Manager, Product Development
Sanchita Sabade, Senior Software Engineer, Product Engineering
Keyur Raj, Technical Lead, Product Engineering
Daniel Rutledge, Senior Manager, Product Development
Tell us about your roles at PROS and how this team came together.
We were a group of Engineers from different Product teams who came together as volunteers for an event, and we realized how similar yet still diverse our perspectives were even when we thought we observed the same holiday. We realized the importance of connecting with others within PROS to share our heritage and learn about new cultures and the impact it had on our work relationship.
Why was bringing this ERG to PROS important to you?
This ERG will set the stage to shatter the model minority myth that often masks the different experiences across the highly diverse South Asian group and may sometimes lead others to make inaccurate assumptions about their interests and abilities or underplay the challenges that they face. Hence the name, SAHARA – which in Hindi means ‘support.’ We believe we can break stereotypes through empathy, allyship, storytelling and building that support group.
What is SAHARA’s mission?
Our mission is to help the South Asian Community navigate the western culture and provide opportunities for professional development, mentoring, networking and cultural awareness. We seek to contribute to the company’s goals by leveraging the diverse perspectives and experiences of our members.
Share some insights into what the team has planned for this year.
The ERG was inaugurated during the Eid Event and the next flagship is the Diwali event. We are excited to launch a ‘Chai and Chat’ series of informational structured conversations around topics of interest to our ERG members.
What excites you most about SAHARA?
The impact we can have on member morale and professional development through a genuine sense of community. – Deepthi
The opportunity for the community to showcase their unity in diversity and help the community grow individually and as a community. – Sanchita
To be able to connect people with shared backgrounds and interests. This ERG will help us making a positive impact to the South Asian community and have fun at the same time. – Keyur
Spreading awareness and understanding of South Asian culture and helping fellow PROS employees meet their goals and personal objectives in the workplace. – Daniel
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