Late last month, OCA Westchester & Hudson Valley Chapter held its annual Dynamic Achiever Awards Gala. OCA-WHV has been serving and supporting the Asian Pacific American community in the Hudson Valley for 41 years. This year, Tejash V. Sanchala, Executive Director of the Westchester County Human Rights Commission, was honored with the Dynamic Achiever Award for extraordinary contributions to his profession and community.
County Executive George Latimer delivered remarks at the Gala, noting the great work done by the Commission. Latimer said, “Under Tejash’s leadership, the Human Rights Commission has become a beacon of hope for those who have faced undue, and illegal, discrimination here in Westchester County. We are one community, and this award is a manifestation of working toward that goal.”
Sanchala was honored and humbled to accept the award particularly this year. In his acceptance speech, Sanchala noted that “during the pandemic, the nation saw an epidemic of hate and racism across the country where many Asian Americans were targeted.” Sanchala talked about the importance of solidarity and how our commonalities bind us together, saying “we will succeed against hate and ignorance by standing together – all races, all faiths, and all ethnicities.”
Human Rights Commission Chair Rev. Doris K. Dalton introduced Sanchala and attended the event, joined by fellow Human Rights Commission Board members Jennifer Bernhard, Chair of the Education and Outreach Committee, Maria Amado, Harry Singh and Thomas Koshy. Deputy Director Valerie M. Daniele and Fair Housing Director Joshua Levin were also in attendance.
Past Dynamic Achiever Awards awardees include Ang Lee, multiple Academy Award-winning Film Director; David Ho, M. D., visionary AIDS researcher and CEO of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center; and Randall T. Eng, Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York.
Other awardees at the Gala included Lucy M. Chan, IBM Sales Advisor & Coach (retired IBM VP) and student leaders. Nancy Yao Maasbach, President, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), was the keynote speaker for the event.