Thank You for an Inspiring Gala!
Thank You for a Powerful Celebration of Community Power
DRUM’s 12th Anniversary Gala
Dear DRUM family,
Two weeks after the Gala, we are still feeling absolutely inspired by the collective love and support of the DRUM family. There was a magical feeling to the bringing together of an over-capacity crowd of DRUM leaders and members, honorees from Chicago, Detroit, and Bangladesh, elected officials, and allies from movements for educational justice, civil rights, immigrant rights, workers rights, and for peace. All of this to honor and celebrate the voices, the struggles, and the power of our communities over the past 12 years.
We would especially like to thank the members of the Host Committee who help bring together a potent mix of people committed to social justice, the volunteers who provided essential labor and support for the night, our honorees who came from Detroit and Bangladesh, and the many others who made everything possible.
We look forward to continuing and building upon this legacy for another 12 years and beyond.
Sincerely,
Monami Maulik
Executive Director
View all the pictures from the Gala here
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Kazembe Balagun, Sultana “Moni” Jahangir, Judith LeBlanc, Syeda Parveen, Miguel Ramirez
STAFF
Monami Maulik, Founder and Executive Director
Fahd Ahmed, Esq., Legal and Policy Director
Ayesha Mahmooda, Operations Coordinator
Rishi Singh, Grantwriter
Kazi Fouzia, Worker Organizer
Roksana Mun, Youth Organizer
Veena Hampapur, Communications Associate
Linda Le, Bookkeeper
Vicki Shu-Smolin, Gala Consultant
Ramon Gill, Designer
Community Fellows: Sumaya Ahmed, Batool Safa
ORGANIZATIONAL VOLUNTEERS
Maha Akhtar, Sanela Albiceleste, Mohamed Bahi, Badan Barua, Tawsif Chowdhury, Romy Chowdhury, Shahed Islam, Muzammil Jamil, Ihsan Kabir, Rasul Miller, Hoda Mitwally, Sanya Siraj, Ajeyo Yusuf
HONOREES
Farhad Mazhar (Bangladesh)
Darryl “Waistline” Mitchell (Detroit, MI)
Moni Alam (Toronto, Canada)
Daniel Dromm (NY, NY)
Lovlu Ansar (NY, NY)
HOST COMMITTEE
Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi, Hatem Abudayyeh, Suzanne Adely, Esq., Seema Agnani, Beena Ahmad, Esq., Amna Akbar, Esq., Moni Alam, Sam Anderson, Muneer Awad, Kazembe Balagun, Carol Barton, Robert Boyle, Esq., Debanuj Dasgupta, Frederick D’Souza, Nina Farnia, Esq., Wayne Ho, Valery Jean, ManSee Kong, Judith LeBlanc, Anuja Malhotra, Esq., Tom Mariadason, Esq., Tungasree Maulik, Jumana Musa, Esq., Mo. Ali Naquvi, Donna Nevel, Miguel Ramirez, Saj Rehman, Rahul Saksena, Linda Sarsour, Rafael Samanez, Gurpal Singh, Esq., Amy Wagner
DRUM GALA COMMITTEE
Naznin Hannan, Amjed Hossain, Sadia Mumu, Shahina Parveen, Sharmin Piancca, Ataur Rahman, Saniya Siraj
GALA VOLUNTEERS
Avijit Halder, Photographer, Nadia Alexis, Aaron Amaral, Philip Arnone, Amina Bibi, Sayma Khan, Sarwar Harun, Jaba Hasan, Anjir Hussain, M Nahar, Sadia Mumu, Danny Balmakund, Shahina Parveen, Sharmin Piancca, Kameelah Rasheed, Anjuara Rahman, Jahanara Rahman, Lipi Saha, Sanya Siraj, Nilesh Vishwasrao, Noah Wallace
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Sincere thanks to our generous supporters, including artists, who donated Silent Auction items
Many thanks also to the following for their professional services: Speakers for a New America, Henna Adore by Saba, Fresh Concentrate, Jackson Diner, Judson Memorial Church, and Mendez Printing