SMITA N. SHAH, P.E.


Introduction
Smita N. Shah is truly an example of the American dream and way of life. She is the daughter of immigrants from India to this country, born and raised in the City of Chicago, who started her own business and now provides gainful employment to over fifty people who are part of the United States economy and society. She has demonstrated a commitment to give back to her community, her ethnic group, and her country by giving of her time and talents to various and many boards of directors, councils and advisory panels. Smita has a long history of community service and dedication to the ideals of the American way of life.

Education and Profession
A licensed professional engineer, Smita founded a business that she has grown over the past nine years from three employees to fifty-five employees working in every aspect of engineering, construction management and facilities management, for public and private entities, on the local, state and federal levels. She is a life-long resident of the Chicago, Illinois area and lives in Chicago today. She attended the University of Chicago Lab School for high school, went to Northwestern University for her undergraduate work where she earned a degree in engineering, and went on to receive her Master’s of Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where her thesis focused on the state of the nation’s infrastructure. More recently, she has also completed the Advanced Management Program at Oxford University. Her professional accomplishments were acknowledged by Illinois State Treasurer Judy Barr Topinka as a 2004 Woman Making a Difference: Non Traditional Entrepreneurial Trailblazer award.

Preserving Ancestry
Smita preserves and celebrates her ancestry on a daily basis as an active member of the Indian community in Chicago, through working with organizations promoting ethnic diversity as well as those that support the community as a whole. These groups include the City of Chicago’s Sister Cities International program, where she is the Chairman of the Delhi-Chicago Committee, building bridges between the City of Delhi, India, and the City of Chicago. Appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley, she coordinated and led a trade mission with him in 2003, a second mission in 2005 with Mrs. Daley and American Airlines to discuss education and trade, and sent them a Blues Band that drew crowds of thousands of people in Delhi. She also sponsors several programs a year here to promote the bond between the community in India and the United States. She serves on Congressman Bobby Rush’s Asian Advisory Council and the Lt. Governor’s Asian Advisory Council to bridge gaps between racial and ethnic groups in the State of Illinois, and has worked with the Federation of Indian Associations to organize and celebrate Indian Independence Day through a parade and community activities in Chicago for over ten years. She was also recently appointed as a member to the Council of the Parliament of World Religions, which promotes religious acceptance and tolerance throughout the world. In her youth, Smita would play the tabla (the Indian classical drums) at Indian cultural events. From these few examples, one gets a sense of her commitment to building bridges between ethic, racial and religious groups.

Contributing to the American Way of Life
As a young American of Indian decent Smita has demonstrated her dedication to both supporting and defending the values of American life. In 1996, Smita was the youngest delegate to the Democratic National Convention from the State of Illinois, and one of a handful of people of Indian origin in the U.S, declining a job offer in Massachusetts because she had an opportunity to serve. She became a delegate again in 2004. In 2000 and 2004, Smita took on the added responsibility of being a member of the Rules Committee for the entire Democratic Convention. The committee sets the structure under which the business of the convention will be conducted and performed. Smita also gave her time when she served as an Alternate Representative of the United States of America to the South Pacific Commission from 2001 until 2003. This service to her country was the result of an appointment by President Clinton to that Commission.

Smita’s dedication to the American way of life is further demonstrated by her willingness to serve her country as a member or the White House Advance Team from 1993 until 2001. While a member of this team, Smita prepared for Presidential arrivals both in Chicago and in India. In 1994, she gave up her summer by serving as an intern in the Office of The Chief of Staff of the President of the United States. Smita also served on the White House Millennium Council to Save America’s Treasures from 1998 to 2001. This Council was dedicated to preserving America’s way of life by preserving America’s past by planning for and performing actual preservation work on historical treasures of the United States. Smita was recognized for her dedication to the American ideals in 2004 when she was presented with the Women Making History Award by Senator Barbara Boxer.

Community Service
She takes great pleasure in working with local community groups as it allows her to use her skills, professional experience, and Indian heritage to not only make contributions in the organization and process, but by also increasing the recognition and inclusion of ethnic groups as a whole. She was invited to sit on the White House Fellowship Regional Panel 2006 to select 12 people to become White House Fellows and serve this country and its people through the program as sponsored by the President of the United States. Smita was part of the process that analyzed the capabilities of potential candidates and presented their findings to the White House. Smita also gives back to her community by serving on the Board of Trustees for Loyola University in Chicago and is, or has, served on boards involving the arts such as The Steppenwolf Theatre, The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and the State of Illinois Arts Council. Smita is a past board member of the United Way Executive Committee Asian American Initiative, and of Natural Ties, which is a group that promotes the inclusion of disabled Americans into everyday life.

Conclusion
In many situations, she is often the only person of Indian origin. She has been recognized through being selected to be the 2005 recipient of Business Leaders of Color Award and, in 2006, Chicago Foundation for Women Honoree. In 2005, MIT highlighted her as “Building Bridges Professionally and Personally” in MIT Technology Review’s as an alumnus, and in 2004 Northwestern began to list, and continues to list her, as one of their Notable Alumni.

Smita Shah enjoys the opportunities provided through the hard work of her parents who came here from India, and believes in a commitment to being active in the local, state, and national community. She has done this from the time she was in high school through college, and continues to increase the level and commitment of her involvement. As a young, female, engineer of Indian decent, she overcomes different obstacles every day, and takes every opportunity to make a difference for others. She would be very honored to receive the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.