THE MAGAZINE OF GOOD LIVING

IN AND AROUND PLANO SINCE 1982

DEC. 2015

Philip and Rebecca Silvestri / 10 Holiday Happenings / 22

Pete Delkus / 32 The mayors holiday home / 50
HOME LIFESTYLE DINING PEOPLE SHOPPING

plano gives december

Photos: Brandon Hurd

386 volunteers + 6 hours

(volunteering) = 39,386 meals
or 47,275 pounds of food

he dfw indian community joined other volunteers on

Saturday, November 14 for the fourth Diwali Volunteer
Experience at the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB). Anna
Asava, wife of Raj Asava (upper left) and a member of the NTFB
Philanthropy Council, was co-chair of the event and said, It was
gratifying to see families show up for this community building activity and very encouraging to see compassion in our
youngsters. The feedback from volunteers was enthusiastic, with many suggesting that we should consider making such
an experience a part of our community calendar twice a year. Children were even more excited to volunteer when their
families did it together. The army of 386 volunteers sorted and packaged produce, canned goods and meal bags for the
Food 4 Kids program. See page 46 for more about the Asavas role in the community.brit mott

PLANO GIVES

SPOTLIGHT 38

HOPE FOR THE HOLIDAYS 41

EVENTS 42

PROFILE 46
December 2015 | planoprofile.com 37

plano gives profile

BY AMY SANDLING CRAWFORD

Photos by Brandon Hurd

Real Life

with Raj Asava

lano resident Raj

Asava moved from India
to the United States in
August 1974. In order
to support himself, and
pay for his fly-nowpay-later airline ticket,
he immediately took his first job as a
dishwasher at a hospital before climbing
the corporate ladder and becoming the
Chief Strategy Officer at Perot Systems
(later acquired by Dell). Raj retired in
December 2010 from corporate life to
pursue what he calls real life.
Together, with his wife Aradhana, or
Anna, this dynamic duo volunteers with
organizations that focus on hunger,
health, and lifelong learning, as well
as childrens education and safety.
They also own Asava Consulting, Inc.,
which offers a wide range of consulting services to businesses as well as
the nonprofits they work for. Anna
and I are passionate about giving back

46 planoprofile.com | December 2015

to the community, said

Raj, noting
the Childrens
Advocacy
Center of Collin County, the
North Texas
Food Bank,
the Texas Indo
American
Physicians
Society, the
Indian American Friendship
Council, and
the American
Heart Association. Children,
education and
health evolved
as the three
pillars we chose
to invest our
resources in.
Raj and Anna were surprised to
learn that in an affluent city like Plano,
there are issues such as hunger, child
neglect and abuse. Both of us toured
the Childrens Advocacy Center of Collin County and were shaken to learn
about the kind of child abuse we are
surrounded with. On the other hand,
we were impressed by the dedication of
the staff and the systemic approach the
center takes to assist and represent the
children.
Raj joined the board of directors
shortly after their tour. Children are
our future, and we have to do everything in our power to leave behind a
better world for them.

First Comes Love, Then

Comes Volunteering

The Asavas have been married for 33

years. It was an arranged marriage,
but very different from what you might
think, said Raj. Our families facilitat-

ed the introduction, then each of us had

the freedom to make the final decision.
We believe that open communication as
equals has been our strongest suit.
The mutual support is critical in their
volunteer work. Even though Raj is
retired from corporate America, he and
Anna provide executive coaching and
consulting services to many organizations. Anna and I are a team, said Raj.
We routinely discuss where we could
best apply our strengths across various
projects and causes. What we learned in
the corporate world is so beneficial in
the volunteer world: The methodologies,
recognition of the problemfleshing
out the right option, and developing the
solution to reach the desired end goal.

Reaching the Indian

Community

Raj and Anna also work to spread the

message of volunteering to the local
Indian community. The Indian community in the United States is very giving,
but not as involved as it could be, said
Raj. When we first started participating in the American Heart Associations
Heart Walk in the mid-2000s, there
were over 40,000 people walking with
teams from many of the local organizations. But we had to look really hard to
find a third Indian there. He added, I
learned that people of Indian origin are
more vulnerable to heart disease than
the general population, so we decided to
raise awareness about the serious heart
health issues faced by people of Indian
origin.
The Asavas carefully tailor their
efforts to focus on key issues in the
community. Whether spreading hearthealth messages to the Indian community or raising funds for the North
Texas Food Bank, the couple handles
each challenge with great focus and incredible compassion. Life, as I learned
from a discourse of an Indian pundit,
should be comprised of three stages:

learning, earning and returning, said

Raj. Anna and I believe that we are
now in the third stage of our lives. It
is our time to give back to the society
that shaped us into who we are, and to
transfer resources and knowledge to the
next generation.

Kudos to Raj
Raj is a born leader, an excellent
communicator and a hard working
individual ready to extend his support
to community causes he believes in.
His energy, commitment and spirit
of giving back to the community is
contagious.
Dr. Prasad Thotakura, coordinator
with the Indian American Friendship
Council
Raj is generous in his support of the
Collin County Childrens Advocacy
Center and passionate about the
cause. He serves on the community
relations committee, offering his business expertise as we work to increase
awareness of the center and the powerful work we do. He has volunteered
at the back-to-school fair the past two
years, helping children with new shoes
and helping them select backpacks.
Lynne McLean, CEO, Collin
County Childrens Advocacy Center

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locanew
tion

Raj has guided us through several

major fundraising and community service events. He has great forethought
and has helped us to set achievable
goals as well as given us insight for
what can be done for the future of our
organization. He is a humanitarian and
a leader and has been a great friend
[to our organization].
Nabeel Syed, president of the
Texas Indo-American Physicians
Society Northeast Chapter

December 2015 | planoprofile.com 47

parting shot
Indian Creek Bridge, Arbor Hills Nature Preserve, Plano

2015 Barry Benton

citystock.photos

SEND US YOUR PHOTO as a possible Parting Shot! Must have a Plano/Collin County connection. Email your high-res photo to contribute@planoprofile.com.

82 planoprofile.com | December 2015