Kerala center to honor seven Indian American malayalees at its 33rd Annual award ceremony

The Indian American Kerala Cultural and Civic Center, Inc. (The Kerala Center) will honor seven Indian American Malayalees for their outstanding achievements in their fields of specialization and for their service to the society, at its 33rd Annual Awards Dinner to be held on October 25, 2025.  Public officials and leaders from the USA and India are expected to attend this prestigious event. 

“The Kerala Center has been honoring outstanding achievers since 1992. Every year we invite nominations, and the Award Committee makes a unanimous choice for a candidate in a category to receive the award, and this year is no different from previous years in terms of their achievements,” said Dr. Thomas Abraham, Kerala Center’s Trustee Board Chairman and Award Committee Member.

“Kerala Center is very happy to honor American Malayalees who excel in their professions and who work for social progress -- their examples should be an inspiration for others,” said Dr. Madhu Bhaskaran, Chairman of the Board and Award Committee.

This year’s honorees and their categories of recognition are: Inspector Shibu Madhu - Govt. and Public Service; Diya Mathews - Legal Service; Priscilla Samuel - Nursing; Jayan Varghese - Pravasi Malayalam Literature; Koshy O. Thomas - Community Service; Nandini Menon - Education; and Joharath Kutty – Engineering.  

The keynote speaker is Dr. Suresh U. Kumar, a 5 x INC 500 ranked serial entrepreneur, professor of entrepreneurship at New Jersey Institute of Technology, ex-President of TIE-New Jersey, member NJ-India commission and author of Amazon #1 Bestselling novel, “The Girl in Scarlet Hijab.”

The awardees will be honored on Saturday, October 25, 2025, at 5:30 PM at the Kerala Center, 1824 Fairfax St., Elmont, New York. There will be variety entertainments and a fabulous dinner for the evening.

Other members of the Award Committee are: Varkey Abraham, Daisy P. Stephen and Marilyn George.

Kerala Center President Alex K. Esthappan said that the Center has recognized over 190 American Malayalees in the last 32 years and it is great to see them continue to rise higher in their careers and serve the society. All are invited to join this Annual Awards Dinner. Please contact the Kerala Center to reserve your seats at: 516-358-2000 or at email: kc@keralacenterny.com.

For further information, please contact: Alex Esthappan, President, 516 503 9387, Raju Thomas, General Secretary, 516 434 0669, G. Mathai, Program Chair, 516 816 4915.

Kerala Center Awardees 2025

Inspector Shibu Madhu, NYPD – Govt. and Public Service

Inspector Shibu Madhu joined the New York Police Department in 2007. He started his career as a midnight patrol officer in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. He has worked in 79 Precinct, 75 Precinct, 81 Precinct, 115 Precinct and in Detective Bureau. He is currently assigned as the Executive Officer in Detective Borough Brooklyn South. Detective Borough Brooklyn South encompasses 13 precincts detective squads. He helps oversee homicide and shooting investigations as well as long term narcotics and gang investigations. In December 2024, he was promoted to the rank of Inspector, making him the first Indian American to achieve that rank in the history of NYPD. 

Dr. Priscilla Samuel – Nursing Leadership

Dr. Priscilla Samuel is Vice President of Advanced Practice Nursing at the Mount Sinai Health System, where she leads strategic initiatives to elevate the advanced practice nursing workforce across a complex, multi-site health system. As the inaugural co-lead of the Center for Advanced Practice Providers, she drives innovation in APP clinical excellence, workforce development and revenue optimization. Her work has helped to shape robust clinical practice models that support both quality care and organizational growth.

Diya A. Mathews, Esq.  - Legal Service

Diya A. Mathews is a trailblazing attorney, business leader, and community advocate whose career bridges law, entrepreneurship, and service. As Partner in Charge of Chugh LLP’s New York and New Jersey offices, she leads a thriving practice focused on business immigration law and corporate compliance. She is widely recognized for her expertise in the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA). As she is admitted to practice law in both New York and India, she brings a truly global perspective to her work. She is the incoming President of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) – New Jersey Chapter. Since 2013, she has held leadership roles with the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and serves as a regional representative of the South Asian Bar Association of NJ.

A frequent speaker on immigration and business topics, Diya has been honored on Lawyers of Color’s 2023 inaugural Wonderful Women list, which recognizes dynamic women attorneys committed to advancing diversity in the legal profession. She was also named to the 2024 Innovate 100 list for driving innovation in New Jersey.

Koshy O. Thomas – Community Service

Advocate Koshy Oommen Thomas is a distinguished community leader with lifelong commitment to public service that is grounded in the belief that God is One and that service should transcend all barriers.  He currently serves as Special Assistant and Community Liaison to New York State Assemblyman Edward Braunstein, and in that capacity, he plays a vital role in community engagement and advocacy. He was a former candidate for New York City Council District 23.

Koshy O. Thomas, a longtime member of various organizations, has also served as President, Chairman of FBIMA (Floral Park Bellerose Indian Merchants Association Inc.), and Chairman of the India Day Parade Committee in Queens, following years of dedicated fieldwork to unite the Indian American community and celebrate its culture and contributions. Koshy’s service has been recognized by numerous government agencies and community organizations.

In the private sector, Koshy is a partner at www.Lendme.com. He has law degrees from both Madras University in Chennai and Touro Law School in New York.

Dr. Nandini Ambat Menon - Leadership in Education

Dr. Nandini Ambat Menon, Ed.D., is the Founder and Chief Education Officer of Cedar Hill Preparatory School in Somerset, New Jersey. Under her leadership, Cedar Hill Prep has earned national recognition, including the prestigious National Blue Ribbon Award in 2017, accreditation by the Middle States Association in 2021, and is currently on track to become an International Baccalaureate World School. With a proven record of academic excellence, Cedar Hill Prep graduates go on to attend highly selective private high schools and top-tier universities across the country. She also contributes to the broader education and entrepreneurial community through her service on the Board of the NJ Academy of Sciences, the Indian American Women Entrepreneur Association, and as Co-Chair of TiE NJ Next Gen and a committee member of TiE Global Nxt Gen.

Joharath Kutty, P.E., PMP – Engineering

Joharath Kutty is a Senior Director of System Engineering at New York Power Authority (NYPA) with over 20 years of experience in the electric utility industry.  Her career spans Power Generation & High Voltage Transmission, Substation design, Grid Modernization, Power System Operation & Control, Transmission Operations Planning, and has been involved in every aspect of transmission expansion projects. In her current role, she provides overall leadership and technical direction as “Chief Engineer”, for the Long Island transmission expansion project (Propel NY Energy). In the past few years, she has taken on a role as a mentor to entry level engineers as well as to graduate students within the electric energy industry.

Jayan Varghese – Pravasi Malayalam Literature

With a short story published at age 11, Jayan Varghese has remained very active as a writer in Malayalam. He is the author of ten books published in various genres of literature, like poetry and drama. A lively presence in Malayalam media in America, Britain, and Germany, his writings are poetic images of beautiful visions of a better tomorrow, spreading messages of humanity and secularism.

Jayan Varghese has won literary awards from Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, Samastha Kerala Sahitya Parishad, Indian Communist Party, All India Radio, Kairali, Malayala Vedi, and FOKANA, etc. totaling 14. He received a great recognition as the author of the only work published in both English and Malayalam by a foreign university for the first time in the history of Malayalam language and literature (Jyotirgamaya, Towards The Light, published by CUNY/City University of New York).