A Year of Impact: Sewa International Announces New Leadership

San Francisco, May 9, 2025: 
Sewa International USA, the leading Hindu faith-based non-profit organization, announced a change in leadership at its 19th National Conference held in San Francisco from May 3 to 5. Srikanth Gundavarapu, a prominent Indian American businessman from Atlanta, GA became its fifth president, taking over from Arun Kankani who helmed the organization for the past five years.

Suresh Jain, the chairman of Sewa's Board of Directors, informed attendees that Arun Kankani, Sewa's outgoing president, would continue to serve as Sewa's Executive Vice President, guiding its operations. He announced that the San Antonio Chapter will host Sewa’s 20th National Conference. 

The conference brought together over 140 volunteers, including Sewa's directors, advisory board members, executive team leaders, chapter presidents, coordinators, and other functionaries. Led by an all-volunteer executive team, Sewa has earned a distinction of serving in over 34 disasters since its inception in India in the 1980s as a social movement.

Kankani, who led the organization to unprecedented heights during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, when COVID-19 ravaged the world, Sewa volunteers risked their lives to serve across US cities by distributing millions of pounds of food, over 750,000 masks, and more than 100,000 hot meals to first responders, caregivers, and the general public. It also saved several lives by sending over 10,000 oxygen concentrators to India during the pandemic. 

Ranked at the Top
Srikanth Gundavarapu, Sewa’s new president, opened his company's warehouse in Atlanta to store oxygen concentrators before shipping them to India. As the Atlanta chapter president, he led Sewa's national COVID-19 “war room” in Atlanta. Over 4,500 Sewa volunteers served in the US during the pandemic. Sewa collected $45 million in 2021 from 140,000 donors. Benevity ranked Sewa among the top 10 charitable organizations supported by employers and their employees in 2021.

Accepting his new responsibility, Gundavarapu said, "I'll lean on the strong shoulders that built this foundation. Sewa, which began as a small organization in an Atlanta garage, has now grown into an entity with strong systems and processes. Sewa's real strength lies in its thousands of volunteers and donors nationwide. Their dedication and hard work have built Sewa, and I am proud to carry forward its legacy".

Arun Kankani smiled at being described as the wartime president of Sewa by Dr. Anurag Mairal, the organization's Bay Area Chapter President, and a Professor at Stanford University. Kankani spoke about Sewa's COVID response during a chat moderated by Dr. Mairal. 

"Within four months, we had launched 26 unique initiatives—all bottom-up, volunteer-led responses to community needs. It felt effortless only because we were prepared. The organization's strength in 2020 came from years of groundwork, strong teams, and incredible volunteers. We have a great team. We are fortunate to have such committed, selfless volunteers,” Kankani said.

Sewa's founding President, Srikant Konda, participated in the chat and recalled the organization’s humble beginnings—forming chapters, raising local funds, and managing logistics with minimal resources. Sewa's second President, Gautam Desai, spoke of serving locally in the US, starting with Hurricane Katrina and the Bhutanese Refugee Empowerment Project across the US cities, and expanding its focus on international causes. Prof. Sree Srinath, who served for a decade as Sewa’s third president, recalled building systems and scaling Sewa into a nationally effective organization.

Leadership Means Care
In the concluding session, Advisory Board Member Saumitra Gokhale said, "This gathering reminded us that our progress stems not from chance, but from sustained effort, planning, and the
dedication of volunteers over two decades. The presence of past presidents highlights that in Sewa, leadership isn't about titles—it's about continued service." Like geese flying in formation, leaders rotate to share responsibility, ensuring steady movement. In Sewa, leadership means care, collaboration, and continuity,” he said.

Sewa's board members, Dr. Ajay Singhal, Sridhar Talanki, Vishal Khera, and Sewa's Advisory Board Members, Shyam Parande, and Yashwant Pathak, attended the conference.

About Srikanth Gundavarapu
President of GC Ingredients Inc. and Primaria Nutrition, businesses specializing in custom food ingredient blends and nutritional premixes, he has recently served as Sewa’s Vice President of Fund Development. He holds a Master's Degree in Food Science from the University of Georgia.

About Sewa International
Sewa International (www.sewausa.org) is a 501 (c) (3) Hindu faith-based charitable nonprofit that works in the areas of disaster recovery, education, and development. Sewa has 43 Chapters across the USA and serves regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin.