The Educator: Sreenath Sreenivasan
Sexiest Qualities: Confident and Progressive

Tech guru Sree Sreenivasan dons many hats. He is Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism's Dean of Students and new media professor, as well as WNBC-TV's technology reporter. In addition, he is also the co-founder of SAJA-- South Asian Journalists Association and a weekly columnist for Poynter.org. He even finds time to hold workshops on how to use the Internet more efficiently.

Growing up, Sreenivasan used to love to write and tell stories, therefore, it was only natural that at the age of 12 he realized journalism was the exciting field of work suited for him. He holds various degrees and certificates and was educated in a variety of exotic places such as New Delhi, Fiji, Burma, and the former Soviet Union. Throughout his career he has written as a freelance writer for notable publications that include The New York Times, Business Week and Rolling Stone, among others.

Sree Sreenivasan is exceedingly accomplished in his field and has collaborated with a plethora of successful and famous people throughout the years. He is one of the few South Asians to have been named to a dean's level at an Ivy League school, but, he says, “Our numbers are going to continue increasing.“ When asked how it feels to be noted as one of the 20 most influential South Asians in America by Newsweek, his answer is simple and succinct, “Very humbling“.

SAJA is something Sreenivasan is particularly proud of-- especially its ability to help young journalists break into the profession and for veterans to cover South Asia and the diaspora better. In the coming years, he is looking forward to working on taking SAJA to greater heights, along with the terrific leadership of the board. Originally, he thought that the group would only consist of a small collection of journalists and never imagined it being as successful as it is today.

As far as South Asians and the media is concerned, he asserts, “I feel like America has changed so much compared to back in the day when the only time you would see a brown face on TV would be on a Saturday afternoon for one hour during the Indian news.“ Now you see South Asians doing everything from the news to being in entertainment shows.

Sreenivasan revolves his schedule around his family. He is exceptionally conscientious about setting aside quality time with his wife, Roopa Unnikrishnan (a business strategist and a world-class rifle shooter!) and 4-year-old twins, Durga and Krishna. The active reporter is also an avid golfer, but never seems to find the time for getting anywhere near a course.