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www.newsindiatimes.com – that’s all you need to know Five Indian-Origin Americans Among 25 Distinguished Naturalized Citizens Honored by the Andrew Carnegie Foundation On America’s 250th Anniversary T he Andrew Carnegie Foundation, formerly Carn- egie Corporation of NewYork, announced June 30, 226, the 2026 Class of Great Immigrants, Great Americans, recognizing 25 distinguished natural- ized citizens whose contributions have strength- ened America. Five of the 25 are Indian Americans. They include: • Sunil Amrith (Kenya) Professor of History, Yale Uni- versity • Nikesh Arora (India) Chairman and CEO, Palo Alto Networks • Mahzarin R. Banaji (India) Professor of Psychology, Harvard University • Sanjiv Chopra (India) Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School • Reshma Kewalramani (India) President and CEO, Vertex Pharmaceuticals The tribute, launched by the foundation more than 20 years ago, is celebrated every Fourth of July. According to the American Immigration Council, there are 48 million immigrants in America, about half of whom are natural- ized American citizens, the Foundation noted. Immigrants make up 14 percent of the U.S. population and account for 23.6 percent of entrepreneurs, 28.4 per- cent of health aides, and 23.6 percent of STEM workers. The Foundation highlighted other achievements of naturalized immigrants, viz. -Fifty-nine percent of startups valued at $1 billion or more were founded or co- founded by immigrants, and 66 percent of billion-dollar companies in the U.S. were founded or cofounded by immigrants or the children of immigrants, according to a June 2026 report by the National Foundation for Ameri- can Policy. The Great Immigrants, Great Americans tribute was launched by the foundation in 2006 to raise public awareness of the economic and societal benefits of legal pathways to citizenship. It honors the legacy of Andrew Carnegie, who immigrated to America from Scotland in his teens, rose to become one of the world’s wealthi- est men, and established one of the first philanthropic foundations in America. Over the last two decades, the foundation has recognized more than 790 Great Immi- grants, resulting in one of the largest online resources of its kind. As is traditionally done, the 2026 honorees will be recognized with a full-page public service announcement in The NewYork Times on the Fourth of July and tributes on social media. PHOTO:STEPHANIE ANESTIS,YALE UNIVERSITY PHOTO:COURTESY ANDREW CARNEGIE FOUNDATION PHOTO:COURTESY ANDREW CARNEGIE FOUNDATION PHOTO:COURTESY ANDREW CARNEGIE FOUNDATION PHOTO:COURTESY ANDREW CARNEGIE FOUNDATION Sunil Amrith Nikesh Arora Mahzarin R. Banaji Sanjiv Chopra Reshma Kewalramani By a StaffWriter Bharti Sharma Appointed Executive Director Of NYC Center For Innovation Through Data Intelligence N ewYork City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani announced the appointment of Bharti Sharma as Executive Director of the Center for Innovation through Data Intelligence (CIDI), June 30, 2026. “Bharti Sharma has dedicated her career to using data as a tool to improve people’s lives,” Mamdani is quoted saying in a press release. “Whether leading our city’s public health response during the global COVID-19 pandemic or building systems to make government more ef- fective, she has shown how responsible, creative use of data can help solve our city’s most pressing issues. Her leadership will help City government deliver better services and real results that NewYorkers deserve.” Sharma was also praised by other senior members of the Mamdani ad- ministration. Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Dr. Helen Arteaga described Sharma as invaluable to coor- dinate comprehensive, citywide solutions for health services. “It is an honor to serve the people of NewYork City in this role,” said Sharma, adding, “CIDI sits at an extraordinary intersection where government, data, and human impact converge and that is precisely where I want to be. I’ve spent my career inside public health systems, seeing firsthand how the right data or the absence of it shapes outcomes for real people. I come ready to listen, to build, and to ensure that the work we do here delivers for every NewYorker.” Founded in 2011, CIDI conducts inter- agency research to identify gaps in City services and improve outcomes for New Yorkers. The center works across Health and Human Service (HHS) agencies and other City partners to use data, research and collaboration to inform policy and strengthen service delivery. Sharma most recently served as Senior Director of Data and AI Strategic Enable- ment and Operations at NYC Health + Hospitals, the nation’s largest municipal health system, which includes more than 70 care locations and 11 acute care hospitals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she designed and led the systemwide COVID-19 Intelligence Hub, providing executive leadership with real-time data on ICU capacity, emergency depart- ment throughput, bed availability, surge planning, ventilator supply and other critical operational metrics. She also led the development of the City’s testing and vaccination wait-time dashboards. Following the pandemic, Sharma founded and scaled the Data Champion Program to more than 300 embedded champions across every hospital, central office and ambulatory site in the system. She also led the Data Academy, which has trained more than 500 staff members. Together, those programs generated an estimated $4.75 million to $5.5 million in annual cost avoidance while establishing NYC H+H’s enterprise data governance framework as a nationally recognized for responsible data use, the press release said. Sharma holds a Bachelor of Dental Sur- gery, a Master of Health Administration from Hofstra University and a Master of Science in Information Systems Engineer- ing and Management from Harrisburg University. By a StaffWriter Bharti Sharma PHOTO:LINKEDIN.COM News India Times (July 4, 2026 - July 10, 2026) July 10, 2026 18 Community