Five Indian-Americans – Dr. Ashish Jha, Dr. Raj Panjabi, Abhijit Banerjee, Eboo Patel, and Premal Shah – have been named to the Carnegie Corporation of New York’s annual Great Immigrants List, announced on June 27, 2024. These individuals are among 24 naturalized citizens, recognized for their significant contributions to society and the strengthening of democracy.
Every July 4th since 2006, the Corporation has annually sponsored “Great Immigrants, Great Americans,” a public awareness campaign celebrating the crucial contributions of immigrants to American society.
“The 24 Americans honored today serve as a reminder of the economic and societal benefits that each new generation of immigrants brings to our country and the richness of talent, skills, and achievements they contribute to our democracy,” said President of Carnegie Corporation of New York, Dame Louise Richardson, a naturalized American citizen, born in Ireland. “In honor of our founder, Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish immigrant, we celebrate these extraordinary individuals who have made notable contributions to American society.”
Dean of School of Public Health, Brown University, Dr. Jha has served as the White House COVID Czar in the Biden Administration. Dr. Panjabi also served in the Biden Administration as White House Senior Director and Special Assistant to President Biden.
The Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at MIT, Banerjee has “won the Nobel Prize in economics for his work in developing an experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.”
Founder and President of Interfaith America, Patel, “works with governments, universities, private companies, and civic organizations to promote cooperation across religious differences.”
Social Entrepreneur and Cofounder, Kiva, Shah, “has spent his career building microfinance companies to alleviate social problems, from global poverty to the transition to solar.”
“The 2024 Class of Great Immigrants is comprised of naturalized citizens from 16 countries. The honorees represent a wide range of backgrounds and are recognized for their work in public service, education, health, journalism, the arts, and business, among other fields,” said the Corporation.
According to the Corporation, the honorees include three Nobel laureates, memoirist Leila Ahmed, rap musician Abbas (Bas) Hamad, NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang, industrial designer Sir Jonathan (Jony) Ive, DC president Jim Lee, investigative journalist Maria Ressa, and Emmy winner Steven Yeun.
