Pageant State Director

Gunjan Laad’s vision and mission is to empower women of all walks of life to face their challenges head-on, showcase their accomplishments and make a difference in the lives of others. Gunjan is an Engineer with more than 15 years of experience in the areas of Technical Project Management, Resourcing and Recruiting as a full-time professional. She is trained in Kathak and Bollywood dance forms and she is the founder of Dance Passion Academy and has Owned Fashion Passion Boutique for last five years.

Being a wife to a very supportive man and mom to a 10-year-old boy Gunjan believes that a women can be successful at being a mother, wife and career professional. The key to balancing all three roles is developing a teamwork approach. Her passion is not just evident in the fields of dancing and fashion, but also in her work in bringing the people together. With a belief that no person should feel less than what they deserve, she wants every single person to understand their own positive self-value. The aim of bringing in this Beauty Pageant to North Carolina is with a hope that women can discover their true beauty, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally.

Pageant State Director

Sujal Patel is an IT professional with MBA in finance and banking. He is also an owner of a small business, Goin' Postal shipping and Printing (smitprint.com) in Cary, NC. He moved to North Carolina 10 years ago and has been actively involved in the local community. He is the current President of ISSO Hindu Temple in Cary,NC. He is currently serving in advisory committee in Triangle Area Hindu Temples Association and Disaster relief committee. He was the president for Indian Student Association at College and High School both in NJ and India. He has organized many cultural events and led fashion shows in college. 

Sujal is married to his beautiful wife Rucha and has 2 boys, 15 and 11 years old. He loves to spend time with his family and enjoys community work. Rucha is his inspiration to start Miss India NC Beauty Pageant. Sujal believes if you give the right tools and directions to women, they can achieve the unthinkable. Indian women in USA have many responsibilities, being a house wife and working professionally. This pageant will give them the chance to express them self and become more confident

Team Member

Jashi Abhirajan has been at the forefront of cultural landscape of North Carolina for the last 12.5 years with her husband Pragyan Shrivas and kids Akshar and Anvita. She completed her MBA in Marketing and currently works  at Duke Hospital in the Department of Psychiatry.

She has always been passionate about music and dance, she has served on the boards of various well known organizations like HumSub, Heritage India, Triangle Area Hindu Temples and she is also on the advisory board committee of Morrisville Town Council. Apart from being a choreographer she actively participates and coordinates large scale events. Loves watching comedy shows. She strongly believes that you get to live only once so one should make all effort to bring the CHANGE that you wish to see in the world.

Team Member

Swapna is a super energetic, enthusiastic and an amazing person. Her love for dancing and work towards enriching culture is tremendous. She has been a great support to our team. We are super excited to her someone talented like her on the team.

My dignity is my culture which comes coherently.