South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA) Celebrates 30th Anniversary at CJS
The South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA) recently marked its 30th anniversary with a gala at Columbia Journalism School, the very institution that nurtured and empowered it in its formative years.
"Its faculty, staff, students, and alumni helped make SAJA a force in American journalism," said Sree Sreenivasan, '93 M.S., SAJA co-founder and former Associate Dean of Student Affairs.
“There would be no SAJA without CJS."
The gala gathered J-School faculty, staff, alumni alumni and over 40 current students, fostering a vibrant exchange of experiences: "The SAJA conference and gala offered an incredible opportunity to connect with inspiring South Asian journalists," said Riddhi Kumari Setty, '25 M.S. Stabile. "I feel privileged to be a young journalist at a time when SAJA is thriving and making a significant impact."
View a carousel of images from the night:
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Slide 1: Attendees gather for the SAJA Awards Ceremony reception in the World Room in Pulitzer Hall.
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Slide 2: From left to right: Chanel Roche, Associate Director of Student Life, John Haskins, Dean of Student Affairs and Professional Prizes and Programs, Melanie Huff, Associate Dean of Student Life and Anusha Shrivastava, Associate Dean of Career Services.
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Slide 3: Several Columbia Journalism School alumni won awards at this year's SAJA Award Ceremony: Andrew Deck of Nieman Journalism Lab; Varsha Bansal, 2025 Knight-Bagehot Fellow; Raksha Kumar, '11 M.S., of Rest of World, Karen Zraick, '08 M.S., of The New York Times; Zeba Warsi, '22 M.A. Politics of PBS Newshour; Sanya Mansoor, '18 M.S., of TIME.
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Slide 4: Columbia Journalism School alumni, faculty, staff and students attend the SAJA Awards Ceremony in the Lecture Hall.
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Slide 5: Ali Velshi, Chief Correspondent for MSNBC, Sree Sreenivasan, '93 M.S., SAJA co-founder and former Associate Dean of Student Affairs at CJS, Peter Bhatia, CEO of Houston Landing, and sponsors, donors and supporters of SAJA at the organization's award ceremony.
Today, SAJA continues to expand its reach, supporting journalists who tackle critical issues globally.
"Through awards, events, fellowships, scholarships, and mentoring, SAJA has built a community of over 1,000 journalists now working in newsrooms and related roles across the U.S. and Canada," said Anusha Shrivastava, '02 M.S., Associate Dean of Career Development at the J-School and former SAJA president.
Every SAJA member is dedicated to the journalism industry and committed to transforming the media landscape. Sreenivasan looks forward to the journey ahead: "We are deeply grateful to Dean Cobb and the entire team that hosted us. Here’s to collaborating over the next 30 years!”