Suchitra Sairam founded Kala Vandanam Dance Company in 2002, with the vision of sharing the beauty and depth of Bharatanatyam, the oldest and most widely performed classical dance tradition of India through education, outreach and performance. Suchitra Sairam is a highly committed Bharatanatyam artist with over 35 years in the field. Her work as a performing artist, teacher and choreographer is noted for its adherence to her gurus' exacting standards, and depth in abstract and expressional dance. She teaches a group of committed students, and is an established Indian arts presenter in the Twin Cities.Suchitra is honored to be a Knight Arts Challenge winner, a 2016 and 2024 Next Step grant awardee from the McKnight Foundation and a multi-grant awardee from Minnesota State Arts Board Folk and Traditional Arts and Metropolitan Regional Arts Council.www.kalavandanam.com | www.facebook.com/kalavandanam | www.instagram.com/kalavandanam

Cowles Center Teaching Artists are professional dancers, choreographers, and experienced educators who use innovative approaches to bring dance into classrooms through our Arts in Education programs.Teaching Artist Philosophy: “As a dance artist, entrepreneur and business professional with a range of diverse experiences, I enjoy drawing on different disciplines to create learning experiences. I view dance and dance- making as a vehicle for communication, internal reflection, and personal development. As someone who came to dance at 15, my personal journey is a real-life reflection of one of my foundational personal values; each person blossoms in their time when fed with the right nutrients. I also firmly believe that we should each pursue excellence, but never at someone else’s expense. My goal is for every student to leave a class feeling positive about what was learned, and curious to explore more."

Creating art-inspired hand-held toys for the young and young-at-heart at Enlivenze LLC. Everything from business vision and product design to chief bottle washer.A little "Smart. Active. Play." into every day....www.enlivenze.com | www.facebook.com/enlivenze | www.twitter.com/enlivenzewww.flipstirpuzzle.com | www.facebook.com/flipstirpuzzle | www.twitter.com/flipstir

Suchi Sairam joined Ergotron in December 2006. As Vice President—Product Roadmap and New Bus. Dev., she is responsible for meshing market dynamics, technology trends and customer workflows with Ergotron’s passion for innovation and user wellness to formulate the strategic roadmap for the ODM business. Prior to this position, Suchi served as Vice President - Roadmap Innovation, responsible for market development and new product innovations for Ergotron's commercial business, and Director - Global Channel Engagement, with responsibility for Ergotron’s channel marketing, training and events marketing initiatives

Strategic Government Business Development ManagerMay 2006 – October 2006Marketing Manager - Commercial ChannelsSeptember 2004 – May 2006Senior Business Analyst - Web ApplicationsMay 2002 – August 2004Internet Business AnalystNovember 2000 – April 2002

Market Development Specialist – Silicate Business GroupJanuary 2000 – May 2000 Technical Service Engineer – Silicates DivisionJuly 1998 – January 2000Associate Process Engineer – Silicates DivisionNovember 1995 – August 1998Plant Engineer – Houston Chemical ComplexAugust 1993 – November 1995