Elected by the voting members at the Zonta International 66th Convention in Brisbane, Australia Pandya was inducted on 30 June and will serve a board director of Zonta International and the Zonta Foundation for Women for the next two years.
Ela has been member of the Zonta Club of Porterville, USA, for over thirty years. She was president of the club during 2014-2016, and area director from 2016-2018. She served as a District UN Chair for many years. In addition, she served on Zonta International Advocacy Committee from 2018 to 2022. In those four years, she was also Co-Convenor of Zonta USA Advocacy Caucus. During 2022-2024 biennium, she was one of a three-member group for greater diversity in Zonta and the Endowment Ambassador for District 9. Ela has been a strong advocate for gender equality and is actively involved in legislative advocacy to end child marriage in California.
In her professional life, Ela Pandya, is a healthcare administrator and manages Freedom Medical Group and Natraj Surgery Center, Inc. She has also published a three-part memoir, I Made Lemonade, depicting her journey as an immigrant, a mother of two, and her trials and tribulations in the healthcare industry.
The Zonta International and Zonta Foundation for Women Boards also include President Salla Tuominen (Finland), President-Elect Fernanda Gallo-Freschi (Italy), Vice President Sandra Venn-Brown (Australia), Treasurer Souella Cumming (New Zealand) and directors Margaret Akofio-Sowah (Ghana), Ofelia “Lia” Bautista (Philippines), Christine Dersch (Germany), Unna Huh (South Korea), Phillippa Jacobs-Lory (New Zealand), and Vivienne Shen (Taiwan).
About the organization: Zonta International (www.zonta.org) is a leading global organization of professionals building a better world for women and girls. In 1919, a small group of founders in Buffalo, New York, had a vision to help all women realize greater equality. Today, more than 26,000 members in 64 countries work together to make gender equality a worldwide reality for women and girls. Since 1923, Zonta International has provided more than 51 million dollars to empower women and girls and expand their access to education, health care, economic opportunities and safe living conditions.