Anita Kawatra was honored by the Indian American Forum at the third Annual Women’s Achievement Gala as part of Women’s History Month.
Kawatra is executive vice president at Edelman, the world’s largest public relations firm, where she oversees the pharmaceuticals and biotech group. She has an extensive background in health care communications and public affairs. She was formerly advisor to the chief executive officer and head of external affairs at Prothena Biosciences Inc. She held a number of leadership roles at Elan Pharmaceuticals, including head of Scientific Relations, Public Affairs, Corporate Marketing and Communications, and Global Media Relations. She also held senior communications positions at Merck & Co., Inc., where she oversaw corporate and executive communications and served as chief speechwriter to the CEO, and at Merck-Medco, where she led media relations and crisis management.
Prior to her work in pharmaceuticals and biotech, Kawatra wrote speeches for New York City Mayor David Dinkins and New York State Governor Mario Cuomo. She also served as Mayor Dinkins’ chief of staff and media advisor following his tenure in office. Op-eds she has written for political and corporate leaders have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and other global media outlets.
Kawatra is a member of the President’s Council of Sanctuary for Families, New York’s leading domestic violence organization, where she served on the board for nine years. She works with other nonprofit human services groups, including the Association to Benefit Children, Mothers2Mothers and Generation Citizen. She is past president of Lotus Music and Dance, a cultural organization.
She holds a BA from Yale University and an MA from Columbia University. She is an adjunct instructor in the MS program in Public Relations and Corporate Communications at New York University. She has presented on women’s history at academic conferences, curated a contemporary women’s art exhibition and published short stories.
At the Women’s Achievement Gala, the chairperson of the Indian American Forum, Indu Jaiswal, spoke about women throughout the world in all aspects of business and nonprofits. Several elected officials who spoke also recognized the contributions made by distinguished members of the Indian American community in the Tri-State area.
Kawatra also received proclamations and citations from the Nassau County Executive, the Nassau County Legislature, the Town of Oyster Bay and the Town of Hempstead for her outstanding achievements.
Kawatra is a 1984 graduate of Schreiber High School. She attended college at Yale University and graduate school at Columbia University. Her parents, Mahendra and Ved Kawatra, have been residents of Port Washington for more than four decades.
