Manjit arrived in the United States in 2000 from India, and, like any other immigrant, found life to be full of challenges. Adapting to a new culture, finding an identity in the hustle–bustle of Boston, managing the academic stress of big institution, and balancing work and family life was a constant struggle during the early years. Despite this, Manjit found ways to give back to her community.  

From early childhood, a sense of community and belonging was deeply instilled in her mind. Growing up, Manjit saw her mother perennially involved with different community projects: cooking meals, fund raisers and helping others. Her father served in the Indian Army for thirty years, and just like any other military family, they too moved from place to place all over the country. The varied exposure provided her with diverse experiences, opportunities for growth, confidence and agility of thought, yet in a structured, and disciplined framework that a military life instills.

Manjit excelled in her studies and extracurricular activities in school and college. Her parents supported, encouraged, and steered her to achieve the highest academic degree, a PhD in molecular Biology, and they also provided her with the valuable gift of philanthropy and community engagement. 

Education:

• Bachelor of Science (Gold Medal), University of North Bengal, India.
• Master’s degree (Biochemistry), Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India
• PhD Molecular Biology, Punjab University and PGIMER, Chandigarh, India
• MBA Healthcare Management, Baker College, Flint, Michigan
• Citizen Police Academy & CERT, Germantown
• Certified “COVID-19 Contact Tracer,” Johns Hopkins University
• Leadership Germantown, 2019

Work Experience:

• Associate Professor and Head of the Department Biochemistry, DAV Dental College, Solan, India
• Research Associate, Cancer Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston
• Senior Research Scientist, University of Massachusetts, Worcester, MA
• Administrative Resident, University of Tennessee Medical Group (UTMG), Memphis
• Owner & Director, Eye Level Learning Center, Germantown
• Supervisor, Madonna Learning Center, Germantown
• ABC language services freelancer interpreter legal, medical and immigration matters for Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and English

Volunteering:

Manjit’s volunteer experience is expansive, and she is always looking for creative ways to serve her community. In 2014, the City of Memphis recognized her with a community Service Award. In 2019 fall, the City Magazine published an article “The Faces of Germantown” that described her philanthropic spirit through diverse experiences and years of community service, and in 2021 the Germantown City News shared her story as one of the “Renaissance Women of Volunteering”. 

Some Highlights:

• Leading the Memphis Indian Community for over 12 years as Vice President, President, and Director of India Fest. She currently serves as chairperson of the India Association of Memphis (IAM)
• Vice-chair, Germantown Public Safety Education Commission: chaired events such as “Safety City for kids”, “Christmas Float”, “Lost it or Lose it” public safety awareness campaign, vaccination volunteers, and “Don’t Drive Drowsy,” an educational seminar for teens
• Germantown Education Commission: Co-Chair Battle of the Brains and Big Read
• Germantown Forward 2030 Education Task Force
• Team Captain, Walk Across TN, Healthy Germantown
• Vice-chair, Germantown Forward 2035 Steering Committee
• Secretary, Board of Directors Leadership Germantown
• Volunteered for several years at ER, Germantown Methodist Hospital
• Organized a musical concert to raise funds towards Germantown flood relief in 2018. Helped residents with cooked meals, clean up debris and other necessary things to recuperate from a flood.
• Active member of the Germantown Women’s Club
• Board of Directors, Germantown Education Foundation: helps the board mobilize community resources to support educational programs of the Germantown Municipal School District through initiatives such as grants, projects, and fundraising
• Board of Directors, Devonshire Gardens Home Owners Association
• Chairperson, “Caring for America”, Republican Women of Purpose
• COVID-19 volunteer: Meal preparation and distribution to frontline workers, fundraisers for MSFood Bank, helped Volunteer Odyssey throughout this process with volunteer recruitment, logged over 200 hours of volunteering in both phases of vaccination efforts at Germantown Baptist Church vaccination site 

Manjit has given back to the community through many other non-profit, religious and charitable organizations at national and international levels, too numerous to enumerate.  

Manjit holds a first degree black belt in Shotokan Martial Arts from TMAC Karate, Collierville, TN and has been a judge for the black belt test. In her free time, she enjoys painting, gardening, wood-working, cooking demos and considers these activities to be great stress busters. She maintains a cooking blog

http://zaikabharat.blogspot.com/

Manjit is married to Dr. Sridhar Shankar who is a radiologist, and has two children, daughter Nikita, who is a junior at the University of TN, Knoxville and son Rohan, who is a freshman at the United States Coast Guard Academy, New London, CT majoring in Cyber Security. 

Manjit has diverse leadership experience. She believes in lifelong learning and is consistently working on ways for the betterment of the community that are motivating, fun, and challenging. She loves Germantown it is home to her.

Manjit is a strong advocate for the public safety, excellent education, local and regional partnerships, and outstanding quality of life through innovation, youth empowerment, creativity and continuous improvement. According to her, one can make a big impact and a real difference by getting involved and engaging the community, and it is never too late!