By Pramod Kulkarni
HOUSTON: Recognition from your peers provides immense satisfaction after year-after-year
of tireless effort. Indo-American News Radio was the recipient of such satisfaction at the Houston Community Media (HCoM) Second Annual Expo, Conference & Awards held Thursday, October 8 at the Alief ISD Center for Talent Development center.
Suleman Lalani, Ron Reynolds, and Penny Morales Shaw.
HCoM’s vision is to build a sustainable and resilient network of community media in Houston, ensuring that diverse voices are amplified and local stories are told for generations to come. Indo-American News Publisher and radio producer Jawahar Malhotra was among the 16 founding members who believed in the power of local voices and community storytelling.
Sandy Close, ACOM Founder and Director Emeritus; Nakia Cooper, HCoM Co-Director, plus
Ngyen Lee, Yesenia Razo and Anthony Advincula, who serve as the executives and staff of the Houston Community Media. ACoM has a long history of partnerships on local, state, and national initiatives such as the 2020 Census, the City of Houston, Environmental and Voting Rights, and Immigration. In addition to Malhotra, the Indo-American News and Radio team at the HCoM conference included Editor and Newscaster Pramod Kulkarni, Radio Hosts Jyoti Kulkarni and Sanchali Basu. Guest Host Gautam Sinha, who participated in the award-winning podcast, could not attend as he was abroad on a business trip.
The HCoM conference showcased 50+ ethnic news outlets that cover diverse ethnic communities in the greater Houston region. Keynote speakers for the conference were Elisa Villanueva Beard, President & CEO, Houston Endowment, Inc.; Erica Lee Carter, Harris County Administrator; and Ruth Lopez Turley, Director of the Kinder Institute.
HCoM receives substantial support from the Houston Endowment as part of the foundation’s
$100 million in annual grantmaking. Beard leads the foundation’s mission to strengthen public education, increase civic engagement, enhance arts and culture, grow greenspaces, and ensure the organization remains responsive to the needs of the community now and in the future.
Carter is a dynamic public servant with a distinguished record of advancing innovative initiatives and shaping legislative priorities at the local, state, and federal levels. She was appointed Harris County Administrator, the first African American to hold the position.
Turley directs the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University. In 2011, she founded
the Houston Education Research Consortium (HERC), a research practice partnership between the Kinder Institute and 11 Houston area school districts, representing over 700,000 students. HERC is working to improve educational equity by connecting research to policy and practice.
Elected officials at the conference included Texas State Representative, District 76, Suleman Lalani; Ron Reynolds, Texas State Representative, District 27; and Penny Morales Shaw, Texas State Representative, District 148.
Dr. Lalani is serving his second term representing District 76. Elected in 2022, he is the first South Asian and first Muslim member of the Texas Legislature. In the 89th session, he authored more than 270 bills, 83 of which became law with no vetoes.
Rep. Reynolds is currently serving his seventh term in the Texas House. He is the first African
American state representative in Fort Bend County since Reconstruction and was voted the 2021 87th session Legislative of the Year by Fort Bend United and the Young & the Politics.
Morales Shaw is an attorney representing the 148th District, which includes parts of Spring Branch, Garden Oaks and Cypress Fairbanks. She is serving on the House Committee on Environmental Regulation and the House Committee on Urban Affairs.
Special guest at the conference was Lesley Briones, Commissioner for Harris County, Precinct 4. Briones is a proud Latina, who grew up on the U.S.-Mexico border. She carries her family values forward in her service to the people of one of the most dynamic and diverse regions in the country.
Plenary sessions at the conference included Communications Specialists presenting strategies for informing and engaging ethnic audiences. Participants included Juan Alanis, Community Relations, Walmart; Angie Dupree, Citizenship Manager, National Partnership for New Americans; Cesar Espinosa, Executive Director, FIEL, the largest immigrant-led civil rights organization; Anabeth Guthrie, Arts & Culture Director, Public Content; and Laura Frnka-Davis, Principal, LFD Communications.
There were also sessions on tracking federal and state immigration policies, and the next generation of ethnic media. One of the most well attended sessions was a workshop on how to use AI in the newsroom by Darla Cameron, AI expert, who had served at the Chief Product Officer at the Texas Tribune.
The conference concluded with awards presentation hosted by Telemundo presenter Antonio Hernandez. Indo-American News Radio (IANR) won in the category of Best Health & Healthcare Coverage. The podcast was “Women and Menopause with Dr. Anushree Kumar”, presented during an IANR episode on Masala Radio FM 98.7. Dr. Kumar is a certified menopause specialist in Sugar Land. She talked about what happens to women’s bodies during perimenopause and menopause, including research showing South Asian women tend to reach menopause earlier.
More than 250 participants at the the HCoM conference and expo are already looking forward to the third annual conference in 2027.
