Back in 2006, a few Marathi families in Ann Arbor region, came together to form a small club of Marathi people. Founding principles were

• Celebrate Marathi festivals, culture, traditions and food
• Teach their kids about their heritage
• Make people comfortable enough to share their hidden talents
• Build friendships, support structure
• Have fun

 In those days, Maharashtra Mandal of Detroit held all their programs far away from the Ann Arbor region, so it was difficult to attend and participate in them. The club was started with no intentions of starting another Mandal. However, after overwhelming response from early members, they decided to establish Ann Arbor Marathi Mandal (a2mm) in 2006. Most of the programs were smaller scale, with 50-80 attendees and were held at the home of Bhushan - Swatee Kulkarni in Saline. Swatee Kulkarni was the founding president and held that position for the first 3 years of operation. Under her leadership, the Mandal grew to almost 200 people in attendance. The presidents and teams that led a2mm after Swatee stepped down, continued to take Mandal to the next level every year.

Highlights of these Presidents can be summarized below -

 

2006-2008:      Swatee Kulkarni – Put the foundation in place for a long-term sustainability

2009:               Prashant Javkar – Launched the first A2MM website, introduced the newsletter, kicked off the Karaoke club, and introduced the sponsorship platform

2010:               Mandar Kulkarni – Mobilized volunteers to bring out creative programs

2011:               Madhuri Deshpande – Established sponsorships and elements for structural growth

2012:               Swapna Chitre – Expanded attendance levels through wider participation

2013:               Lini Athavale – Introduced and nurtured team of new volunteers

2014:               Suresh Nair – Introduced many creative programs and streamlined operations

2015:               Bhushan Kulkarni – Created A2MM branding and recruited, nurtured new leaders

2016:               Ajeet Kulkarni – Established and nurtured a team of new volunteers

2017:               Sameer Joshi – Scaled-up A2MM by bringing in many new members

2018:               Laukik Deshpande – Launched many creative programs

2019:               Amit Mandhare – Creating foundation for growth while keeping culture intact

As the mandal rapidly grew, basic foundational principles and culture remained at the forefront and every new member reflected on them and made them their own. It’s the culture of a2mm that makes the organization unique. Preserving and nurturing that culture will ensure a2mm will continue to thrive.

      2020 Board of Trustees

 

Bhushan Kulkarni          (Founder member) 

Neelam Kulkarni            (Treasurer)

Arati Deshpande            (Board Secretary)

Amit Mandhare              (Ex-President)

Gnanada Joshi               (President)

Amit Mandhare             (Board Chairperson)

Nachiket Kasarekar     (Board Member)

Prashant Javkar           (Board Member)