PM Narendra Modi’s Yoga Day Event at UN HQ in US: Richard Gere, Ricky Kej, Vikas Khanna...List of Attendees

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi leads a unique yoga session on Wednesday in a historic celebration to commemorate the 9th International Day of Yoga (June 21) at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters, top officials, envoys and prominent individuals from more than 180 countries will join him.

The function will be attended by personalities and influencers from all walks of life, including diplomats, officials, academicians, health professionals, technocrats, industry leaders, media personalities, artists, spiritual leaders, yoga practitioners, among others.

A look at the prominent personalities who will be joining PM Modi:

• H.E. Mr. Csaba Korosi: A Hungarian diplomat currently serving as the President of the 77th United Nations General Assembly.
• Eric Adams: American politician and former police officer, he is serving as the 110th mayor of New York City.
• H.E. Amina J. Mohammed: Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations and Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group.
• Richard Gere: Famous Hollywood actor. He is an advocate for human rights in Tibet. He is a co-founder of the Tibet House, US and Chairman of the Board of Directors for the International Campaign for Tibet.
• Vala Afshar: He is the Chief Digital Evangelist at Salesforce, and shares motivational stories/ immigrant successes /tech in society stories.
• Jay Shetty: Award-winning storyteller, podcaster and former monk.
• Vikas Khanna: Award-winning Indian chef and restaurateur. He is the host of the TV Show MasterChef India.
• Mike Hayes: He is the COO, VM Ware (Cloud computing tech major) based in Silicon Valley. He is a highly decorated former US Navy SEAL Commander and has served as a White House Fellow, and as Director, National Security Council.
• Britt Kelly Slabinski: A highly decorated US Navy SEAL officer, he has won several distinguished military honours for his services in Afghanistan and Iraq. Currently, he is a Consultant at LeadWright Enterprise.
• Francisco D’Souza: He is the founder and CEO, Recognize (private equity). He is the son of IFS officer P.P. D’Souza; ex-CEO of Cognizant, now runs a venture capital fund in the US.
• Colleen Saidman Yee: A celebrated Yoga teacher. New York Times christened her ‘The First Lady of Yoga’.
• Rodney Yee: A celebrated yoga instructor, presently actively involved in integrating Yoga with Western medical paradigm. He has written two books, ‘Yoga: the Poetry of the Body’ and ‘Moving Toward Balance: 8 Weeks of Yoga with Rodney Yee’.
• Deidra Demens: She runs a popular Yoga studio in New York City. She combines Yoga with theatre.
• Christopher Tompkins: He is a scholar of South and Southeast Asian Studies at Berkeley University, California, with an emphasis on the roots and evolution of Yoga in the tradition of Tantrik Śaivism.
• Victoria Gibbs: A celebrated Yoga teacher and meditation coach. She is a three-time New York regional champion of Yoga.
• Jahnavi Harrison: Known by her spiritual name, Jahnavi Jivana dasi, she is a British musician known for her mantra meditation music (kirtan). She regularly appears as a presenter on BBC Radio.
• Kenneth Lee: He is a Community Health Chaplain at University Hospital, Newark, New Jersey. He is the husband of Jahnavi Harrison.
• Travis Mills: Travis Mills is a war veteran who lost all four limbs in Afghanistan. He promotes yoga, meditation, and wellness to overcome adversity.
• Jeffrey D Long: A Professor of religion and Asian studies at Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania.
• Seema Mody: She is currently global markets reporter for CNBC with focus on foreign policy and Wall Street.
• Zain Asher: A prime time news anchor at CNN popularly known for global news show ‘One World with Zain Asher’ .
• Ricky Kej: Three-times Grammy award-winning, three-times Grammy nominated Indian music composer and environmentalist.
• Falguni Shah: An American singer whose music blends ancient classical Indian melodies with contemporary western sounds.
• Mary Millben: An American singer and actress.