Yoga in the Boardroom
Tribute: Anisha's story
Anisha Kamala Atluri passed away on January 9, 2020 doing what she loved: chasing life. Anisha passed away while surfing in Bali. Although Anisha is no longer with us, her spirit has changed each of us forever and she will remain in our hearts. She was three months shy of her 30th birthday and lived every day to its fullest. A beloved daughter, granddaughter, niece, cousin, aunty, and friend, Anisha has left an indelible mark on our hearts.
Anisha graduated at the top of her class at Marlboro High School in 2008, selected by her peers and teachers to deliver her class commencement speech, where she implored her audience to remember, “as the world changes around you, you have the power to be part of that change.” She graduated Summa cum Laude from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 2012 where she studied Finance, Social Impact, and French, served on the Executive Board of Management 100 TAs and as President of Penn International Business Volunteers, and studied abroad in Lyon, France.
A loyal Yankees fan, Anisha wore her infamous baseball cap on all her travels: from Haiti to Mexico, France and India. And most recently to Boston, where she was pursuing her MBA at Harvard Business School and due to graduate in 2021. At HBS, Anisha was unapologetic about discovering her purpose and challenged her classmates to do the same. She was uncompromisingly authentic and passionate. Social justice, social impact and empowerment was the wind beneath her wings that kept her soaring and this was reflected in her work at the intersection of business, design, and sustainable agriculture.
She learned as much as she could about everything, and never took her peers or experiences for granted. Anisha was a giver; as much as she took in the world, she provided those around her with so much more. Outside of her work as a social impact investor at Turner Impact Capital, Anisha volunteered toward developing sustainable living practices, especially in underserved communities, by advising and founding farming and sustainability practices, such as the Yunus Social Business in Haiti and Seed Street Capital in Harlem, respectively.
Anisha evaluated her own spirituality, and studied divinity across the world. She was writing a book on spirituality and religion through the lens of sustainable business; her words were aimed at helping people live fuller lives. She was a writer and teacher, a poet and an artist, a certified yoga instructor, a snowboarder, a chef and a natural, fearless leader. She was the DJ, she was the dance floor, she was the party. She was the breath of life, light, and love that brings friends and family together.
Her laugh was infectious, her ambition contagious. Her compassion limitless, and her intellect, determination and adventurous spirit unmatched. She led by example, brought out the best in everyone she touched, and loved people for who they were and who they wanted to be. She believed in us. From all her family and friends, all her students and teachers, travel companions, pets, plants, chefs, partners, colleagues, and the truly countless communities she entered, learned from, and gave back to, from everyone blessed to have Anisha in our lives: thank you.
The Book: Yoga in the Boardroom
Soon after Anisha’s passing, her mother, Neela Atluri, developed a bold vision to finish the book Anisha had begun. She found pages of writing in Anisha’s journals and on her computer. She believed they represented the most important and key seeds of Anisha’s ideas. She just needed a team of growers to harvest Anisha’s aspiration and bring it to life.
Along with Anisha’s father, Ram Atluri, Neela organized a diverse group of twelve of Anisha’s friends and family to complete her work, many of whom had never met each other. The group spanned multiple time zones from California to Paris, and industries including finance, film, technology, healthcare, impact investing, hospitals, and leadership development.
As you can imagine, twelve people working together to complete someone else’s book was… well, a journey. It was a journey of grief, healing, friendship, ambiguity, learning, and personal discovery. A journey of love.
This book is the outcome of a six year journey! five marriages, thirteen beautiful babies, eight job changes, seven relocations later we present you our collective amalgamation of Anisha’s book.
We are thrilled to have finally brought the book to this stage where we can share it with you! We truly believe you will love journeying through the book.
Anisha and co-authors in pictures
(Draft - to be finalized)
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