Staff & Board of Directors

Aneesh Deshpande, President

Aneesh is a Portfolio Manager at Capstone Investment Advisors, where he manages an investment strategy focused on interest rates and currencies in Emerging Markets. Prior to becoming an investor, Aneesh started his career at Goldman Sachs in India, where he spent three years facilitating investments by US institutional asset managers into India’s public equity markets. He graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where he majored in International Economics with a special focus on Asia.

Outside of his professional endeavors, Aneesh is actively involved with fundraising efforts for Georgetown University’s Dharmic Life Program, which facilitates the study and practice of Dharmic spiritual traditions on Georgetown’s campus. Aneesh is also an avid skier, pianist, and music aficionado; he loves to travel, especially to remote corners of the world that have their own Iyengar Yoga studios.

Though he was introduced to the Iyengar method seven years ago, more recently, a workshop with Jawahar Bangera at the Institute in New York sparked his more serious dedication to the practice. He looks forward to synthesizing his passion for Iyengar Yoga with his professional and personal experiences to help IYAGNY further its mission in the years to come.

Scott Alan Evans, Vice-President

Scott Alan Evans is a director, writer, and producer in New York City.  Yoga became an integral part of his life in 2001 shortly after 9/11, and his interest and dedication to the practice has grown steadily ever since. His early yogic explorations led him to the Iyengar Institute in New York City, where he has been studying continuously for the past 18 years under such teachers as Mary Dunn, Carrie Owerko, and, currently, Hugh Millard.

For 25 years Evans served as the Executive Artistic Director of the award-winning Off-Broadway Company TACT/The Actors Company Theatre. With TACT, Evans unearthed, produced, and/or directed over 200 plays. Throughout his tenure with TACT, he led the company through significant and sustained growth and continued artistic excellence. His Off-Broadway directing credits include acclaimed productions of works by Arthur Miller, T.S. Eliot, A.R. Gurney, David Storey, Edward Bond,a World premiere of a lost work by Sir Noël Coward, and the first New York City revival of Beyond Therapy by Christopher Durang, among others. He conceived, co-wrote and directed the world premiere of The Triangle Factory Project about the historic fire in New York City in 1911, and Three Wise Guys based on short stories by Damon Runyon.

For 10 years, Evans served as Artistic Director of the American Musicals Project, an innovative educational program created by the New York Historical Society in conjunction with the NYC Board of Education. For AMP, Evans created a highly regarded annual concert series featuring great writers for the musical stage and Broadway headliners.

He is a member of SDC and the Dramatist Guild.

Peggy Wallace, Treasurer

Peggy has been an Iyengar student for over 16 years and has attended numerous US conferences and had the honor to attend a one week class in Pune before the pandemic that was taught by Prashant.

Peggy Wallace served as Co-CEO of investment firm Golden Seeds through December 2021 and is a Managing Partner of Golden Seeds Funds. She was on Wall Street as a Managing Director in the Structured Finance/Financial Institutions arena giving her substantial financial and market expertise. Widely recognized for its best practices, expertise, and brand, Golden Seeds was the first angel group formed to focus on the immense opportunity of investing in women leaders with a keen focus on educating investors to join the early-stage investment asset class.

Peggy is an  experienced Board member and NACD Certified Director.  She currently serves on a Public board, a private board and two not- for- profit boards. Peggy has served on Nominating and Governance, Audit committees, and as a Board Chair of multiple private companies.  Peggy is currently the Treasurer of the Iyengar Association of NY Board.

Ginny Shubert, Secretary

Virginia (Ginny) Shubert is a principal of SBPA, a public policy consulting group. She has over 30 years’ experience working as an attorney and policy analyst on housing, health and economic justice issues, and co-founded and acts as Senior Advisor on Policy and Research for the nonprofit Housing Works, which works to end the dual crises of homelessness and AIDS through advocacy, services and entrepreneurial businesses to support its efforts. Ginny began her study of Iyengar Yoga with Mary Dunn in 1987 and is proud to have participated in the creation of the Iyengar Yoga Association of Greater New York.

SUREŚH NĀIR

Sureśh’s vision and passion is to share and bring awareness of ancient Indian yogic principles, values, and knowledge to everyone. He believes that yoga can help people manage their mental and physical well-being, leading to healthier, happier, and more fulfilling lives. Drawing inspiration from the methods of B.K.S. Iyengar, Sureśh strongly believes in the institute’s mission and the potential towards achieving that vision.

Sureśh’s sādhanā started as a teenager learning meditation. Since then he has integrated Yoga and Vedantic principles and techniques into his lifestyle. As a trained yoga instructor, Sureśh shares his knowledge to his fellow co-workers leading Haṭha Yoga sessions. Additionally, he promotes mental well-being by combining lectures with practice sessions, emphasizing the role of knowledge to remove ignorance and fostering happiness.

Beyond his passion, Sureśh has a successful 30+ years of career in both financial and technological sectors, where he has focused on making impacts on customer satisfaction.

Ameesha Grewal

Ameesha Grewal is an entrepreneur in the food and retail space in India, who resides in New York City. With a deep passion for wellness and holistic living, she holds a diploma in Iyengar Yoga awarded by Ms. Geeta Iyengar (BKS Iyengar yoga Institute Pune) during her school years. Ameesha began her yoga journey as a teenager, learning under Ms. Swati and Mr. Ravi Chanchani at an all-girls boarding school in Dehradun, India. A firm believer in introducing Yoga to children early, she advocates for its transformative benefits. She is also a dedicated mother to her nine-year-old daughter, who is just starting her own Yoga journey at IYAGNY.