Edina Woman Honored For Work To End Mental Illness Stigma

EDINA, MN — An Edina woman who runs a local nonprofit to “create healthy, happy and harmonious South Asian communities” in the region was honored last month with the city’s 2021 Tom Oye Human Rights Award.

Sayali Amarapurkar is the executive director of AshaUSA, which engages and empowers South Asian women, men and children through culturally specific programs and services to build communities.

The organization also helps recent immigrants adapt to life in the U.S., in addition to planning activities for seniors, city officials said in a news release.

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Amarapurkar, a 20-year resident of the city, runs monthly virtual discussions on a wide range of topics, including breaking down the stigma surrounding mental illnesses; autism and early intervention; domestic violence; and infertility, officials said.

She also works as a cultural liaison for Edina Public Schools and hosts a Hindi-language podcast about parenting, the release states.

Amarapurkar said she was “humbled and honored” to win the 2021 Tom Oye Award, which is given out by the Edina Human Rights and Relations Commission to a person or group working to promote human relations and advance human rights.

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“It is heartwarming to see that the work I have been doing out of my own passions and interests got noticed,” Amarapurkar said in the release. “It is an affirmation of the work.”

“This is just the beginning,” she continued. “There is a lot of work to be done.”

The award was established in 2006 to recognize the work of the late Tom Oye, who helped start the city's Human Rights and Relations commission and served on it for more than 30 years.

A second-generation Japanese American, Oye served in the 100th Infantry Battalion of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team during World War II. He received the Immortal Chaplains Foundation's Prize for Humanity in 2003.

Since its inception 15 years ago, the Tom Oye Award has honored nearly two dozen people.

The Edina High School Black Student Union earned the 2020 Tom Oye Human Rights Award for creating the "Seeds of Change" public art installation, which showcased messages of inclusion and racial justice along West 50th Street in downtown Edina last summer.