About Us
At Synergies Work, we believe that every person has a gift to offer the world – a gift of hand, a gift of heart, or a gift of head.
Our Mission
Synergies Work’s mission is to inspire people with disabilities to discover their talents and turn them into sustainable businesses.
We create opportunities, help level the playing field for equal talent, and close the gaps in social capital among the disability community.
Our Tentets
- End to End Business Solutions: We are the only organization that provides resources, mentorship, and an ongoing structure to support entrepreneurs with disabilities for 2 years.
- We Redefine labels: We firmly believe that EVERY person has a gift. We provide a “holding environment” / a safe space for them and their businesses.
- We are Bridge Makers: We are as strong as our relationships. Our work is focused on bridging the gap between corporations and business leaders with & without disabilities.
Our Purpose
To build one world where people with disabilities belong. In reality there are two worlds that coexist – one for people with disabilities and one without.
We are working to bridge the systemic social & economic gaps that exist between disable people and the general population.
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
We believe in always being person-centered and leading with love, respect, and patience. Human dignity, fairness, valuing diversity and equitable opportunities for everyone to shine are at the core of Synergies Work.
We embrace and encourage employee differences in age, color, ability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, veteran status, and other characteristics that make each person unique.
Synergies Work’s diversity initiatives are applicable—but not limited—to our practices and policies on recruitment and selection; compensation and benefits; terminations; and the ongoing development of a work environment built on the premise of gender and diversity equity that encourages and enforces:
- Respectful communication and cooperation between all employees
- Teamwork and employee participation, permitting the representation of all groups and employee perspectives
- Work-life balance through flexible work schedules to accommodate employees’ varying needs
- Employer and employee contributions to the communities we serve to promote a greater understanding and respect for the diversity
All employees of Synergies Work have a responsibility to treat others with dignity and respect at all times. All employees are expected to exhibit conduct that reflects inclusion during work, at work functions on or off the work site, and at all other company-sponsored or hosted events.
Our Board
Aarti Sahgal
Aarti is the founder & CEO of Synergies Work. As a parent of a child with Down syndrome she is constantly challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations that excludes people with intellectual disabilities from living their true potential. In the past 15 years she has worked as a diversity consultant in the disability field. Before that she worked in the marketing & advertising field for 14 years.
Ashish Thakur
Ashish Narayan Thakur is a recovering global banker, failed tech startup and currently an Executive Director and Board Member of the Atlanta CEO Council (ACEO) connecting later stage product and technology CEOs to capital, customers and talent. Ashish has extensive private company board experience advising companies up to $100mm. Before ACEO, he raised several million dollars to grow the Atlanta chapter of TiE Global, one of the world’s largest entrepreneurial organizations.
Arjun Sahgal
Arjun Sahgal is the general manger at Future Labs, NYU. Arjun Sahgal is the General Manager for Investments and Programming at Future Labs and a board member at Synergies Works. He started his career at Silicon Valley Bank before transitioning to co-founding his startup Eazel. After growing Eazel, he exited in 2019 and started working on the other side of the table at the Future Labs Accelerator. Outside of work, Arjun is a marathoner, wannabe triathlete, and squash player. Synergies Work is close to his heart as his younger brother, Angad who has Down syndrome.
Steven Hartman
Steve Hartman is currently vice president at GE Gas Power focused on decarbonization. Steve has more than 34 years of experience in the power generation industry for both GE and a startup, with a career focused on building teams to grow businesses by providing solutions to customers. Steve is currently on the Advisory Board for the Engineering Department at University of Georgia, with past board support for Georgia Tech Strategic Energy Institute, Cobb County Chamber, and GE Inspection Robotics. Steve tries to live by his mother’s advice “Work hard, be good, help others”, and is excited to help others with disabilities learn and grow and realize their goals of being an entrepreneur.
Athar Khan
Athar Khan is the Director, International Specialty Sales, Delta Airlines. He oversees Delta’s relationship with accounts in Asia Pacific, Latin and EMEAI Consolidator business, within the United States. Athar and his team coordinate joint selling activities with their partners AeroMexico, Air France/KLM, Virgin Atlantic, Korean Air, and China Eastern. Athar is a graduate of Marlboro College in Vermont and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and sociology.
Peter Baron
Although Peter began his career in NYC, he ultimately found his way to the sunny South and made it home. True to our agency name, he is one connected guy—some think he knows pretty much everyone in the Atlanta tech community. While Peter drives agency direction, he also consults on accounts and offers campaign strategy. Fun fact: You may not realize it since he dropped the accent years ago, but Peter is an expatriate of the U.K.
Zen Kramer
Zen Kramer is a Packaging Engineer turned marketer with a keen interest for innovation, data-driven insights, and sustainability. He has a relentless passion to help brands and organizations create stories worth sharing and deliver consumer-centric solutions that drive business results. Zen is a servant leader and inclusion champion that believes in empowering change through volunteering, education, and mentorship.
Alpa Sutaria
Alpa Sutaria is currently the Vice President and General Manger, Sustainability for The Coca-Cola Company in North America. Over a 30-year career with Procter & Gamble, Deloitte Consulting and the Coca-Cola system, Alpa has followed her passion to solve challenging problems and create sustainable business growth while fostering an inclusive working culture. She believes deeply in the power to create positive change by supporting and empowering people to help themselves.
Carrie Stimmel
Carrie Stimmel is Executive Vice President, Advertising Sales and Partnerships at NBCUniversal. In this position, Stimmel leads sales teams managing national advertising and partnerships. Stimmel is a graduate of Michigan State University and received a B.A. in Telecommunications. She resides in Pelham with her husband and is most proud of their 9 year old son and his best friend, their dog Ruby. As the mother of a son on the Autistic Spectrum she is very passionate about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
