An Amazing Man

There is an amazing man in our midst. A man so astonishing I start to tear up if I even begin to think of him. A man who has made everything possible for all of us on PulseWire. His name is Ankur Naik, he is World Pulse’s Technical Director. http://beta.pulsewire.net/user/2 . He is the man "behind the curtain", and our only technical team member. He is our technical genius, a magician we often say - and he has lovingly built and crafted the PulseWire vision from the day it was a small seed in our imaginations.

For the love of supporting unheard women’s voices, Ankur’s hands have sculpted every room in PulseWire, every button you press, every cell phone text you make to the site, and so much more. For over 4 years he has been there for World Pulse Media, building every pixel and byte of our websites, our emagazines and, now, PulseWire from the ground up. For many of those years he completely volunteered his time, working late every night on the side of his full time job. He would stay up until 3 or 4 in the morning coding, building, debugging, designing. Patiently listening. Searching for solutions to help. Passionate about equality and justice. Always determined to make PulseWire the best it can be to as a vessel for the dreams and visions of women – a place for connections to transform lives. In our meetings – often loud with womanish laughter and surging emotions, Ankur sits, graceful and intelligent, always at the ready with wise counsel and options for making PulseWire better and better.

I remember the first day I met Ankur so many summers ago for an interview. I thought he was quite sweet and stylish with his cap and dark frame glasses. But then he stunned me with his thorough analysis and proposal for what was possible technically for World Pulse. I can’t believe that I did not know then that one of the most fortunate meetings of my life had just happened. I realize now that I had encountered a divine being that would alter my own life forever. And since that day, Ankur has ALWAYS been there, for that call late at night or at the crack of dawn if the site is down, or some other technical emergency arises. Just yesterday PulseWire was sluggish and freezing in the am (a rocky time for night-owl Ankur to be awake) and within minutes of me noticing it, he announces that PulseWire is running out of data space because our community is growing so fast, and the voices and comments just keep coming! And within the day we have more memory, the site is refreshed and ready for 1,000s more.

Ankur, with quiet grace, helps to hold and nurture the space that surrounds all of us, online and offline. There is not a member of our team (all women might I add) that does not adore working with him, delighted by his love of 80’s dance music, his love of his dog Mazzy, his quirky sense of humor, his dependability, and most especially his faith and belief in all of us to make this dream come true for women and men around the world.

Every day Ankur reminds me of how committed, how transformational, and valiant a man can be – an unflagging force, a rock, strengthening the movement for women’s empowerment – for all of us, women and men. He is a model and friend to other men, many who are finding their way and their voice. A true partner and ally – a visionary and a leader. No matter which way you look at it -- Ankur’s THE MAN!!

We love you Ankur.