An incredible journey
Sanjay Bhatt was born in a Christian missionary hospital in Southern India during a time when American immigration policy was aimed at recruiting foreign doctors, engineers and scientists. Swaddled in his mother's arms, he arrived in the United States when he was less than two months old.
He grew up in Texas and got hooked on journalism in high school. The Houston Chronicle recruited him for a minority student internship program and recognized him with an award. He went on to graduate with a bachelor's degree from Duke University in Durham, N.C. In college, he reported and edited The Chronicle, the student daily, and broke a major scandal involving high-ranking student government officials. He also studied biology, chemistry and physics intending to become a doctor, but he decided to pursue his passion for journalism.
After an internship at The Wall Street Journal, he went on to work for The Times Leader in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., The Palm Beach Post in West Palm Beach, Fla., and The Seattle Times in Seattle, where he presently writes about the economy and finds cool uses for databases. He has served as national treasurer and vice president of the Association of Health Care Journalists and is president of the Asian American Journalists Association Seattle chapter. Both non-profits have recognized his leadership with awards.
One of his most surreal experiences was covering the nation's first confirmed anthrax case just weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The attacks initially targeted media companies. He later received a Knight fellowship at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where he mapped West Nile cases in Louisiana, crept into dark attics looking for rabid bats and learned about the politics of public health.
In 2007 Sanjay graduated from the independent filmmaking certificate program at the University of Washington and the following year launched a multimedia production company, Hot Chai Media.
When he's not dreaming about the next story he wants to tell, Sanjay enjoys cycling, cooking, reading, watching movies, and traveling with friends and family.
