Jay Sobhraj | Source | Founder at Zara Realty

Jay Sobhraj was born in Guyana in 1948. He is one of 10 siblings and the son of a rice farmer. Jay Sobhraj currently is the Senior Vice President of Zara Realty, leading operations and renovations across the company’s apartment buildings. After spending 14 years working as a professional engineer in Guyana and Abu Dhabi, Jay co-founded Zara Realty with his two brothers Ken and George, bringing his expertise in engineering, field operations, and leadership that fostered lasting relationships to the helm of the company. Jay knows what truly drives success: it’s how well you communicate, show respect, and learn from others.

Jay unofficially formed The Jay and Sylvia Sobhraj Foundation in 2007, and officially registered it in 2018 He built a team of professionals to envision, plan, and execute projects to further support educational programs in a variety of neighborhoods. Over the course of the last decade, the foundation has established ten state of the art computer centers and four libraries. All of the libraries along with seven of the computer centers are located in his native country of Guyana with the remaining computer centers located in NYC. Additionally, the foundation has partnered with various governmental organizations to provide free computer training to thousands of students.

The foundation has also provided scholarships and specialized test preparation courses to students in both Guyana and New York. In addition to the educational support, the foundation has also donated sports equipment to the Guyana Police Force and other local community based organizations in an effort spearhead community wellness. Jay is a Chartered Engineer and member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers in the United Kingdom. He holds a diploma of Mechanical and Production Engineering from Polytechnic of Central London and a diploma of Mechanical Engineering from Middlesex Polytechnic of Central London, England.