Team
Trustees
Manju Kuchhal, Managing Trustee
Manju Kuchhal started her career in software development at Tata Consultancy Services. After 8 years there, she moved on to support Dhwani Foundation in developing technology solutions for NGOs.
She works closely with NGOs to identify operational areas where technology can be leveraged, engage with relevant solution providers and help develop effective solutions.
Manju has a post graduate degree in Computer Applications from LD College of Engineering, Ahmedabad.
S Sivaguru, Secretary
An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Science, has been in the international IT products and services industry since 1980 and has played various senior leadership roles.
His professional interests include: personal and organizational excellence, knowledge management, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Dr S Rajagopalan, Trustee
Dr S Rajagopalan heads the Innovation Centre at IIIT-B. A veteran in the social-tech space and an Ashoka Fellow, Dr Rajagopalan was the CEO of Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology from 1982 to 1993. He co-founded Technology Informatics Design Endeavour (TIDE), a non-profit development society for innovating social-tech products. As Chairman of TIDE, he was among the four finalists of Social Entrepreneur of India award (2006), and one of the 50 pioneers of India chosen by India Today magazine (2008). TIDE received the International Ashden Award in 2008.
Dr Rajagopalan holds a BTech degree from IIT Delhi, PGDM from IIM Bangalore and PhD from IIT Kanpur.
Pramod Kulkarni, Trustee
Pramod has been associated with the social sector for over three decades, holding senior management positions in leading NGOs, including PRADAN (1984-1995), iVolunteer (2000-2010) and Prerana (1990- 2012). He is the founder of SAATHI, a pan-India NGO that reintegrates runaway children with their families. With a passion for supporting economically-challenged meritorious students, Pramod has been actively involved with organizations such as Vidyaposhak and initiatives like Prerana Nurture Merit, apart from volunteering in government schools.
Pramod has an MSc degree from MS University, Baroda, and a PGDM from IIM, Ahmedabad.
Srikrishna Sridhar Murthy (Krishna), Trustee
Krishna is the co-founder and CEO at Sattva Consulting, responsible for the overall strategic direction, growth and impact of the organisation. Over the last decade, Krishna has been working with the leadership of global foundations, social organisations and corporates to design and scale their social impact initiatives. Krishna leads many collective impact initiatives across different themes like water, education, livelihoods and is an active member of the CII National Committee on Sports.
Krishna started his career as an early member of Dell R&D in India and was the Founding Partner of Longhouse Consulting, a boutique executive search firm. Krishna is an alumnus of BITS, Pilani and INSEAD and serves on the advisory board of multiple social impact and technology start-ups.
Krishna Kumar, Trustee
Krishna Kumar has extensive experience in Sales, Sales Management, Operations, Global Client Relations and Management Consultancy across industries. Having spent most of his career in early stage startups, he has had the opportunity to set up new centres and engagements for companies like UBICS, Page Point Motorola and GECIS/Genpact across multiple geographies. His key skills include setting up and scaling operations, bridging gaps between front and back ends, process improvement and working with diverse teams. KK is an alumnus of XLRI, Jamshedpur.
Advisory Board
Rajiv Kuchhal
Rajiv has over 30 years of management experience in IT, BPO and ITeS industries, with a long stint at Infosys. He was the COO of OnMobile Global Limited and a co-founder of Progeon Limited. Rajiv is an active angel investor and mentor to multiple startups in the social enterprise and technology space. He has served as a Venture Advisor at TVS Capital Funds and is a Non-Executive Independent Director of Expleo Solutions. He is also a general partner at Exfinity Fund and a Mentor at IIMB NSRCEL Social Incubation Programme. He has a B.Tech. from IIT Delhi.
MJ Aravind
MJ Aravind has over 30 years of global experience with large multinational corporations including Compaq, DEC, and Xerox in areas such as supply chain, sales and marketing, customer service, and field operations. Aravind was a co-founder and VP Operations of Daksh eServices, one of India’s earliest and largest independent BPO (Business Processing Organization) companies. Post Daksh, Aravind leveraged his operational experience and extensive network to help set up the India operations of Artiman Ventures, an early-stage Venture Capital firm.
In the last decade, Aravind has been extensively involved with the social sector in both executive and advisory capacity. He was on the Board of The Association of People with Disability for eight years. He is also an Advisor to the Disability NGO Alliance, Bengaluru.
Jayachandra B
Jayachandra comes with rich experience of over 40 years in the areas of Administration, Finance, Research, Training, HR and other fields. He brings insights from the Government, Research institutions, NGO, and Academic institutes.
He has served in various capacities, including that of senior management role and recently as an Advisor – Special Projects and New Initiatives at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for advanced Scientific Research.
He brings in wide range of experience, including Liaison with Public Relationship with different departments.
Ramesh Emani
Ramesh comes with over 40 years of professional experience and worked with many industry verticals like Banking, Telecom and Technology. He was CTO, Wipro and helped drive their innovation programmes, and also served as President, Wipro Technologies. He also served as President, Telecom and Product Engineering solutions, with business of about $1 Billion with about 19,000 people with operations in USA, Western Europe and Japan. Ramesh was a member of Wipro’s Corporate Executive Council.
He founded Insta Health Solutions, focused in providing complete hospital and clinic management software solutions for hospitals and clinics in emerging markets of India, Middle East, South East Asia and Africa. Ramesh is a board member of eMids Technologies.
Ramesh holds an M Tech from IIT Kanpur.
Ashish Patel
Ashish has spent 24 years in the corporate sector working with large brands like Godrej, Citibank etc. In 2014, he shifted to the social sector. He has previously worked with the Children’s Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA) as its CEO till mid-2021. Currently, he helps CMCA with strategic finance and he is also on the Board of Saahas, an NGO involved in waste management.
He is a Chartered Accountant and holds an MBA from SPJIMR, Mumbai.
Sonali Srivastava
Sonali is a seasoned development and management professional specializing in Organization Development (OD). With a wealth of experience, she leads, designs, and manages intricate change management interventions across diverse sectors, including corporate, government, and non-governmental organizations. As the founder and CEO of Anode Governance Lab, established in 2015, Sonali promotes OD and management principles to enhance the functioning of public institutions. She serves as a Director on the Board of Trickle Up India, Governing Council member of India Panchayat Foundation and contributes to the TIDE General body. She is an alumna of XLRI Jamshedpur and SOAS, University of London.
Harish Babu
Harish Babu is a seasoned professional with over 25 years of experience in the development sector, focusing on vulnerable groups such as women and children. He specializes in vocational training, water management, sanitation, and waste management. Harish has extensive expertise in skill development, rainwater harvesting, water quality testing, and solid waste management. He is known for his leadership in community mobilization, advocacy, lobbying, and networking. Harish’s notable achievements include implementing state-level programs, conducting workshops on sustainable practices, and spearheading initiatives for rural sanitation and resource conservation.
Yashodhamma P H
Yashodha, is the founder and the General Secretary of Munnade, Social Organisation amplifying the voices of garment workers. Hailing from the small village of Tumkur district, Karnataka, her life has been a testament to the transformative power of education and organisation. Her eight-year tenure as a tailor in a garment factory exposed her to the challenges faced by workers. She has been a strong advocate for better working conditions for the garment workers since then. Yashodha’s impact extends globally, presenting at international forums, including Cardiff University in the United Kingdom. She continues to fight for fair wages, safe conditions, and dignity for those often overlooked.
Executive Team
K N Gopinath, Executive Director
Gopinath has over 25 years of diverse experience in the social sector with a long stint at The Association of People of Disabilities (APD), as its Executive Director (Operations) in Bengaluru . He is the managing trustee of Motivation India, a subsidiary of the Motivation UK one of the leading international organisations in the field of wheelchair provisioning. Gopinath is also a sought-after resource person in the sector.
At Dhwani, he is responsible for the overall strategic direction, growth, and impact of the organisation. He has been working on developing innovative models that could enhance NGOs process and systems to increase visibility and scale of the grassroots organisations. He works very closely with the leadership of NGOs, Federations, and other key social sector players to promote credibility and accountability of social organisations.
Gopinath holds a post graduate degree in Social Work and is a Certified Common Purpose Graduate.
Vinaya Mallya, Asst. Director – Programmes
Vinaya has over two decades of experience much of it in the IT industry, and more recently in the social sector. She started her career with Infosys, where she spent a decade amassing technical knowledge and honing her management and customer relationship skills. She later founded a design services company for training and development of multimedia solutions. She was selected for Goldman Sachs-ISB sponsored – “10000 World Women Entrepreneurs Management Program” in 2011.
At Dhwani Foundation, Vinaya engages with NGOs to help them adopt technology platforms to smoothen their operations. She enables the customization and implementation of Goonjan MIS at NGOs and also manages the product road-map for Goonjan platform.
Jacob D’Souza, Program Head – N.Lite & DrishtE
Jacob comes with 16 years of rich experience in the development sector. He worked in the areas of rehabilitation of street children, research, organisation development at different organizations at various capacities. He has special interest in the field of social media, general admin, research and development.
He holds a post graduate degree in Social Work. His hobbies are reading, music and photography.
Nikil KP, State Head – Tamil Nadu
Nikil brings over 15 years of professional experience in office automation and digital printing sector. He has held various senior management roles, with skills in project management, production, and technical management. He has worked in across many continents in the area of sales, training, and dealership management of photocopiers and managed over 36 service providers in the Office automation products space across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka.
Nikil holds a Diploma in Electronics Production Technology. He also has completed his Masters in Social work from TNOU, Chennai.
Isan Magimaidoss, Deputy Director – Training & Helpdesk
Isan Magimaidoss brings over 30 years of professional experience in the social sector, specifically in child rights-focused community development. He has handled varied responsibilities such as programming, grant-making, strategic planning and development, partnership management, alliance building, capacity building, Programme monitoring and evaluation.
He has also actively engaged with partner organizations, NGO networks, academic and resource organizations and donor agencies in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. He has worked with Child Rights and You (CRY), Churches’ Council for Child and Youth Care (CCCYC), and Nightingales Medical Trust (NMT).
Isan holds a Master of Philosophy Degree (M. Phil) in Social Work from Christ University.
Sunita Suresh, Asst. Director – Central Functions
Sunita has over seventeen years of experience across industries. She has worked in finance management, MIS, credibility assurance, vendor management and other areas, across the social sector and corporates. Her area of expertise is in capacity building of staff to improve budget, planning, utilization and reporting of financials, partnership management, hiring, vendor conversations, project design and implementation.
Sunita served at various senior levels at Give India, TIDE India, and Make a Difference as well as Deutsche Bank, PepsiCo and other companies.
Sunita holds an MBA in Finance from ICFAI Business School, Bangalore and post graduate Diploma in Economics from University of Warwick, UK.
S C Monalisa – Manager – MIS & Technology
Monalisa has over 5 years of experience in understanding client requirement, building valuable customer relations, customer retention and upselling. She has worked in customer relations as well as technical operations and service.
She is a computer science graduate from Biju Patnaik University of Technology, Odisha
Praveen Kumar, Manager – Programme Implementation
Praveen has experience in resource mobilization, monitoring and reporting and research. He has a graduate degree in Economics, and has done an M.S.W (Community Development).
Praveen has worked in Childline India, where he coordinated with CHILDLINE partners across 8 districts, supporting capacity building and expansion. He has also served as Project Coordinator for the National Digital Literacy Mission.
Siddique Ahamed, Asst. Manager – N.Lite & DrishtE
Siddique has experience in project coordination and management.
Siddique has a Master’s in Clinical Psychology from Mysore University and worked in Saint John’s Research Institute as a Project Coordinator for over five years. His goal is to contribute to betterment of his workplace and Society.
Rolan Roy Dsouza , Graphic Design Executive
With a strong background in Mass Communication, Rolan comes with over 3 years of experience in designing magazines, collaterals, newspapers, handling social media, scripting, editing and creating digital advertisements. He has created several demo videos, awareness videos and 2D advertisements for public service segments. He is also a music enthusiast, expert in playing several western musical instruments and has been a music instructor for Sandesha Cultural academy in Mangalore.
He holds a postgraduate degree in Journalism and Mass communication.
Dhanashree , Asst. Manager – MIS & Technology
Dhanashree comes with over 6 years of experience as DEO in Regional Medical Research Centre and as a Data Analyst in Talent Acquisition team of Mindtree Limited.
She has a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from KLECET, Belgaum.
Mamatha Rajesh, Manager – MIS & Technology
Mamatha comes with 20+ years of experience in the IT sector providing expertise in Business operations and Client Interface Management. She has also played various roles including Development Management, Test Reporting, Defect database management and Design expertise. She has managed multiple teams and interacted with donors, educational institutes, and other groups.
She has completed her Master’s in Information Technology and Executive MBA in Information Technology.
Giridharan HC, Manager – Programme Implementation
Giridharan comes with 15 years of experience with Sales & Business Development. His expertise involves business development, recruiting channel partners, Cold Calling, Relationship Building & Management, Account Mapping, Negotiation & Closure, Implementing and maintaining Quality services.
In his track record with 5 companies, he has handled diverse customer Segments such as Retail, Wholesale, Service Professionals, Corporate, PSU and Channel Sales. He has served in with challenging assignments.
Abhishek Shivu, Manager – Finance & Compliance
With about 6.5 years of experience, Abhishek has worked as a Finance & Accounting Consultant for companies like Vizdom Outlooks and Vinyas Communications. He has also been through his CA Articleship training under A S Bohra & Co and B M Manjunath & Associates (BMMA).
Adept in corporate statutory filings, payroll processing, revenue tracking as well as office & employee management, Abhishek is experienced in analyzing data, consolidating & simplifying it for management reporting and aid decision making.
Mihir Mohanty – State Head – Odisha
Mihir has 22 years of experience in both the development and humanitarian field at the state and national levels, with about 10 years at the middle & senior levels of management.
He has worked in areas such as Inclusive education, child protection, integrated Disaster Risk Reduction, Water and Sanitation, Livelihood & food security, and urban poverty with organizations such as ActionAid International, Save the Children-UK, UNWFP, Aide-Et-Action, BvLF-Netherland, and PACS-DFID.
He has master’s in psychology from Utkal University, Bhubaneswar.
Lalitha Mohan – Sr. Manager – Donor Engagement & Alumni
Lalitha comes with over 25 years of experience in both corporate and social sector. With 15 years of experience in media and advertising field she moved into social sector, started Jwalamukhi Trust as it’s Co-founder. She is also the Co-founder of Citizens for Sustainability. She is active in various forums addressing citizen issues.
She holds master’s degree in Mass communication.
Usha G K – Asst. Manager – MIS & Technology
Usha is a Bio-Medical engineer with 3+ years of experience in Medical device management. She has worked at various capacities in technical as well as business development roles. She was a Project engineer at St. John’s Research Institute.
She has Completed B.E in Medical electronics from MVJ college of Engineering (VTU).
Harish TP – Programme Head, Updeshak
Harish possesses over 27 years of experience in Launching startups, Learning and Development, Sales & Marketing, Business Development, Team Management, with leading Insurance, NBFC, Telecom, and FMCG organizations.
He holds a Post graduate Diploma in Marketing from Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan Bangalore.
Vanitha Shree S – Asst. Manager – N.Lite
Vanitha has experience of 3+ years in various customer facing roles with Infosys and Concentrix. She also worked a Compliance and Finance manager at Vidyaniketan NGO.
She has completed her M.Com with Karnataka State Open university and also a Post graduate Diploma in in Business administration.
Preeti Pawar, Asst. Manager – MIS & Technology
Preeti comes with over 6 years of experience in both the Social sector & Corporate sector.
She has exposure working with the Tribal development department and with CSR cell of Chief minister’s Office of Government of Maharashtra on different social sector initiatives. She started her career with Cognizant Technology Solutions.
She holds graduate degree in Computer engineering from Maharashtra Institute of Technology at Pune.
Rachana Renukumar, Manager- Partnerships and Engagement
Rachana comes with over seven years of experience both in social sector as well as corporate. She has handled multiple roles in impact assessment, operations, project coordination, HR management and volunteer engagement.
She holds master’s degree in social work.
Rohini N – Trainer
Rohini has been in the development sector for about 15 years in various Project management roles. She has contributed to successful implementations, Partnerships management and Monitoring of Urban development and livelihood projects.
She holds a Masters in Social work.
Nivedita Senapati- Manager – Programme Implementation
Nivedita comes with 10+ years of project management experience in development sector having managed diverse teams. She has worked in the domains of Livelihood, MGNREGA, Land rights & FRA, Child & maternal health rights, ECCE and LGBTIQ+ rights.
She holds master’s degrees in Rural development and Clinical psychology.
Alin Naik- Trainer
Alin comes with 12+ years of experience working at the grassroots, intermediary and national -international level in the development sector. He has handled multiple project management roles and is adept in Program planning, Training, monitoring and evaluation tools.
Alin holds a master’s degree in social work.
Mr. Suresh Kumar Pradhan – Sr. Manager – Programme Implementation
Suresh is a social sector professional with more than 20 years of working experience in various managerial position and exposure in disability related programmes. He has successfully handled programmes implementations across Odisha in Livelihood, Disability and Community Development.
He holds a Master’s degree in Social work from Centre for Social Science & Research and a Post graduate Diploma in community Health Management.
Ranjit Kumar Sahoo- Master Trainer
Ranjit comes with diverse experience in the training, curriculum development, Institution building and project management roles. He has 23+ years of experience in the social sector delivering successful projects.
Ranjit holds a Master’s degree in social work from Utkal University of Culture, Odisha
Swatishree Maharana- Assistant Manager – Monitoring & Evaluation
Swatishree is a social sector professional with more than 6 years of experience working in Training, Capacity Building, project management and field research projects . She has exposure working in multiple projects in the domains of research, data management, monitoring and evaluation.
She holds a Master’s degree in Sociology from Sambalpur University and has Post Graduate Diploma in Corporate Social Responsibility.
Vinod Kumar – Asst. Manager – Enrolment
Vinod comes with 7 years of experience in Marketing and sales. He has worked in Education and Hospitality sectors.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer applications from Gulbarga University.
Latha Varadarajan- Manager – Finance & Administration.
Latha comes with 14 years of experience in Finance and Accounting. She has been associated with YWCA during which she digitized of accounting processes and also gained exposure to Fundraising activities.
She has completed her graduation in B.Com. She is pursuing her inter in ICWA.
Vijay Kulkarni – Sr. Consultant – VOICE (Federations Enablement)
Vijay brings in 4 decades of rich exposure working in working in Public, Private and Non-profit sectors and multi institutions.
Vijay has experience in Banking sector (Grameen Bank, Canara Bank), Entrepreneurship development (Rural Development and Self Employment Training Institutes-RUDSETIs), Micro Finance (BASIX), setting up NGO incubation centre (Development Resource centre), Starting NGOs (Vidyaposhak, Scope and RAPID), Education sector (Akshara Foundation, Azim Premji Foundation project and Centre for Educational innovations), Livelihood sector (Vrutti), Research & Consulting( Catalyst Management Services, BASIX Consulting and Vardaan Advisors). Vijay also headed UPDESHAK programme in Dhwani Foundation.
Vijay is a Post Graduate from Tata Institute of Social Sciences Mumbai. He has also done Management Education Programme (MEP) from IIM-Ahmedabad and PG diploma in Gandhian Studies.
Divitha PS, Sr. Manager – HR
Divitha comes with 18+ years of H.R. experience in IT, Corporate, Consulting and NGO sectors. She has managed end to end HR activities and developed expertise in Leadership hiring, Employee engagement & Counselling, policies & process building. During her stint with consulting organizations, she has managed multicultural clients from different sectors and various geographies, to name a few, Google- Singapore, Bombardier- UK, Cyient-USA, Saint Gobain & NIIT – India.
Divitha holds, PGDHRM from Symbiosis and is pursuing MA-Psychology from IGNOU.
Shreya Mazumdar, Asst. Manager – Marketing & Fundraising
Shreya comes with 5+ years of experience in fundraising. She started her career with UNICEF and worked with other prestigious organisations such as Don Bosco Organisation, Akshaya Patra Foundation, and Overseas Education Consultants. Her expertise involves corporate fundraising and multi-stakeholder management.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Miranda House, and a master’s degree in international relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University with an expertise in defense and strategic studies. She has also completed her Certificate Course in Clinical Counselling from Medvarsity.
Anangadev Singh, State Head – Jharkhand
Dr. Anangadev Singh comes with 17 years of program management experiences at national, state and grassroots levels. He has acquired multicultural and diverse exposure while working in 9 states of India. His multi-faceted expertise lies in Strategy Development & Program Management in Urban/Rural Development, Institutional Capacity Building & Training, to Child Rights & Child Protection, Education, Health & Nutrition, to Livelihood & Life-Skills, WASH, Women Empowerment, Research & Social Audit, SDGs, to Government Relations and Policy Advocacy etc.
He holds a Doctorate (PhD) in Social Work and a Master’s degree in social work (MSW), Journalism & Mass Communication (MJMC).
Debasis Rout – Executive – Finance & Admin
Debasis comes with 7 years of experience in Office & Project Administration. He has managed multiple data entry and management roles in his prior engagements.
He is a Science graduate from Utkal University, Odisha.
Kunnal Sunny – Manager – Programme Implementation
Kunnal has 13 years of experience with different organizations that are involved in women empowerment, health, livelihood generation, education, management information system, social mobilization, documentation & reporting. His strengths include project planning, budgeting, implementation, monitoring and project management. His dedication is towards upliftment of Bottom of the Pyramid, the vulnerable and the marginalized communities.
He is an Engineering Graduate and holds a Post graduation diploma in Rual Development from XISS.
Kumari Reshma Singh – Master Trainer
Reshma comes with 20+ years of working experience as social activist and multifaceted development professional. Her focus is on development related issues such as Equity, diversity and inclusion, gender equality, sexuality, movement and network building and strengthening women’s and other structurally excluded groups. She is an experienced trainer, and her core strengths are advocacy, Networking, Program Management, Stake holder engagement and management, Research & Communication etc.
She was recognized as a young Social worker by State Commission of Women with an excellence certificate in 2014.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in LLB and a Master’s degree in Rural Development & Human Rights.
Saket Kumar Mishra – Sr. Manager – Programme Implementation
He comes with 17+ years of working experience with different civil society organizations on child protection and women empowerment issues. His strengths include program planning & management and training on child protection issues.
He holds a Master’s degree in Sociology and a Diploma in Computer Application.
Satyam Shivam – Executive – Finance & Admin
Satyam comes with over 3 years of experience in finance, administration, and data management roles within the Development Sector and Distribution domains. As a Development Organizer, Satyam has managed various responsibilities related to compliance and financial reporting. He is proficient in accounting, preparing financial MIS, facilitating audits, and handling diverse administrative tasks. Satyam holds a Master of Commerce degree from B.B.M.K.U Dhanbad.
Ayyappan – Manager – Federation Enablement Program
Ayyappan is a development professional with more than 13 years of experience in the Social Sector. His work experience includes his association with, Inclen Trust International, Bosco, Child Line, & Buzz India Trust, and Abhivrudhi Society. He specializes in leading social welfare programs aimed at empowering communities, with expertise in designing, implementing, and managing them effectively.
He holds a master’s degree in Social Work, from Roshini Nilaya School of Social Work, Mangalore.
Vijaynidhi Ramakrishna – Programme Head – Governance
Vijay comes with over 34 years of experience and has held multiple leadership roles in driving Business Development, Corporate Strategy, Sales & Business Operations, in various organizations such as Motorola, Gallup and IBM. His expertise spans across P&L management, Business Transformation, Sales Operations, Process Optimization and Quality. He is a seasoned trainer in Sales training, team performance training, communication training, strengths based training and soft Skills training.
Shruthi B R, Coordinator – Programme Implementation
Shruthi has 7 years work experience of which 5 years are in the Social Sector. Her previous association was with DNA as a costal coordinator In her free time, she enjoys writing and reading novels and poetry and you can find some of her writings on a digital platform called ‘Pratilipi’. She has bagged ‘Rajya Viveka Yuva Prashasti’ for writing in the year 2023-24.
Shruthi has done her Bachelor of Business Administration from Mangalore University, Karnataka. She joins us as Co-ordinator, HelpDesk, DrishtE
Madhan Kumar B, Coordinator – Programme Implementation
Madhan has 2.5 years work experience with Magicbus India Foundation where he worked as a ‘Childhood Academic Educator’ and also as a ‘Livelihood Centre Coordinator’. Madhan has completed his Bachelor in Computer Application from Tagore Arts and Science College, Chrompet, Tamil Nadu. In his free time he enjoys playing cricket and exploring new places.
Madhan joins the Dhwani Foundation team at the Tamil Nadu office, as Co-ordinator, HelpDesk, Niranthara Lite Programme.
Dibyapal Pradhan, Manager – Marketing & Fund Raising.
Dibyapal has 24 years of professional experience having worked in National, International and Grassroots organizations in the development sector. He has been mainly involved in the fields of Livelihoods Development, Fund raising, and Programme Management in Odisha, working with NGOs and their communities. Having a keen interest in organic farming, he has built rapport with more than 300 farmers from different corners of Odisha, Chattishgarh and West Bengal. Dibyapal has done his Masters in Social Work from Utkal University, Odisha.
He joins us at the Dhwani Odisha office as as Program Manager – Marketing & Fund Raising.
Pavan Kumar Varma, State Head, Andhra Pradesh
Pavan Kumar has over 19 years of experience in the Social Sector working at State and National level organisations in the fields of Child Development, Health, Employment, Entrepreneurship, and Education. His main strengths lie in Project Management, Business Development, Developing Pedagogy and Curriculum, Assessment & Certification, Monitoring, Evaluation, Documentation and Research.
He has worked with Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Plan India, Ernst & Young as well as a few Grassroots NGOs, handling multiple projects in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Odisha. He has also worked with NACO, AP & Telangana SACS, Save The Children and Charities Aids Foundation in organising and assessing post programme impact in their project locations.
Pavan has completed his Master’s in Social Work from Sacred Heart College, Tirupattur, Tamil Nadu, and an MBA from ISBM, Pune, Maharashtra. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. from Sacred Heart College, Tirupattur and an MA. Psychology from Nagarjuna University, Andhra Pradesh.
He joins Dhwani Foundation as State Head, Andhra Pradesh & Telangana.
Ranjita Jena, Manager-Updeshak Programme.
With over 12 years experience working in the Social Sector both with National and International NGOs, Ranjita’s areas of expertise encompass monitoring, evaluation, and documentation. She has worked largely in the education and health fields with a focus on skill development and strengthening self-help groups (SHGs). Her professional journey has taken her to the organisations like CASA (Churches Auxiliary for Social Action), World Vision India, People’s Cultural Center, Darbar Sahitya Sansad, and enabled her to work in various locations, including Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Gurgaon, Delhi, Bhubaneswar (Odisha) and parts of Madhya Pradesh.
She has done her Master’s degree in Social Work (MSW) from the National Institute of Social Work and Social Sciences (NISWASS), Bhubaneswar, Odisha; and a Bachelor’s in Education (B.Ed.) from Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana.
Arpita Singh, Asst. Manager – Social Media
With 8 years of experience in Communications and Filmmaking, Arpita has joined the Communications Team at Dhwani Foundation. She has directed four documentaries, including the award-winning ‘Mangalamukhi – The Eunuch Blessings’. In addition to her storytelling skills, Arpita is a skilled trainer and, from 2020 to 2023, worked with Amity University as a trainer, teaching digital marketing and filmmaking.
She later worked with Voicelogue for a year, handling communications. Arpita holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, a PGD in Electronics and Filmmaking, and an MBA in Digital Marketing.
Arpita joins the Dhwani Foundation team at the Bangalore office as Assistant Manager – Social Media.
Srikant Bichal, Asst. Manager – Dhwani Alumni Network
Srikant Bichal has joined Dhwani Foundation as the Assistant Manager – Dhwani Alumni Network in Bangalore. He holds a Master’s degree in Social Work and brings with him 8 years of experience in Corporate Social Responsibility. Originally from Raichur, Srikant comes from a family of agriculturists. His parents are farmers, and he has three siblings – two married sisters and an elder brother working as an HR professional.
Donson DSouza, Executive – MIS & Technologies
Donson DSouza has joined Dhwani Foundation as Executive – MIS & Technologies in Bangalore. He holds a degree in Computer Applications from St. Aloysius College, Mangalore, and brings with him over six years of experience in technology and operations.
Professionally, Donson has worked as a full-stack developer for four years, followed by two years as a Processing Coordinator and Tech Support at Global Services Private Limited. Prior to joining Dhwani Foundation, he worked at Reliance Retail in Bangalore as a Junior Associate.
Divya Jyoti Tigga, Sr. Trainer, Niranthara Classic Program
Divya, from Jharkhand, has 19 years of experience in program leadership, team management, and training in sectors like education, child protection, women’s empowerment, and community development. She holds dual degrees—Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Law—along with a Master of Arts in Human Rights Education from Ranchi University and is currently pursuing further studies through distance learning.
Divya has extensive experience in risk identification, harm prevention, and training, focusing on the rights of women, children, and marginalised groups, particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups in Jharkhand.
Bharathi Dasan A, Executive – MIS & Technologies
Bharathi Dasan has joined Dhwani Foundation as Executive – MIS & Technologies in Chennai office.
Bharathi, originally from Thiruvanamalai, was brought up in Chennai. He holds an M.Sc. in Computer Science from Madras University and brings 3.5 years of experience as a Data Analyst, having worked with Infosys and ACE.
In addition to his data analysis skills, Bharathi has strong proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite and has led projects like developing a Telegram bot and creating automation applications using Google Apps Script.
Govindan Soundararajan, Consultant – Training/Monitoring & Evaluation
Govindan Soundararajan has joined Dhwani Foundation as a Consultant for Training/Monitoring & Evaluation.
Originally hailing from Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu—often referred to as the “Temple Town”—Govindan’s journey spans across various cities in India. Though born in Chennai, his academic pursuits took him to Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kharagpur. He holds an M.Sc. from the University of Hyderabad and an M.Tech. from IIT Kharagpur.
Govindan brings with him close to 30 years of experience in the tech industry, having worked extensively on both hardware and software products.