English தமிழ்

 

Preethaa Ganesh

Vice President, Vels Group of Institutions

Ms. Preethaa Ganesh is a dynamic management professional with a vision to redefine Indian education to globally acclaimed standards and make India a knowledge power by providing premium yet affordable education to all segments of the society. As Vice President on Vels Group of Institutions, she manages operations of the Vels group of schools comprising 43 institutions, 36000 students and 6000 staff in India, Singapore and UK.

“It is in our power to create a world in which all children have access to good education.”

She has been instrumental in devising the internationally acclaimed curriculum of "Kindle Kids" for children in Pre-school, introducing an innovative learning methodology that is fun and also kindles the inquisitive nature in the tiny tots from an early age. The success of the curriculum is the international campus in Singapore, that speaks volumes about the engrossment shown by children to see the school as a place that evokes their enthusiasm and to be there every single day of the year. Her next endeavour now is to take it out to as many places as possible within our country by establishing a strong franchise network.

Arun Krishnamurthy C

Founder, Environmentalist Foundation of India

Arun Krishnamurthy is an Indian environmental activist who has initiated the campaign of cleaning various lakes across India. He is known for founding the Environmentalist Foundation of India (EFI) 2011 based in Chennai which has its branches in 18 states and other cities such as Hyderabad, Delhi and Coimbatore.

“Environment conservation is No Choice, No Compulsion, It's Common Sense.”

Arun, with the organisation has been successful in cleaning at least 169 lakes in the country and having worked in Google before quitting the job to dedicate voluntarily. He was chosen as among the five people for prestigious Rolex Awards for Enterprise award in 2012 for scientific lake restoration in Chennai.

Chitra Chander Shekhar

Consultant, Public health specialist.

Chitra Chander Shekhar is a public health expert and a consultant, who has a strong voice for issues surrounding disability. As an engineer she understand technology and as a public health expert I understand #healthforall and #disabilityhealthmatters She actively advocates and works towards strongly building an inclusive and responsible society.

“It's time we unlearn "being ignorant" and practice “inclusion”. #Disability Inclusion benefits all!”

Apart from her professional designation, Chitra is involved with multiple NGOs to create awareness around accessibility. She is a strong believer of #healthforall.

Varsha Rajabaskar

Ulavisai- Managing Director, Co-founder and Psychologist

Varsha Rajabaskar completed her Bachelor's of Science in Psychology from M.O.P Vaishnav College for Women and Masters in Clinical Psychology from Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education. She worked as a socio-emotional skill trainer for students from high-risk backgrounds for about two years. She has facilitated sessions on the Adolescent Mental Health Promotion Programme for Counsellors under SIMHA, TISS in Collaboration with the National Health Mission, Government of Tamil Nadu.

“I believe that advocating for Human Rights is a responsibility that comes with being a Mental Health Professional. Mental Health service providers have to be feminist in order to provide accessible and sustainable services.”

An enthusiastic researcher, Varsha has conducted an extensive six-month experimental study as her Master's thesis. The study included providing one-on-one Career Counselling for 30 High School Students from diverse backgrounds. For her ever-growing aspiration to work towards preventive and promotive mental health, she has initiated "Ulavisai" to sensitize Mental Health in Tamil Nadu. She takes a strength-based approach in practice and has been engaging with adolescents, young adults and families as a Counsellor. She actively facilitates sessions under Project Uyirmei and has engaged with 300+ participants covering various topics under mental and sexual health education. Apart from Ulavisai, Varsha is leading Mental Health Initiatives for Emote, Chennai. She continues to research, train, and equip herself with knowledge in the field of mental and sexual health.

 

Kripesh Ram

Founder, Urai Madras

Kripesh Ram is a social entrepreneur focusing on sustainable fashion, body positivity and human rights. He is the founder of Urai Madras, a slow fashion brand that works with waste from leather industries to create upcycled sustainable clothing.

“Being sustainable shouldn't come at the cost of poor design and lack of functionality.”

Urai is on a mission to make the world greener. They are creating functional and sustainable products worked on by local craftsmen that last through the age of a generation. The purpose here is to lead a creative movement against excessive waste generated in the leather industry, by connecting creativity to sustainability on ethical grounds, which runs at the core of everything they do.

Kripesh and his team work with a rigorous belief to make a difference in avenues of climate change and sustainability. They also believe that being sustainable shouldn't come at the cost of poor design and lack of functionality. They have designed products to be inclusive of all body types without compromising on aesthetics and functionality.

Athrukshna Balakrishnan

Girl Up Tamil Nadu Coalition, President

Athrukshna Balakrishnan is a 19 year old youth gender equality advocate from Coimbatore. She is currently a sophomore pursuing Production Engineering at PSG College of Technology. She serves as the Secretary for Girl Up Fembots, Coimbatore and is the President of the Girl Up Tamil Nadu Coalition.

Girl Up, is an initiative of the United Nations Foundation, to advance girls’ skills, rights and opportunities to be leaders. Athrukshna has organised activations, advocacy campaigns and awareness drives at Girl Up focused on the areas of Sustainable Menstruation, Ending Violence Against Women, Climate Change and Mental Health. Her recent projects that she spearheads includes Project FinancHER, A comprehensive Financial Literacy toolkit, to help empower young girls and women achieve financial independence.

“It’s not about you. It’s about how inclusive you are. Being inclusive transcends the concept of equality. Inclusivity acknowledges the intersections present and helps us address issues better.”


Athrukshna also works as a Social Media Manager and Copywriter at a Marketing firm based in Mumbai. She is a TEDx speaker and is an active participant in youth forums and collectives. She volunteers with various organisations in Coimbatore and believes in the power of youth to create tangible change in our community.

 

Shreyas Ashok Kumar

Project Statecraft - Vice President, Data Analytics

Shreyas Ashok Kumar is the Vice President of Data Analytics at Project Statecraft where he works on building the data analytics vertical at the organisation to move towards data-driven research and decision-making.

He was a Legislative Assistant to Members of Parliament (LAMP) Fellow where he worked with a Lok Sabha MP providing extensive research support including but not limited to drafting speeches, questions, private member's bills, and other constituency-related work. He is passionate about youth inclusion in policy and solution-based research backed by data analysis.

Sanjana Vijay

Co-Founder, Sukha Education Foundation

Sanjana Vijay is the co-founder of Sukha Education foundation: and NGO that focuses on bridging the gap between Education and Employment. The goal is to provide students with access to quality education, and with the agency of English communication as a tool to achieve their personal and professional goals.

“Striving towards ensuring quality education for all, so that we can hopefully make a better tomorrow for everybody.”

Along with running Sukha, Sanjana is also passionate about her work in the development sector in the sphere of improving access to credit, and overall development of MSMEs specifically with regards to women entrepreneurs in developing economies.

 

Varshini Murali

Sukha Education Foundation, Partnerships and Outreach officer

Varshini Murali works as the Partnerships and outreach officer at Sukha Education foundation, where they bridge the gap between education and employment by teaching communicative english to individuals from all walks of life. In addition to this she works as the Program Manager with a non-profit that works in STEM education, MakerGhat, where they implement vocational education to government schools and disadvantaged communities by outsourcing our curriculum, training and maker kits.

"Education goes well beyond quantitative assessments and measurable outcomes"

Previous to this experience in the Non-Profit sector, she received her Masters in Education Policy from the University of Warwick where she worked part-time as a Member Engagement Coordinator with the Association of Commonwealth Universities, a London-based government organisation that primarily focuses on the SDG4 - equal and accessible quality higher education for all through government grants and commonwealth scholarships.

Adrian Anto Isaac

A Keralite by blood and Banaglorean by heart, Adrian Isaac (He/Him) is a graduate in Finance from Christ University Bangalore. He did his schooling is the small town of Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu. Growing up Adrian was highly vocal about issues that he held dear to him. Passionate about serving the country, Adrian has dreamt of becoming a civil servant and joining the Indian Foreign Services. He is part of the LGBTQIA Community and has had his own journey of struggles, battles and gradual acceptance. Having spent most of his adult life in a conservative little town, Self acceptance was a struggle in itself, That is precisely the reason why he is so passionate about advocating Equality, Acceptance and Self Growth.