VISHNU SWAMINATHAN
- Founder President

Vishnu, a lifelong entrepreneur, is our Co-Founder.

He has brought several ideas to life over his professional career – both in the for-profit and non-profit worlds. During the late ’90s, he co-founded two internet technology companies in Singapore. Both the companies were based on ideas that were ahead of their times – Artificial intelligence and Machine learning and another a fin-tech business. One of the companies was acquired in the early 2000s and then he discovered his deep interest in social development.

In the non-profit space, he worked with Ashoka as a Leadership Group Member for over a decade and led multiple teams across South Asia, South East Asia and at the Global office. His work on affordable housing, enabled the creation of over 15,000 homes across India – is now a separate organization called the Indian Housing Federation. Similarly, his work on malnutrition has led to the creation of Nourishing Schools Foundation.

He is passionate about creating large scale social change using hybrid business models.

ARCHANA SINHA
- Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder

Archana engaged large foundations and corporates to create collaborative initiatives at Ashoka for over 8 years. She co-founded Nourishing Schools while she was at Ashoka. She has been recognised as a contributor to the Yellow Books, published by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Government of India. These books aim to engage children with topics related to nutrition and food safety.

Before working with Ashoka, she was a management consultant with i3 Consulting, a firm founded by ex-McKinsey employees. She led engagements advising clients from industries such as financial services and e-commerce on business development, strategy and setting up new ventures. She’s been a journalist with The Asian Age and has contributed to online publications such as Your Story and Forbes. She was ranked #15 in YourStory’s list of 100 Digital Influencers of 2020. She has been awarded the Spotlight: Health scholarship by the Aspen Ideas Festival, USA and selected as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence by the SELCO Foundation. She has a Bachelors degree in Economics from Sophia College, Mumbai and a Masters degree in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru, University, New Delhi.

ASHWIN NAIK
- Director

Ashwin is the founder and serves on the board of Vaatsalya Hospitals, an award-winning social enterprise, focused on building and managing a network of hospitals in small towns in India. Vaatsalya is the largest hospital network of its kind in India, bringing affordable healthcare services to more than half a million undeserved customers per year, and is the winner of the Inaugural Porter Prize in India for value-based healthcare. In 2012, Ashwin also helped establish National Association of Social Enterprises in India, a leading industry body comprising of the leading social enterprises in India. Ashwin has been honored as a Young Global Leader (YGL) by World Economic Forum, Young Leader by Asia Society Asia 21, Senior Ashoka Fellow, and Ted India fellow. His passion is Social entrepreneurship, Healthcare access and innovation. Ashwin has a medical degree from Karnataka Medical College, Hubli and a Masters from University of Houston, Texas. In his spare time, you will find him watching movies or collecting random (and mostly useless) historical trivia.

DEEPA AMARNATH
- Associate Director

Deepa has ten years of experience in investment banking and two years of entrepreneurial experience in the food and beverage industry. She manages our partnerships with various social enterprises to expand the coverage of the Nourishing Schools programme. She has also developed content for our toolkit, to engage children as changemakers for their own nutrition.

She is passionate about sustainable agriculture and has been integral in strengthening the link between agriculture, nutrition and climate change in our work. She has a Bachelors and a Masters degree in Commerce from Mt.Carmel College, Bangalore.

DIVYANSHI HAZARIKA
- Associate

Divyanshi completed her Bachelors degree in Political Science from Sophia College, Mumbai. She has a diverse range of experiences, including working as a Content Creator Intern at Viral Fission, where she worked closely with brands such as Faces Canada, META Creator’s Day Mumbai, and Snapchat and curated content for them. She has served as a Campus Ambassador for Urbanic. She also held the position of Public Relations Head at Zisuku Villa and Resort, where she promoted the venue across social media platforms and organized events. Additionally, Divyanshi gained experience as a Digital Marketing Intern at Progotixil, where she helped organize events such as cloth donation drives.
Passionate about social media, Divyanshi has been involved in numerous extracurricular activities, including volunteering with the Teach Your Talent Programme and the Teach From Home Programme under the World Youth Council. Her commitment to her interests is further demonstrated by her achievements in powerlifting, where she has won gold medals in the U-52kgs Teen Category.
In addition to her practical experience, Divyanshi has strong technical skills in tools like Canva, InShot and iMovies. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Sophia College, Mumbai.

PRERNA VERMA
- Consultant

Prerna is driven to contribute to national prosperity through impactful policy solutions addressing key challenges at the grassroots. She leverages her expertise in policy analysis and data management to excel in project management and evaluation. As Campaign Manager at the Indian Political Action Committee, she contributed to successful government and political campaigns across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Bihar. She was also one of the youngest associates to induct and train over 120 Core Team Members and interns for state-wide surveys in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
She has a strong track record of managing high-level stakeholders, developing strategic state campaign plans, conducting extensive data analysis and visualization, and providing critical research insights. She has a Masters degree in Public Policy from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and English from Miranda House, University of Delhi.

NAGENDRA CHANDRASHEKAR
- Finance Manager

Nagendra has over 33 years of experience in accounts management and office administration. His key skills are preparing final accounts, income and expenditure statements, receipts and payments statements, balance sheets, and funding & project proposals. He manages interactions with the auditors for the financials and other related matters.

In his previous roles, he has liaised with banks for working capital proposals like packing credit loans, bill discounting facilities, term loans etc. He has also independently handled internal auditing, income tax and sales tax assessments, and matters relating to statutory compliances like income tax, exemptions proposals, FEMA, RBI, VAT, PF, PT, JDGFT, central excise and customs.

LEELAVATHY L
- Associate

Leelavathy is a proficient web developer and data science enthusiast with expertise in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and React JS. She has designed multiple data visualisation projects using Microsoft Power BI and Tableau Public, showcasing her ability to translate complex data into insightful dashboards. She holds certifications in AWS Cloud Practitioner, SQL for Data Science, and Machine Learning Onramp. She is passionate about utilising her skills to succeed and grow professionally, with a commitment to continuous learning and effective data analysis.
Leelavathy has a Bachelors degree in Computer Science from PSGR Krishnammal College for Women and a Masters degree in Computer Science from RVS College of Arts and Science.

SAUMYA SINGH
- Associate Director

Dr. Saumya has 19 years of experience in the social sector. She has functional expertise/experience across the entire value chain of individual fundraising, corporate partnerships and institutional grants – from lead generation, concepts, design, proposal writing, customer relationship management, servicing, vendor management, data management, etc. As a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) professional, she has been responsible for developing and implementing the company’s CSR strategy, identifying and prioritizing CSR initiatives, establishing partnerships with stakeholders, conducting research, managing budgets, organizing employee engagement activities, monitoring and evaluating the impact of CSR projects, maintaining records, representing the company in external forums, and collaborating with the senior team members to enhance brand visibility through fundraising and outreach activities.
Her leadership roles include Chief Manager of CSR at JK Paper and Director of Partnerships at E&H Foundation, among others. She has worked on projects related to children, women, livelihoods, and disaster risk reduction. She has a Ph.D. from Kurukshetra University, a Masters degree in Social Work from Delhi School of Social Work, and a BA from Lucknow University. She is passionate about making a positive social impact through strategic planning and effective stakeholder management.

ASTHA BAHUGUNA
- Business Development Lead

Astha is a development professional with over seven years of experience in operations, strategic partnerships, and team management. She has successfully launched new programs and led expansion initiatives, demonstrating her ability to manage high-powered stakeholders and execute complex projects.
In her previous role as the Director of Partnerships at Saarthi Education, Astha oversaw donor management, proposal writing, and program budgeting, while also leading communications and rebuilding the organization’s LinkedIn presence. She led the Saarthi-preneurship program, establishing financially viable educational models and generating employment for women. Astha has held positions at Godrej Agrovet Private Limited, Manas Foundation, and SRIJAN India. She holds a Masters degree in Development (Law, Governance & Policy) from Azim Premji University and a Bachelors degree in German Language from Doon University.