Founder-Chairperson
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
Advisory Board
Team
Department
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All
Administration
Classroom Instruction and Practice
EdTech
Finance
Government Partnerships
IPEL
Partnerships and New Initiatives
Private Schools Governance
Public Governance
Research and M&E
State FLN Projects - Central
State FLN Projects- Bihar
State FLN Projects- Maharashtra
State FLN Projects- Odisha
State FLN Projects- Punjab
State Reform - Central
State Reform - Gujarat
State Reform - Madhya Pradesh
State Reform - Uttar Pradesh
State Reform- Haryana
Strategic Communication
Talent Management & Organizational Development
Abhimanyu Maheshwari
Abhimanyu Maheshwari
Project Lead
,EdTech
Abhimanyu works in the EdTech team where he currently focuses on improving and scaling various edtech products catering to the FLN segment to ensure continued learning at home. Prior to CSF, he worked with 321 Education Foundation after completing the Teach For India (TFI) Fellowship in 2017. At 321, he collaborated with more than 30 low-cost private schools across Mumbai and Bangalore to improve classroom instructional practices and student mastery in grades K-3. As a TFI Fellow, Abhimanyu taught 37 students in grades 2 and 3 in Ahmedabad. He holds an MBA in Strategy from Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and an undergraduate degree in engineering from NMIMS, Mumbai. In his free time, he enjoys watching Formula 1, exploring the best food joints in town and travelling to new destinations.
Abhishek Poddar
Abhishek Poddar
Project Manager
,Classroom Instruction and Practice
Abhishek works in the Classroom Instruction and Practice team as a project manager, overlooking the monitoring of FLN programs in specific demonstration districts. Prior to CSF, he managed and led multiple CBSE projects including CTET, working in the Government Project team. Prior to CSF, Abhishek worked with TFI and 321 Education Foundation. At 321, he worked as a Kaizen Manager on the monitoring aspects of the school strengthening/teacher training programs. During his time as a TFI fellow, he taught Maths to 210 students in a government school and iTeach school across 2 years. Abhishek is a Commerce graduate from National PG College, Lucknow University. During his free time, he can be found solving puzzles, number problems, and travelling.
Abhishek Singh Chauhan
Abhishek Singh Chauhan
Project Consultant
,IPEL
Abhishek works with the State FLN Projects team in Bihar, supporting the state in the implementation of the FLN (Foundational Literacy and Numeracy) program. Abhishek has had a diverse experience working in the Social Impact sector prior to CSF, including, among others, Mantra4change, Educate Girls, and Gandhi Fellowship. Abhishek holds a Masters’s degree in Education from Azim Premji University, Bengaluru. Abhishek is an avid reader who loves to read and know anything and everything that comes under the Sun.
Achin Sharma
Achin Sharma
Project Manager
,Government Partnerships
Achin works with the Government Partnerships team on the Assessment part. He has completed his M.Sc. Mathematics from Ramjas College, University of Delhi. He has more than 6 years of experience in the field of Educational Assessment. His last organization was HCL-Shiv Nadar Foundation where he served 2 years and worked on the Assessment & Evaluation of tools before that he was associated with Pearson Education. He enjoys traveling to new places and likes to do DIYs over the weekend.
Aditi Nangia
Aditi Nangia
Project Lead
,Partnerships and New Initiatives
Aditi works on Early Childhood Education within the Partnerships and New Initiatives team at CSF. Her work focuses on two areas: state projects and salience building. In her previous role at CSF, she was with the Private Schools (Governance) team wherein she worked on assessments for grades 3, 5, and 8. She joined CSF in 2019 after completing her Masters in International Education Policy from Harvard University. Previously, she worked with Teach For India in Hyderabad as a Teaching Fellow and Program Manager. Deep curiosity to understand systems better and work with complex problems motivated her to move away from an engineering background. She enjoys reading, watching TV shows, cooking new recipes, and planning her next trip back home!
Aditya Narayan Rai
Aditya Narayan Rai
Project Consultant
,Public Governance
Aditya Narayan Rai works with the Public Governance team as a Project Consultant and is based out of Sitapur. He is a Public Policy graduate from Azim Premji University, Bengaluru. Before joining CSF, he worked as a Research Fellow with the Inclusive Education team at Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. He has also worked in policy research and policy implementation roles at Grassroots Research and Advocacy Movement, Mysuru and Jharkhand State Livelihoods Promotion Society. His area of interest includes Education and Governance and he loves to explore and learn new techniques to analyse and interpret quantitative and qualitative datasets. In his free time, he enjoys travelling and playing/watching/discussing about the sports world (cricket and lawn tennis in particular).
Akshay Kumar Nikhil
Akshay Kumar Nikhil
Project Manager
,State Reform- Haryana
Akshay works in the State Reform team, supporting the Haryana state in the implementation of the NIPUN Bharat Mission. Currently, his key responsibilities include monitoring, capacity building and operational support for the NIPUN Haryana Mission. Previously, he worked as an IB analyst in the Consumer & Retail sector at Bank of America. Akshay holds a postgraduate diploma in management from IIM Kozhikode and a bachelor’s in business studies from Delhi University. In his free time, he can be found making impromptu trips to Himachal or thinking about making impromptu trips to Himachal.
Amit Chandra
Amit Chandra
Senior Consultant
,Private Schools Governance
Dr Amit Chandra is a social development professional with expertise in public policy strategies to address some of the most important issues of the time such as school education, urban livelihoods, and governance. Amit currently works with Central Square Foundation as a Senior Consultant. Previously, he has worked with the Centre for Civil Society (CCS) as an Associate Director leading the policy advisory vertical of the organization and with The Asia Foundation (TAF), as the ‘International Consultant’ in Kabul. He has also led Jeevika Campaign as the ‘National Coordinator’ advocating issues of the sector. His work has played an important role in shaping up National Urban Street Vending Act 2014, amendments to the India Forest Act 1927, amendments to the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act 2006, and initiatives taken under the Ease of Doing Business campaign by the Government of India. Amit is a graduate in Commerce, post-graduate and Doctorate of Philosophy in Social Work. He has also graduated with Think Tank MBA from Atlas Economic Research Foundation, the USA in 2008, ‘Globalization and Market Economy’ in 2010 and ‘Liberal Education Policy’ in 2016 from the International Academy of Leadership, Germany. He is an alumnus of Atlas Leadership Academy. He has been a participant in the ‘International Youth Exchange Program’ between India and Canada in the year 2006-2007. His work and views have been widely quoted in media and academic publications.
Amola Mehta
Amola Mehta
Project Associate
,Government Partnerships
Amola works with the Government Partnerships team which works in tandem with the Central government on education strategy and policy. Currently her work focuses on pedagogical capacity building, secondary education assessments, and education financial outlays. She joined CSF after graduating from Ashoka University with a degree in Political Science. Her motivation for joining the development sector stems primarily from her own interest in education, but also her hopes of seeing change up close. Her time outside of work is spent chasing her two cats, bouldering, and travelling as much as she can.
Ankit Sharma
Ankit Sharma
Senior Project Lead
,Government Partnerships
Ankit works as a Senior Project Lead in Government Partnerships team which supports central government stakeholders like Ministry of Education and Central Board of Secondary Education in drafting and implementing educational policies. Prior to joining CSF, he was working as a management consultant and was involved in planning and implementation of upcoming MDB funded metro/rail projects in Delhi NCR region. He has extensive experience of supporting government clients with solutions based on project portfolio management, financial analysis & planning and performance improvement. Ankit holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from IIT-Roorkee and MBA in Business Management from XLRI-Jamshedpur. He believes that India’s journey from a developing country to a developed country can be expedited by reforming the school education landscape in the country. He is passionate about travelling in mountains.
Ankur Sehgal
Ankur Sehgal
Senior Project Lead
,Government Partnerships
Ankur is committed to solving India’s development problems like quality education in the public system. In 10+ years of experience, he has designed and implemented scalable models that delivered. He started his career as an entrepreneur and provided Ed-tech services to 31 low-income private schools in rural Haryana, supporting the career progression of 3600+ students to top-notch colleges in the country. In 2015, he got his first multi-state engagement with Ravi J. Matthai Centre for Educational Innovation, IIM Ahmedabad, where his team could impact government school students from over 16,000+ schools of Gujarat via GCERT. Later, working as an ED of a non-profit, he spearheaded a state-wide educational transformation project with the Haryana government, impacting over 4900+ teachers and 2.6 lacs+ students during COVID. In 2021, he worked with Delhi Government to set up the Desh Ke Mentors program, India’s largest mentoring program supporting over nine lakh school students in exploring their career journeys. This short stint with Delhi Government helped him bring transformation from within the system. Currently, as a part of the Government Projects team at CSF, he is leading TicTacLearn – India’s largest content repository of Maths & Science educational content available in six languages. Ankur earned a post-graduate diploma in management from XLRI Jamshedpur and a bachelor’s degree in computer science & engineering from Guru Jambeshwar University, Hisar.
Annvita Chandra
Annvita Chandra
Associate
,Talent Management & Organizational Development
Anvita works with the Talent Management and Organization Development team at CSF. In her current role, she supports talent acquisition, onboarding, induction, recognition & engagement of employees She holds a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Delhi University and a master’s degree in Development Studies from Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, Ahmedabad. Prior to joining CSF, she was working with NGOBOX in their Content and Communications vertical. She is an avid Yoga practitioner. In her free time, she likes to explore local art forms and enjoys online shopping.
Anustup Nayak
Anustup Nayak
Project Director
,Classroom Instruction and Practice
Anustup leads the Classroom Instruction & Practices (CIP) team at CSF. In his role, he works with multiple CSF partner organizations and state government agencies to support the implementation of the FLN mission. Prior to working at CSF, his work involved supporting and scaling up an entrepreneurial venture named XSEED Education. Anustup joined CSF to pursue his passion to improve public education at scale. He did his master’s in education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Public Policy at Georgia Tech. He is passionate about equipping teachers with the right tools and skills to succeed in the classroom. In his free time, he enjoys listening to podcasts and is constantly on the search for the next viral meme.
Ashna Shah
Ashna Shah
Project Manager
,Partnerships and New Initiatives
Ashna is a Project Manager in the Partnerships and New Initiatives team. She completed her master’s degree in 2022 from Harvard Graduate School of Education in the Human Development Program with an Early Childhood Education specialization. Before her master’s, she worked at Educational Initiatives Pvt Ltd in a business development and marketing role in the Ei Shiksha vertical and as an Executive Assistant to the Vice President. In her free time, she loves taking pictures of the sky and enjoying stand-up comedy, pottery, and trashy Bollywood movies.
Ashutosh Jalan
Ashutosh Jalan
Project Associate
,State Reform- Haryana
Ashutosh works as a Project Associate in the State Reform Haryana team. He graduated in Electrical Engineering from IIT(BHU), Varanasi in 2018. As a professional, he has worked in the Business Development Team of Energy Systems Division in Panasonic India. He has also worked with a Member of Parliament as a LAMP fellow. In his personal time, he loves to read books, write blogs, and learn about the Indian Knowledge System. He also loves to do photography, practice yoga, meditation, and Ayurveda.
Atma Dinnie Charles
Atma Dinnie Charles
Project Manager
,EdTech
Atma works in the EdTech team at CSF. She is responsible for managing stakeholders including researchers, grantee organizations, and implementation partners to execute projects that can drive the evidence generation agenda for EdTech. Prior to joining CSF, Atma was part of the Corporate Services Division at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Geneva providing partnerships and stakeholder engagement support to governments in Somalia, Ghana, Uganda, Mozambique, Iraq, Colombia, and South Asia. She has also previously worked with multiple organizations within the development sector such as UNDP India, UNJIU Geneva, and the SOS Children’s Village in Nepal. Her interest in the education sector comes from her time as a Teach For India (2016) Fellow, serving as a full-time teacher in a low-income government school in Yerwada, Pune. Atma holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences from TISS and a Master’s degree in Development Studies from the Graduate Institute of Geneva. Outside of work, Atma is always trying to read at least 3 books simultaneously and hopes to write her own someday.
Atul Bhargava
Atul Bhargava
Senior Project Manager
,IPEL
Atul works as a Senior Program Manager in the India Partnership for Early Learning (IPEL) team. At CSF, he has previously been a part of prestigious projects such as TicTacLearn, DIKSHA, PISA, and EdTech Implementation in Schools. Prior to joining CSF, he worked with organizations such as Infosys, L&T Finance, and PwC followed by 4 years of pursuing entrepreneurship where along with various workstreams he authored two books. He has 14 years of experience across sectors including IT, Finance, Consulting, and Education. In his free time, he runs half and full marathons, treks occasionally, loves driving, and traveling, and is a food lover.
Avnish Kumar
Avnish Kumar
District Consultant
,State FLN Projects- Bihar
Avnish Kumar works with the State FLN Projects team as a District Consultant based in Bihar. He brings years of experience in child rights, education, and governance with masters in accounts. He found his purpose when he witnessed how soft skills enabled him and his peers. Previously he has been a Fellow at Transforming Rural India Foundation under Aspirational District Transformation Program and Gandhi Fellow for two years. He has worked closely with the District Magistrate and supported the district administration in strategic planning, project management, implementation, and fundraising across rural India. He loves writing poems and stories. He aspires to drive change in society at scale
Azfar Karim
Azfar Karim
Project Lead
,EdTech
Azfar works with the EdTech team as a Project Lead and is based out of Delhi. He has seven years of experience in the International Development sector, working in India and Africa. Most recently, he worked as an Advisor at Innovations for Poverty Actions, offering technical advice to improve access to quality educational opportunities for vulnerable out-of-school children. Before this, Azfar worked for One Acre Fund and a few corporate foundations and spent several years with J-PAL in India.
Chandni Kalra
Chandni Kalra
Project Consultant
,State FLN Projects- Odisha
Chandni Kalra works with the State FLN Projects team as Project Consultant based in Bhubaneswar. She has Experience in combining human and material resources to deliver excellent education, ensuring fair treatment with equal opportunity when it comes to access to resources. She started off her journey in the Education space as a TFI Fellow, moved on to be a member of the Selection team at TFI and then joined LEAD to understand stakeholder management better. Having explored all these she is here at CSF to learn and grow with everything that this role has to offer. You can often find her lost in her Lalaland, far away from the chaos with a bowl of Mississippi.
Chavi Mittal
Chavi Mittal
Project Manager
,State Reform- Haryana
Chavi works as a Project Manager in the State Reform Haryana team and will be based out of Panchkula. She is an Economics graduate from Janki Devi Memorial College, University of Delhi. Most recently, she worked with Sattva Consulting as an Associate Consultant on the Impact Assessment and Advisory Team, where she was involved in the monitoring and evaluation of the programmes run by government and non-profit organisations across the country. In her free time, she enjoys travelling, reading, and occasionally penning poetry.
Debatri Sengupta
Debatri Sengupta
Project Manager
,Classroom Instruction and Practice
Debatri works with the Classroom Instruction and Practice team that works closely with multiple states and partner organisations on developing and implementing the FLN Mission. Prior to CSF, Debatri has been a Program Manager at Teach for India, working with close to 40 Fellows over 3 years, building the program in first year intervention schools. She also did the TFI Fellowship, teaching Literacy and Social Studies to Primary School students in a municipal school. Debatri completed her Masters in Literature from Delhi University. During her free time, Debatri reads books and doodles with the intent to upload them on her instagram page someday.
Debesh Banerjee
Debesh Banerjee
Senior Project Lead
,Strategic Communication
Debesh has a diverse experience of over 15 years as a Media & Comms professional, working across the media, digital comms, and behavioural campaigns spaces. In his last professional stint, he worked with WaterAid India as the media and comms lead, where I was leading on the communications strategy and overseeing execution plans for building advocacy and thought-leadership around water, sanitation, and hygiene issues. Before that, at Youth Ki Awaaz- a youth centric online platform- he was working on developing strategy and planning online and offline campaigns on various social justice issues; business development; including building capacity for campaign acquisition and outreach for new campaigns with brands and non-profit entities. Prior to this, I have been associated with organizations like British Council; The Indian Express, The Pioneer; with brief stints at The Guardian & BBC World News, where I was working on different aspects involving: planning and executing digital comms. strategies; designing social media campaigns; digital project planning; securing and managing non-paid partnerships in areas of digital innovation; writing and reporting on features and urban lifestyle trends.
Deepak Yadav
Deepak Yadav
Senior Project Lead
,State FLN Projects - Central
Deepak works as a Senior Project Lead in the State FLN Projects team. He has over ten years of experience with managing program portfolios, strategic planning, program scale up, advocacy and partnerships with governments. He has previously worked with consulting firms, and large-scale technical assistance organizations such as Evidence Action, Georgetown University’s Institute for Reproductive Health. He is a Post-Graduate in Health & Hospital Management from IIHMR University, Jaipur.
Devyanshi Dubey
Devyanshi Dubey
Project Manager
,State Reform - Central
Dhanesh Bhatia
Dhanesh Bhatia
Manager
,Finance
Dhanesh works as a Senior Manager in the Finance Team at CSF where his role includes managing & supporting finance and accounting processes in the organization. His key responsibilities include the processing and payment of salaries, TDS compliance, and resolving finance-related queries. Prior to working at CSF, Dhanesh worked at Eicher motors and has an extensive work experience in the finance sector he holds an M.Com degree from Rajasthan University. At CSF, he enjoys working with the younger cohort of colleagues and loves to support and resolve finance-related queries for others. In his free time, he prefers to keep himself occupied with work or engage in reading and listening to the news.
Divya Bharti
Divya Bharti
Project Manager
,State Reform - Madhya Pradesh
Divya works with the State Reform team as a Project Manager and is based out of Bhopal. Prior to joining CSF, she was working for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs under the India Smart Cities Fellowship Program 2021, Smart Cities Mission. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from RGPV, Bhopal and a master’s degree in Urban Policy and Governance from TISS, Mumbai. In her free time, she enjoys reading fiction, listening to music, binge-watching, practicing yoga, and sleeping and meditation.
Faisal Siddiqui
Faisal Siddiqui
Manager
,Talent Management & Organizational Development
Faisal works with the Talent Management & OD team at CSF he manages HRMS, L&D initiatives, talent hiring, employee onboarding and induction. He has been working in the development sector for the past 7 years. His journey in the education space began with the Teach For India (TFI) fellowship where he taught in a 6th-grade classroom for 2 years. He continued at TFI post the fellowship as a Recruiter, facilitating Fellow-hiring and building partnerships with various colleges and youth-run organizations in the region. Post TFI he worked with the International Innovation Corps a social impact program supported by the University of Chicago leading their Operations and Talent Management verticals. He has also done short-term stints with Education based organizations like Leap Skills and Harappa Education. Faisal is an engineering graduate from the Global Institute of Technology, Jaipur. He likes listening to true crime podcasts, reading fiction books and trying out new places to eat in Delhi.
Garima Grover
Garima Grover
Project Manager
,State FLN Projects - Central
Garima works with the State FLN Projects team, which supports implementation of foundational literacy and numeracy programs to improve learning levels across five states. Previously, she worked with D. E. Shaw Research, out of their Hyderabad office, leading projects in operations and recruitment for the computational drug discovery research firm. Garima has an undergraduate degree in Commerce and Economics from Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi. When not working, she spends time traveling, reading, and practicing yoga.
Gaurav Pratap Singh
Gaurav Pratap Singh
Senior Project Lead
,Partnerships and New Initiatives
Gaurav is a part of the Partnerships and New Initiatives team. His role majorly involves working on the Back to School Outcomes Fund and co-creating strategy and support for FLN partners in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. His journey with the education sector started as a fellow in Teach for India where he taught a classroom of 50 girls in 5th and 6th grade. Post fellowship, he worked as a Program Manager in TFI’s Delhi team, building professional and personal capacity in 30 fellows. Prior to CSF, Gaurav co-founded his own non-profit, Slam Out Loud, and led it as the Chief Operating Officer for 5 years. Gaurav has a Masters in Public Administration from National University of Singapore and is a certified action learning coach from the Action Learning Center, UK. Post work, he spends time solving puzzles, hoarding trivia, discovering new poetry, reading non-fiction and having conversations over/about food.
Gaurav Saroha
Gaurav Saroha
Project Associate
,Private Schools Governance
Gaurav Saroha works the Private Schools – Governance team as a Project Associate and is based out of Guwahati. He has previously worked with the Quality Council of India as an Associate Manager; worked on projects like “Made in India Brand Scheme” & “India’s Trade Deficit Policy”. His work centered around Government Advisory, Policy Making, and Implementation He has completed Young India Fellowship from Ashoka University and did BTech in Computer Science and Engineering. Most of his free time goes dabbling into foreign language movies and reading non-fiction books.
Geetika Bhandari
Geetika Bhandari
Senior Project Manager
,IPEL
Geetika works as Senior Program Manager designing and implementing the assessments for different stakeholders in the school education system for the IPEL-USAID consortium of which CSF is a member. She had been working in the education sector for more than a decade now. In her previous instinct also, she has worked for designing and implementing large-scale assessments for different geographies to understand the impact of various programs. She has worked with teachers for their professional development and with policy makers to implement educational initiatives across geographies. Geetika is an IIM Lucknow alumnus, PhD in Economics, trained in business and data analytics and master’s in business administration. At heart she is a teacher and always tries to make things simpler for people to understand and implement. She likes to blend creativity and simplicity in the teaching, training by weaving story around work. She hails from royal blue city of Jodhpur, married to a finance professional- professor and both loves cooking and exploring food. In the free time she can be seen playing mathematical games and doing creative work. She is associated with Robin Hood Army which is a NGO works for providing free meal to the needy.
Gouri Gupta
Gouri Gupta
Project Director
,EdTech
Gouri leads CSF’s work in the area of Education Technology. She works with a portfolio of Edtech products that take high-quality, contextual solutions to young children from low-income backgrounds to support learning at home. Prior to CSF, Gouri was part of the founding team at the National Skill Development Corporation, a public-private partnership created by the Govt of India to invest in skill development ventures in India. Gouri crossed over into the development sector from The Boston Consulting Group where she was a Project Leader working primarily in the financial services domain. Gouri is a Chartered Accountant by training and a management graduate from IIM Bangalore. Gouri loves the jungles and is always on the quest for the next big cat sighting!
Harish Doraiswamy
Harish Doraiswamy
Project Director
,EdTech
Harish Doraiswamy is the Director of the Edtech team at CSF and his work involves working with state governments on their Edtech strategy and implementation. Prior to joining CSF in early 2020, Harish was Vice-President at Pearson India where he was responsible for the K12 School Management, Vocational Education, and International Qualifications verticals. Harish is an alumnus of IIT Madras and IIM Calcutta and has over 30 years of experience across various sectors and functions. He is excited to work on realizing the potential of technology to transform school education for the disadvantaged. In his free time, he loves to enjoy good food, music, the company of his friends, and travel.
Harleen Kaur
Harleen Kaur
Project Associate
,Classroom Instruction and Practice
Harleen works as a Project Associate with the Classroom and Instruction Team. She grew up in Madhya Pradesh moving to Delhi for University. She completed her bachelor’s in History and Political Science from Miranda House and her Master’s in Political Science from Ramjas. She also participated in the International Business Challenges Programme at HU Business School in Utrecht, The Netherlands. She has interned with Lok Sabha, KPMG, and Sattva Consulting and volunteered with several NGOs including WWF, Sarvahitey etc. She also developed a sustainable business model for an economically backward community as a part of a Student-led organization called Enactus. She considers herself a compassionate person determined to bring a positive change to society through her work. In her free time, she likes engaging with a good fiction book.
Jithu Paulson
Jithu Paulson
Project Manager
,Research and M&E
Jithu works as a Project Manager in the Research Monitoring and Evaluation (RMEL) team at CSF. Prior to CSF, he worked in various capacities for the MLE division at DevInsights Pvt Ltd for the last two years. During this time, he gained extensive experience in conducting impact evaluation studies, baseline studies, and needs assessments using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Jithu has completed a Master’s in Public Policy from the Indian School of Public Policy, New Delhi, and has done a Master’s in Sociology prior to that from Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala. In his free time, he can be found watching highlights and videos of football matches in La Liga and the English premier league. He also loves to analyze the game and the players tactically. He is an ardent admirer and fan of Lionel Messi and the Barcelona football club.
Juhi Bahl
Juhi Bahl
Project Manager
,Classroom Instruction and Practice
Juhi joins the CIP team as a Project Manager and will be based out of Delhi. She has wide ranging professional experience in digital strategy, curriculum development and student mentoring. Juhi holds a Master’s degree in Education, Gender and International Development from University College London and a Bachelor’s in English Literature and Film Studies from King’s College London. She is often on the lookout for her next travel destination and when motivation strikes- the next language to learn.
Jyotsna Kujur
Jyotsna Kujur
Project Lead
,Government Partnerships
Jyotsna completed her graduation and post graduation in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, and Delhi School of Economics, respectively. Post her studies, she pursued working on projects that had the potential to create impact at scale. She worked as a political consultant for nearly 6 years at I-PAC, where she designed and led high-decibel political campaigns, while managing high-profile stakeholders. Her interest in the field of education and CSF was spurred by her desire to transform and impact people’s lives for the better. In her spare time, you can find her reading about the workings of the human brain, playing with her dogs, or admiring nature.
Kamini Singh
Kamini Singh
Project Manager
,IPEL
Kamini is a development professional with 4+ years of experience in CSR, PR, ESG and Climate Change. Kamini works with IPEL-USAID consortium as Program Manager in Jharkhand. She holds a PGD in Sustainable Rural Development from National Institute of Rural Development and a Master Degree in Economics from HNB Garhwal Central University. She’s a sustainability practitioner, climate reality leader and a budding ESG professional. During her free time, she can be found delivering talks on climate education or reading adventure stories.
Kapil Khurana
Kapil Khurana
Private Schools Governance
Kapil Khurana works with the governance team at CSF. With private schools comprising almost half of India’s school-going population, he shall work towards informing policy and governance to improve the learning quality in the affordable private schools of India. He started his career as a teacher and content writer, and grew up to lead sales and business transformation. He founded an EdTech business on teaching improvement that has impacted 8000 school teachers and over 200,000 learners in the early childhood, primary and middle grades across India and the Middle East. Aside from this, he has headed Sales and Marketing in FMCG and Pharmaceuticals industries. Kapil is deeply passionate about impacting the learning outcomes in schools. He has invested most of his career in education in K12 schools working on programs improving the foundational learning. He has worked on adult literacy and career counseling pro bono, treating these as his civic responsibilities. Kapil did his bachelors in Computer Sciences and master’s in business management from IIM Lucknow. In his free time, Kapil is found planning meticulously for his large extended family gatherings, which keep happening unplanned anyways.
Kavita Rawat
Kavita Rawat
Project Manager
,Government Partnerships
Kavita Rawat works with the Government Partnerships team on an ADB-funded project which is a results-based lending program. It supports the improvement of education outcomes, particularly foundational learning at the primary level and reduction of dropout rates at the secondary level. She joined Central Square Foundation after completing her Teach for India fellowship (2020) where she led more than 150 girls across 2 government schools and 3 classrooms in the East Delhi community. Kavita holds a Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from Ambedkar University Delhi. It was in one of these classrooms that she realised how rather than being angry or debating about things which are not working behind closed walls, it was more important to find sustainable solutions on the ground. During her free time, you can find her reading books, buying books or/while listening to Taylor Swift.
Krishnan S.
Krishnan S.
Associate Project Director
,Partnerships and New Initiatives
Krishnan leads a team that enables and manages CSF’s partnerships with nonprofits, donors, and other development sector actors, and also shapes and nurtures nascent organizational priorities. Previously at CSF, he designed and implemented the foundation’s venture philanthropy strategy through the Grant Accelerator program and also helped set up the Early Childhood Education and the School to Work Transition verticals. He started his career with Axis Bank in their project finance practice and transitioned into the education sector through the Teach for India fellowship. Krishnan holds an MBA in Finance and Economics from XLRI, Jamshedpur, and an undergraduate degree in Engineering from NIT, Trichy. In his spare time, Krishnan enjoys quizzing, solving word games and cryptic crosswords, and planning his next vacation.
Kumar Satyam
Kumar Satyam
Project Manager
,Public Governance
Satyam is part of the Public Governance team and focuses on data reliability. At work, he is mostly seen visualizing ways to make system generated data more reliable. Currently he is on an exploratory journey to figure out if small is indeed beautiful or systemic intervention (read: scale) is the best possible approach to solve public issues. He was profoundly inspired by Jean Drèze’s idea of ‘research for action’ and made the switch from journalism to the social sector. Previously, he has worked at Indus Action and Piramal Foundation. He has studied journalism from University of Delhi. In his free time, you will always find him overthinking; he is a serial overthinker.
Kunal Chauhan
Kunal Chauhan
Project Manager
,Government Partnerships
Kunal is a lawyer by education and has been working in the policy sector for the past few years. He worked as a research and policy associate for Late Mr Rajeev Satav, Member of Parliament and Chief Minister’s Good Governance Associate in Sirsa and Kaithal district, Haryana. Kunal is an avid reader and enjoy reading about Indian culture and history. He has also acted and directed plays.
Lubhavani Anand
Lubhavani Anand
Project Manager
,EdTech
Lubhavani is a firm believer in creating equal opportunities for all students, thus starting her journey as an educator. She did her bachelor’s degree in education (B.El.Ed) from Gargi College, the University of Delhi, followed by an M.A in education from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Most recently finished her M.Phil. in education leadership & school improvement (ELSI) from the University of Cambridge. She has worked in the education sector for the last four years. She started her journey as a TFI Delhi fellow, continued working in TFI as a Course Designer with Firki Team and was last working as an Education Researcher with the CMR University before joining CSF. Fun Fact: She recently went for a Skiing course in Gulmarg and completed it with a Grade A and a ligament injury
Mahima Kansal
Mahima Kansal
Project Manager
,Strategic Communication
Mahima is part of the Strategic Communications Team at Central Square Foundation. As a Project Manager, she works on building the CSF brand and creating resonance for the foundation’s work through various media channels. After studying Journalism from Kamala Nehru College, Delhi University, where she developed a keen interest in branding, communications and PR, she went on to pursue the post-graduate diploma in Advertising and Public Relations from the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication in New Delhi. Prior to CSF, Mahima was with Edelman India, the world’s leading PR agency, where she worked with top brands in the FMCG and F&B spaces. Her core competencies include campaign planning, content strategy and media relations. When not working, Mahima enjoys exploring new cafés and trying out unique perfume notes.
Mansi Agarwal
Mansi Agarwal
Project Associate
,Private Schools Governance
Mansi completed her bachelors from Ashoka University, where she studied Economics, Environmental Studies and Entrepreneurship to understand how businesses can contribute to sustainable and inclusive living. She is interested in the social and environmental impact sector. She has volunteered with IamGurgaon, to help make her city a better place to live in. She assisted with the founding of Leap Cities, an accelerator program that works with growth stage companies in the impact sector in India. She is also a mixed medium artist and designer. She likes to spend her spare time cooking, reading and practicing yoga.
Nalini Bhandari
Nalini Bhandari
Project Manager
,Government Partnerships
Nalini works with the Government Partnerships team which focusses on partnering with the central government on key education policies and programs across CSF’s thematic areas. Prior to CSF, Nalini worked with Invest India at their Ministry of Women and Child Desk. She has also worked with the Foundation for Rural Entrepreneurship Development (a Google and Tata Trusts initiative). There she led operations for rural women entrepreneurship programs in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Nalini holds a Master’s degree in Social Entrepreneurship from TISS Mumbai. In her spare time, you can find her dancing or listening to her favourite artists.
Natasha Agarwal
Natasha Agarwal
Lead
,Talent Management & Organizational Development
Natasha leads Talent Management and Organizational Development at Central Square Foundation. Her key responsibilities include efficient management of the entire employee lifecycle and providing avenues for Organizational development driven through people engagement. Her foray into the social development sector began with a corporate partnerships role with The Nudge Foundation. She spent 5 years in the corporate sector in a sales and business development role with Diageo followed by Michael Page. Natasha had a short and exciting entrepreneurial stint in 2019 when she set up a microbrewery restaurant. Natasha holds a MBA degree from NMIMS, Mumbai and an undergraduate degree in Engineering from Jaypee University. It was through her volunteering work during the Covid outbreak that she realized her true calling lies in working directly with the less privileged, a cause she is truly committed towards. Always saving up for her next trip, she is a certified scuba diver and has won a trophy in beer chugging.
Nidhi Mishra
Nidhi Mishra
Senior Associate
,Finance
Nidhi works as a Senior Finance Associate at Central Square Foundation and in her role, she supports the finance team with the management of employee salary, vendor payments, statutory payments, and various compliances like TDS, PF, and professional tax. Prior to CSF, she worked with Saksham Trust for over three years, which added to her experience & built her understanding and passion for the education sector. She holds a Master’s degree in Finance and a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce. In her free time, she enjoys spending quality time with her two children and loves singing.
Nidhi Srinath
Nidhi Srinath
Project Associate
,Government Partnerships
Nidhi is part of the Government Partnerships team at Central Square Foundation, which supports the Central government on national education strategy and programs across various thematic areas. Currently, she works with government stakeholders from the Ministry of Education (MoE) and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). She holds a bachelor’s degree in Economic Honours from Christ University, Bangalore. She has previously worked with policy experts in the field of Education, Gender, and Skill Development, which ignited her interest in the development sector. In her free time, she enjoys travelling, dancing and doing yoga.
Niharika Gupta
Niharika Gupta
Senior Project Lead
,Public Governance
Niharika works with the Public Governance team where she supports the team’s efforts in designing and testing governance interventions that enable improvement in learning outcomes for children in the classroom. Her work in education reform focuses on three main issues areas, namely, increasing data reliability, facilitating behavior change, and building state capacity. Prior to CSF, she completed her Teach For India Fellowship which marked her transition into the education sector. Niharika began her professional career at Goldman Sachs where she worked as a Derivatives Analyst. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from St. Joesph’s College, Bangalore. In her spare time, she enjoys nurturing indoor plants, cleaning as a therapeutic tool, and musing over the intricacies of human behavior.
Nimish Aage
Nimish Aage
Project Consultant
,State FLN Projects- Maharashtra
Nimish works in the Maharashtra SFP team where he is supporting the state machinery in planning and implementation of NIPUN Bharat at the SCERT and SSA offices. Previously, Nimish was selected as the Chief Minister’s Fellow, Government of Maharashtra where he supported senior bureaucracy in improving government-initiated communication through media planning. He led the empanelment process of more than 60 marketing organizations and also gained rich experience of working in the administration during the pandemic. He also was a part of the founding team for 4 years at a non-profit organization that works towards improving literacy levels in space science and astronomy. He holds an MBA from Symbiosis International University and a Bachelor’s in Physics and Photography from Fergusson College, Pune. While always excited to travel, he equally enjoys the solace of reading non-fiction. He is a certified drummer and a graphologist and considers cooking as a therapeutic activity.
Parthajeet Das
Parthajeet Das
Project Director
,State FLN Projects - Central
Parthajeet leads the State FLN Projects team which provides strategic support to states in their programmes to improve foundational learning. The team takes a systems approach and strengthens the academic as well as governance intiatives of the states. Parthajeet holds a PhD and Masters in Management and has more than a decade of rich national and international experience across top management consulting firms of advising governments, multi-lateral donors and foundations. In his free time, he loves to travel, read, write and listen to music.
Pooja Nagpal
Pooja Nagpal
Senior Project Lead
,Government Partnerships
Pooja is an Associate Project Director in the Government Partnerships team at CSF where her work entails leading the assessment programs related to foundational literacy and numeracy towards improving the quality of measuring learning outcomes for both State and National level assessments. Prior to CSF, Pooja has conducted assessment training and capacity-building sessions for education stakeholders at the State and National levels with 15 years of experience in leading student assessment and measurement projects for government, national civil society organizations, NGOs, and agencies. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Psychology from Delhi University and has completed the education research and measurement graduate program at the University of Illinois, Chicago. In her free time, she loves to do origami, wall murals, and travel with her camera.
Prakhar Jain
Prakhar Jain
Associate Project Director
,State Reform - Central
Prakhar is a governance and public policy professional with more than ten years of work experience in strategy, project management, and business development roles. He manages CSF’s portfolio of education reform programs in UP & MP. Before joining CSF, he worked in the impact consulting sector, supporting government and non-government organizations on critical urban development and environment issues. He holds an MSc degree from the University of Oxford and a BTech degree from IIT Delhi.
Puloma Chakrabarty
Puloma Chakrabarty
Project Consultant
,State FLN Projects- Maharashtra
Puloma Chakrabarty works with the State FLN Projects Team in Maharashtra with the Department of School Education/Partner NGOs and leads Monitoring & Data for the overall mission in the state. Puloma began her career as a Management Consultant at PwC India and worked there for 3 years in domains such as Telecom, Pharma, Blockchain, Supply Chain Management, Employment Generation, Cyber Security, Data Analytics and Higher Education across private & government clients. Puloma beyond her work is passionate about theatre & was a former professional dancer with Shiamak Davar’s dance academy. Puloma piloted a dance movement therapy for children suffering with cancer and young girls rescued from Asia’s second largest red-light area in Asia-Kamathipura. Puloma was selected by Mckinsey & Company as a Next Generation Women Leader in 2022 and selected by Y-Combinator for their Future Female Founder’s Conference in 2020. Puloma holds a Bachelor Of Arts in Economics from St.Xavier’s College, Mumbai & a Post Graduate Certificate in Brand Management & Marketing from Mudra Institute of Communication, Ahmedabad.
Rabb Nawaz Ahmed
Rabb Nawaz Ahmed
Project Consultant
,State FLN Projects- Odisha
Rabb Nawaz works with the State FLN Projects team as Project Consultant based in Bhubaneswar. He is passionate about providing excellent education to all children and believes strongly in bringing in impact by driving systemic changes on ground. As an Academic Excellence Manager, he has conducted multiple training sessions, workshops for development of teachers and implemented the LMS platform across schools of Odisha and Chattisgarh. As a part of the Strategy and Operations team at Lead, worked deeply in the areas of data analysis and end-to-end project management impacting more than 2500 schools across India. He is a big time car enthusiast. He also enjoys going for long drives and exploring new food joints.
Radhika Israni
Radhika Israni
Project Lead
,Strategic Communication
Radhika is a communications professional with rich experience in managing campaigns, social media strategy, media relations, and brand communication. Prior to joining Central Square Foundation, Radhika was leading digital communications at Alliance for an Energy-Efficient Economy (AEEE), one of the leading organisations in India that works on creating awareness about energy efficiency as a resource. She has also worked as a communications officer at Oxfam India and SOS Children’s Villages of India, respectively. Her core strength lies in translating technical content into meaningful narratives, packaged in the form of online and offline campaigns. With a demonstrated history of working in the development sector, Radhika is adept at drafting regional and national communication plans and strategies, and project implementation. Radhika holds a post-graduate diploma in Mass Communications from Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan, New Delhi and a Bachelor (Hons) in Literature from Delhi College of Arts and Commerce (DCAC), Delhi University (DU). She is based out of New Delhi and is an avid animal rights activist, who tries her best to work closely with the cause.
Raghav Sagar
Raghav Sagar
Project Lead
,Classroom Instruction and Practice
Raghav works in the Classroom Instruction and Practice team, overlooking the implementation of FLN programs in specific demonstration districts. Raghav has had a diverse career prior to CSF, including among others, TFI and LEAD. At LEAD, a private EdTech company, Raghav managed a portfolio of about 100 schools directly impacting 35000 students. During his time as a TFI fellow, Raghav taught English and Social Studies to 140 students in Govandi, Mumbai. Raghav is an Economics graduate from Royal Holloway, University of London. In his free time, he can be found listening to audiobooks or generally chatting with people in the cafeteria.
Raju Ram
Raju Ram
Project Manager
,State Reform - Uttar Pradesh
Raju works with the State Reform team as a Project Manager and is based out of Gorakhpur. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass communication from Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya in Haridwar. Most recently, he worked as a state consultant with the WCD Department, Government of Haryana, where he had the chance to participate in the diagnosis and planning of schemes. Prior to that, he was a fellow in the CMGGA Programme. In his free time, he loves to read poetry and learn about the Indian Knowledge System. He also likes practicing yoga.
Rashi Dhanani
Rashi Dhanani
Senior Project Lead
,EdTech
Rashi is a Senior Project Lead in the Ed-Tech team at CSF where her work includes the creation of public goods and the reduction of information asymmetry in the EdTech ecosystem (aka EdTech Tulna), she also works towards supporting EdTech partners to focus on quality while scaling their solutions for learning at home. Prior to CSF, Rashi was involved in supporting the growth of two EdTech businesses. She holds an MSc in Finance from Imperial College London and a BSc in Economics, Econometrics, and Finance from the University of York. In her free time, she loves to go skydiving!
Reeya Rao
Reeya Rao
Analyst
,IPEL
Reeya works with the India Partnership for Early Learning (IPEL) team which is a Foundational Learning delivery project – with a focus on creating a continuum of early education. She holds a bachelors degree in Sociology (Hons) from Lady Shri Ram College for Women (University of Delhi), and a masters degree in Social Policy & Development (States) from the London School of Economics & Political Science. She has a penchant for modern calligraphy and hand lettering.
Renu Chauhan
Renu Chauhan
Project Consultant
,State FLN Projects- Bihar
Renu works in the State FLN Projects Bihar team, overlooking the implementation of FLN programs in the State specifically assessment. She had worked with different organisations in the education sector before CSF, including Sampark Foundation and Shiv Nadar Foundation. Renu holds an undergraduate degree in Bachelor of Elementary Education (B.EL.ED) from Delhi University and a Master’s from TISS in Social work in Rural Development. Renu’s anchor to work in the development sector is to create better opportunities for children through education. Renu is a tea lover and you can find her indulging in tea during her free time.
Revanth Peddi
Revanth Peddi
Project Manager
,Classroom Instruction and Practice
Revanth works in the Classroom Instruction and Practice team, working with various state partners on curricular development and teacher training in Foundational Numeracy. Revanth’s career in the education space started with the Teach For India fellowship, post which he worked at 321 Education Foundation. At 321, an NGO, Revanth worked on teacher professional development & support, and early grade curriculum for affordable private schools. Revanth is an Applied Electronics graduate from Hyderabad. He is a dog father of 2, who finds joy in cooking and watching movies.
Rishu Aggarwal
Rishu Aggarwal
Associate Director
,Finance
Rishu leads the Finance team and is responsible for day-to-day accounting and monthly MIS. He builds processes and policies to strengthen internal and external compliances like FCRA, Income Tax, GST. He manages reporting requirements for international and domestic donors. Rishu has worked with Airtel Payments Bank, Sambodhi Group, Religare IT division and KPMG. He has experience in Internal Audit, Financial Planning & Analysis, Management Reporting and Grant Accounting. Rishu is a Chartered Accountant and holds bachelor’s degree from SGTB Khalsa College, Delhi University. During his free time, he watches LiVE sports, driving and travelling with Friends & Family.
Ritesh Pandey
Ritesh Pandey
Project Manager
,State Reform- Haryana
Ritesh works with the State Reform Team. He supports the state in designing and implementing the NIPUN Bharat Mission in Gujarat. Currently, working on developing the FLN Monitoring System under Nipun Gujarat Mission along with other data and report-related processes at the state level. He is an alumnus of the Gandhi Fellowship Program. He has done his master’s in Public Policy and Governance from Azim Premji University, Bangalore and holds an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering. He has 5+ years of experience in policy research, designing, process re-engineering, strategic initiatives, administrative initiatives and implementation with the different state governments and implementing agencies. He has explored the different geography and governance systems through his association with the states such as Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Sikkim. His interest lies in exploring the ground of governance, decoding, and developing initiatives for large-scale impact in the domain of education. He loves to comprehend the world through cinema and literature during his leisure time.
Rituparna Raha
Rituparna Raha
Project Manager
,Classroom Instruction and Practice
Rituparna works in Classroom instruction and practice, primarily focusing on Numeracy programs and Teacher professional development. Before that, she worked with Leadership for Equity and Bridge International Academies. She has done Teach For India fellowship prior to Bridge and taught 45 grade 2 and grade 3 students in a Government school in Hyderabad. Before she shifted to the development sector, she was working in Nigeria at an oil company named Sterling Oil and Gas exploration. Rituparna holds an M.tech in Petroleum Geoscience from IIT Bombay, and an undergraduate degree in Applied Geology from the University of Calcutta, Kolkata. In her free time, she loves to make routines, year planners, or reading lists for interesting reads. She uses cooking as a therapeutic measure for stressful situations.
Riya Sarin
Riya Sarin
Project Manager
,EdTech
Riya works in the EdTech team at CSF, supporting the build and contextualization of high-quality EdTech solutions. She also supports the team in the field of EdTech policy and in creating materials for advocacy around blended learning. Prior to joining CSF, she was at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, where she worked to expand the digital access of refugees to livelihood programs across the world. She holds a Master’s degree in Development Studies from the Graduate Institute Geneva, where her research focused on issues of governance, migration and livelihoods in the Indian subcontinent; she also has an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. In her free time, Riya enjoys spending quality time with her cats and playing elaborate board games.
Romonika D Sharan
Romonika D Sharan
Technical Director, Policy and Advocacy
,IPEL
Romonika is the Technical Director of Policy and Advocacy for the IPEL-USAID consortium of which CSF is a member. Prior to CSF, she worked for the Government of India for over two decades at senior policy-making levels. Earlier in her career, she was associated closely with the education sector, teaching at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, where she completed her undergraduate and graduate studies in English Literature. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, creating mosaics, and learning new languages.
Roy Cherian
Roy Cherian
Project Director
,Private Schools Governance
Roy heads the Private School reforms initiative at CSF with a focus on improving learning outcomes in primary schools. One of the key priorities of the team is to implement Key Stage Assessment in states to measure and improve school performance. The team also looks into RTE reforms and driving initiatives outlined in NEP like helping states set up State Schools Standards Authority. Roy is a successful entrepreneur who founded Marketelligent, one of the early entrants into data analytics. Before Marketelligent he held senior positions in Nestle and FCB Ulka. Roy holds an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad and a BTech from College of Engineering, Trivandrum. Roy is a passionate Golfer and started the IIM Masters, a Pan IIM Golf tournament that has been running since 2005.
Saksham Saxena
Saksham Saxena
Senior Project Lead
,Government Partnerships
Saksham works as a Senior Project Lead in the Government Partnerships team. After studying mechanical engineering, Saksham worked on manufacturing steam turbine blades for Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited. After earning his master’s in manufacturing from MIT, Boston, he pivoted his career to policy and development to make an impact on India’s growth. He joined NITI Aayog to design & deploy programs to support the Indian innovation ecosystem. Following that, he went to work for the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the GoI & Invest India to develop collaborative R&D clusters in the country.At home, Saksham enjoys reading science fiction, playing strategy games, and listening to music across genres.
Saloni Parikh
Saloni Parikh
Project Manager
,State Reform - Gujarat
Saloni works as a Project Manager in the State Reform Gujarat team. Prior to joining CSF, she was a Mahatma Gandhi National Fellow with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, GoI where she was supporting in designing skilling projects across sectors and special projects for aspirational districts of Gujarat. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in engineering from Gujarat Technological University.If not over-thinking and self talking, you will find her reading books, travelling to unexplored places or grooving on retro songs.
Sanjay Koushik
Sanjay Koushik
Project Lead
,EdTech
Sanjay works as part of the EdTech team at CSF. Within the team, he is part of the group that works closely with state and central govt.s on their EdTech programs. His work focuses on helping states introduce and improve EdTech solutions in both in-school and out-of-school settings. The team does this by supporting the states with an evidence-based and programmatic approach rather than the conventional hardware-focused approach. Sanjay holds an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, LLM from NALSAR University, and B.Tech from NIT Warangal. Prior to joining CSF, Sanjay was running a not-for-profit in the slum community rehabilitation, skill development, and women entrepreneurship space. Sanjay is a big movie buff and also seeks out unconventional books to read in his free time.
Saurabh Chopra
Saurabh Chopra
Project Director
,Government Partnerships
Saurabh leads the Government Partnerships team at Central Square Foundation where his work involves working closely with various central government stakeholders and executing numerous national-scale education projects. He has led multiple CSF engagements on the National Education Policy, NIPUN Bharat Mission, National Achievement Survey, DIKSHA, CBSE SAFAL, TicTacLearn, etc. Prior to joining CSF, Saurabh built EnglishLeap, an online English learning application, which catered to more than two million users. He also has experience in data analytics and has worked across continents with Fortune 500 clients. Saurabh holds a B.Com degree from Shri Ram College of Commerce and an MBA from IIM Lucknow. In his free time, he enjoys reading books and watching TV shows, especially those related to Indian politics and history.
Shivangi Thakur
Shivangi Thakur
Project Lead
,Government Partnerships
Shivangi works as a Project Lead for TicTacLearn(Under Government Projects Team). She is a “Teach For India” Fellow (2015) and taught 60 students at a Municipal School in Mumbai. Post-fellowship, she worked with Lead School as Curriculum and Training Manager and led the development of English curriculum for primary grades. She also worked at XSEED Education as a Senior Education Coach and supported 50 schools on implementation of the XSEED’s K-8 experiential learning curriculum. She has done Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy and Management from IIM Bangalore in 2021. Before moving to the development sector, she worked on consulting projects for clients Morgan Stanley and CVS Caremark at Genpact-Headstrong. She loves travelling and her best travel experiences includes a bike trip to Ladakh and a train journey to Jungfrau.
Shrey Rawat
Shrey Rawat
Project Lead
,State Reform- Haryana
Shrey works as Project Lead in the State Reform Haryana Team. He has been in the education space for the past 7 years. Previously, he led the District Team of Sanjhi Sikhiya Foundation in Punjab, while delivering system-reform projects and processes to the Education Department. Before this, he served as a City Training Manager as well as a Fellow at Teach For India. In his college, Shrey has learned filmmaking and is quite intrigued with Iranian and Italian Cinema.
Shreya Bharadwaj
Shreya Bharadwaj
Project Manager
,State Reform- Haryana
Shreya is a project manager in the State Reform Team where she oversees the implementation of Academic activities for FLN programs in Haryana. Prior to CSF, Shreya had diverse experiences and brought change to the Early Childhood Care and Education sector. Through her work with the various state governments, she has enhanced and advocated for early childhood education and primary education in more than 12 states in India. She holds a master’s degree in education from Ambedkar University Delhi with a specialization in early childhood. The creative instinct she has makes her unique in coming up with new ideas and plans for both her professional and personal lives. Despite her dedication to her profession, she also strives to maintain a positive work-life balance. It is easy for her to adapt to new experiences and changes.
Shyna Sehgal
Shyna Sehgal
Manager
,Administration
Shyna has been with CSF since September 2018. Prior to joining CSF, she was based out of Dubai and worked for the University of Wollongong- UAE for over nine years, as the Head of Administration.
Shyna is a mom to a 9-year-old. She loves to paint and indulge in creative activities in her spare time.
Sneha Sood
Sneha Sood
Senior Project Lead
,EdTech
Sneha works with the EdTech team at CSF, and leads the evidence generation projects aimed at generating evidence of promising hypotheses and programs, and identifying what works, how it works and how to make it work at scale. Prior to joining CSF, Sneha worked with Management Consulting organizations for over a decade in Strategy and Operations role consulting Retail and FMCG clients in India and overseas. Sneha holds an MBA from Indian School of Business, Hyderabad and did her Bachelors in Business Administration from Symbiosis, Pune. She is a health nut and an avid Yoga practitioner.
Sparsh
Sparsh
Project Manager
,Government Partnerships
Sparsh is a development sector professional, currently working as a Project Manager for the Government Partnerships Team. Prior to joining Central Square Foundation, Sparsh has worked as a Parliamentary Engagements Analyst at Swaniti Initiative, New Delhi, building relations with Members of Parliament by supporting them in their legislative work and engaging in research and advocacy around matters such as Child Rights and Air Pollution. He has also worked as an Assistant Research Fellow at Public Policy Research Centre, New Delhi, affiliated to the Shyama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation. Sparsh is very passionate about the development of the country and firmly believes that the use of technology and collaboration between stakeholders in the Education Sector can guide India towards becoming a prosperous nation. He hopes to make a tangible impact towards improving Foundational Learning Outcomes and the National Foundational-Learning Mission during his tenure at CSF. He holds a Master’s Degree in Development Studies from Ambedkar University, and a Bachelor (Hons) in Political Science from Sri Venkateswara College, New Delhi. In his spare time, Sparsh likes to spend time with his beloved Golden Retriever, gaming on his Playstation 5, watching football or checking out the latest gadgets.
Srijeet Mukherjee
Srijeet Mukherjee
Project Lead
,Government Partnerships
Srijeet Mukherjee works with the Government Partnerships team as Project Lead – Assessments based in Delhi. Previously, he worked as Project Manager at Education Today involved in creating curriculum for the Schools of Specialised Excellence under the Delhi Government. He has created school assessments at Educational Initiatives and L&D assessments at Harappa Education. He has been a Fulbright FLTA for Hindi at the University of Montana. He has co-authored a Hindi Reader for the University of California, Davis and has regularly presented guest lectures at the Virtual National Security Language Institute for Youth. An M.A. in Linguistics, his career of over 10 years began at Oxford University Press. He likes reading, traveling and loves animals and fountain pens.
Subhransu Das
Subhransu Das
Project Consultant
,State FLN Projects- Odisha
Subhransu is a competent development professional with organizational experience across leading projects, operations, and generating results. He holds a Master’s in Social Innovations and Entrepreneurship from TISS, Maharashtra. He has extensive experience in Project Implementation, Capacity Building, Research & Learning, and Accountability in the areas of Education, Child Protection, Health, and Women Empowerment.
Suman Bharti
Suman Bharti
District Consultant
,State FLN Projects - Central
Suman Bharti works with the State FLN Projects as a District Consultant and is based out of Jehanabad. She is a commerce graduate from Ranchi University and a Gandhi Fellowship alumna. Following her fellowship, she worked for Tata Trust on the Swachh Bharat Mission in three districts of Jharkhand, supporting the district administration on both an operational and strategic level. Later, she joined Mantra4Change to strengthen teacher training institutions in Bihar.She enjoys watching movies and exploring different cultures and cuisines.
Sushruti Sachdev
Sushruti Sachdev
Senior Project Lead
,Classroom Instruction and Practice
Sushruti is a Senior Project Lead with the Classroom Instruction and Practice team at CSF. She oversees the overall academic design of our FLN programs with CSF partner organizations and state governments. She is an engineer by qualification and worked as a technology consultant for two years before transitioning to the education sector with the Teach for India fellowship in 2013. She worked with Teach for India for almost 8 years in various roles ranging from teacher coach to instructional training. Prior to CSF, she was leading the program implementation for the Delhi region of Teach for India. She is passionate about making learning fun for kids and adults alike. She is a fitness enthusiast who enjoys endurance activities like trekking and running. If not in education, she would choose to be a wedding choreographer.
Techi Meshi
Techi Meshi
Project Manager
,Partnerships and New Initiatives
Meshi works with the Partnerships & New Initiative team to support the Managing director’s office with projects relating to forging new partnerships, donor portfolio management & supporting organizational development. She is a management graduate from St. Joseph’s College of Commerce where she specialized in Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Before joining CSF, she completed her two-year Teach For India fellowship, where she taught a group of 56 students from the Malvani Slum community in Mumbai. In her spare time, she likes to binge on crime shows and investigative documentaries.
Tejas Mehta
Tejas Mehta
Project Manager
,Government Partnerships
Tejas works with the Government Partnerships team and supports the Gujarat Education Department in strategizing and implementing programs around DIKSHA (a national e-learning platform). Prior to CSF, Tejas was working at Godrej when he decided to take a two-year sabbatical to join the Teach for India fellowship. Post TFI, he decided to continue working towards improving the current state of education in the country and therefore joined CSF to leverage his grassroots experiences in schools and communities to make an impact at scale. Tejas holds a bachelor’s in Engineering from M S University of Baroda and in his free time, he enjoys adventure activities, exploring magic tricks, and solving puzzles in his leisure time.
Udit Ranjan
Udit Ranjan
Project Lead
,Research and M&E
Udit works as a Project Lead in the Research, Monitoring & Evaluation, and Learning team at CSF. His interest lies in both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Prior to CSF, within the development sector, he has worked with the Accountability Initiative, Centre for Policy Research, and Oxford Policy Management. He studied undergraduate economics at Hindu College, University of Delhi, and attended a Master’s program in economics and philosophy at the LSE. Udit has never seen a ghost and wants to keep it that way.
Vaibhav Limaye
Vaibhav Limaye
Project Lead
,State Reform - Uttar Pradesh
Vaibhav works the State Reform team as a Project Lead and is based out of Gorakhpur. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. Leading Ashoka University’s flagship Chief Minister’s Good Governance Associate program, Vaibhav has gained strong insights into the large-scale governance in school education and service delivery. Previously he has supported constituency development efforts of a Member of Parliament in Rajasthan. With a strong intrapreneurial appetite, he has been at the forefront of setting up an incubator for social enterprises.Vaibhav is a passionate reader, actively follows contemporary socio-political discourse and enjoys long distance running.
Vandana Kapoor
Vandana Kapoor
Project Consultant
,Classroom Instruction and Practice
Vandana works with the Classroom Instruction Practice team and her work focuses on supporting FLN programs across teams through assessments. She has worked in the education space for more than 11 years as a school teaching professional, Delhi University faculty, and has worked with educational organizations like Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, EdCiL for MHRD-SSA, Room to Read, Education Initiatives to contribute to their teaching learning practices in different capacities. She relies on using her understanding of learning theories and pedagogic principles to guide her work. She further leverages this understanding to develop curriculum, teacher workshops and implement programs through education consultancy roles. In her free time, she is a passionate storyteller with children.
Vikas Sinhmar
Vikas Sinhmar
Project Consultant
,State FLN Projects- Punjab
Vikas works in the State FLN Projects-Punjab team and handles Assessments and Monitoring workstreams. Prior to CSF, he worked with Tata Trusts and the Ministry of Home Affairs as a Consultant providing support to the District Collector of Bhadradri Kothagudem, Telangana for overall development in the district. He started his journey in the development sector as a Gandhi Fellow, during fellowship he gained first-hand classroom teaching experience, designed TLMs and contributed to creating maturity models for various school processes to make the changes sustainable. The strong desire to use his experience and drive change at scale while making an impact at the grassroots prompted him to leave corporate and jump into the development sector. Vikas holds an MBA degree from NIT Kurukshetra and an undergraduate degree in Engineering from DCR University of Science and Technology, Sonipat(Haryana). In his leisure time, Vikas enjoys reading and talking about tennis, politics and protest poetry.
Vinod Karate
Vinod Karate
Project Director
,State Reform - Central
Vinod leads the state reform work in UP, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat. His work entails developing FLN reform frameworks to drive reform in states in the context of the NIPUN Mission. Prior to CSF, He has spent over 10 years in the Indian education landscape providing founder-level leadership in projects like STIR Education and TheTeacherApp. He specializes in designing at-scale programs with state governments with a sharp teacher lens. He also spent over 8 years in investment banking and was part of Lehman Brothers and Nomura. Vinod holds a Master’s from Delhi School of Economics and a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Delhi University. In his free time, you can find him watching content online and reading just about anything!
Vipin Yadav
Vipin Yadav
Project Lead
,Classroom Instruction and Practice
Vipin works in the Classroom Instruction and Practice team and in his role, he supports and overlooks the academic design and research of FLN programs in specific focus states. Prior to joining CSF, Vipin had a diverse career including working with Teach For India, the Head foundation, and the education department of various state governments where he worked in various education-related program implementation, design, and impact evaluation. Vipin is a Public Policy graduate from the National University of Singapore and in his free time, he loves to read, travel, or cook.