Founder-Chairperson
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
Advisory Board
Team
Department
---select department---
All
Administration
Classroom Instruction and Practice
Early Childhood Education
EdTech
Finance
Human Resources
Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives
Policy & Communications
Public Governance
Research, Monitoring, Evaluation, Assessment and Learning (RMEAL)
School Governance
State Reform
Strategic Support States - Assam
Strategic Support States - Bhadradri Kothagudem
Strategic Support States - Bihar
Strategic Support States - Central
Strategic Support States - Medak
Strategic Support States - Odisha
Strategic Support States - Punjab
Strategic Support States – Telangana
Aaratrika Barman
Aaratrika Barman
Project Manager
,EdTech
Aaratrika works as a Project Manager in the EdTech team and is based out of Delhi. After obtaining her B.A. Economics from Jadavpur University and M.Sc. Economics from IGIDR, she worked as a Management Consultant in PwC’s Healthcare Advisory practice, leveraging advanced analytics to further clients’ data-driven decision-making capabilities. Most recently, she pursued her MPA from London School of Economics, while simultaneously working as a Consultant (advising several government/private entities), an Instructor (teaching data science to undergraduate/graduate students), and a Research Assistant (focusing on applied behavioural science for public policy). She can often be found at her desk, beaming at her screen, making another to-do list.
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.
Aditi Nangia
Aditi Nangia
Senior Project Lead
,Early Childhood Education
Aditi works on Early Childhood Education 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!
Akashi Kaul
Akashi Kaul
Head
,Research, Monitoring, Evaluation, Assessment and Learning (RMEAL)
Akashi Kaul is currently leading the RMEAL Team at CSF and is based out of Delhi. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Literature from Punjab University, a Master’s Degree in Communication from SIMC, a Master’s in Education Degree from University of Pennsylvania, and a PhD in Education Policy from George Mason University. She specializes in evaluation methods and designs, with close to 15 years of experience. Her previous roles include leading the education, child protection and equity vertical at a leading Indian RMEL firm, contributing to external evaluations for NIH, NSF, NASA and US Dept. of Labour and State as an evaluation expert and conducting independent research on advancing evaluation methodologies in the global south. She enjoys designing research and evaluation for complex interventions in complex contexts, particularly with an eye towards using innovative methodologies and learning mechanisms.
Akshay Kumar Baskaran
Akshay Kumar Baskaran
Manager
,Human Resources
Akshay works with the Human Resources team at CSF as a Manager and is based out of Delhi. Prior to CSF, Akshay has worked extensively with The /Nudge Institute, where he spearheaded collaborative initiatives at The/Nudge Forum’s inaugural “Charcha.” This endeavor brought together brilliant minds from diverse sectors—livelihoods, tech, policy, and business—in a collective pursuit of driving meaningful change. His involvement in talent acquisition at The/Nudge Institute is his most cherished memory. He not only identified exceptional talent but also got to cultivate an environment that values diverse perspectives and contributions. In his free time, Akshay likes to read rare reads from Wikipedia and to do heritage walks around the city appreciating and exploring different art forms.
Akshay Kumar Nikhil
Akshay Kumar Nikhil
Project Lead
,State Reform
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.
Akshit Sharma
Akshit Sharma
Project Manager
,State Reform
Akshit works with CSF’s SRT Team and supports the implementation of its FLN program across 3 states in North and Central India.He holds a B.Tech Degree from Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh and loves to quiz. Prior to CSF, Akshit has worked as a Research Analyst with Mckinsey’s Digital vertical and briefly for the governance consulting firm Samagra; where he supported Uttar Pradesh government’s healthcare service delivery program, Mission Niramaya.He enjoys sketching and is always up for a conversation about rock bands and Formula 1.
Amola Mehta
Amola Mehta
Project Associate
,EdTech
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.
Amrit Ahuja
Amrit Ahuja
Senior Consultant
,Policy & Communications
Ananth Babu Lakshmanan
Ananth Babu Lakshmanan
Project Lead
,State Reform
Ananth works with the state reform team as a Project Lead and is based out of Panchkula. Ananth holds an engineering degree from NIT Trichy and a management degree from IIM Calcutta. Prior to CSF, he has worked on pivotal roles at GDi Partners, BCG, IPAC, and Saint-Gobain. He seamlessly blends corporate expertise with his lifelong passion for education, characterized by an insatiable curiosity for positive change. When free, You’ll find him engrossed in books or engaged in interesting debates with anyone who wishes to join in.
Ananya Kapoor
Ananya Kapoor
Research Manager
,State Reform
Ananya works with the State Reform team as a Project Manager and is based out of Panchkula. Ananya has completed her bachelor’s degree from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi. Prior to CSF, Ananya has worked with Ernst & Young for (close to) four and a half years and supported different government and public sector clients on Investment Promotion initiatives. She has experience in product development and digital transformation. She is into drama, acting, and dance.
Aniket Marne
Aniket Marne
Project Manager
,Research, Monitoring, Evaluation, Assessment and Learning (RMEAL)
Aniket works as Project Manager in the RMEAL team and is based out of Delhi. He has a strong commitment to evidence-based policy making in India. He holds a master’s degree in Public Policy from Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, Delhi, and a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from Maharashtra Institute of Technology, Pune. With prior experience at Samobdhi Research and Communications and the Ministry of Home Affairs, Aniket brings invaluable insights to his role. In his leisure time, he enjoys immersing himself in video games and exploring history through documentaries.
Anindita Sen
Anindita Sen
Admin Manager
,Administration
Anindita works in the Administration Team at CSF as Manager-Facilities and Resources and is based out of Delhi. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics (Hons) from Jesus and Mary College, DU. Prior to CSF, she has worked with various Indian and multinational companies like the Spice Group, Sangeet Natak Akademi, ChrysCapital, American Express and Global Innovation & Technology Alliance (CII) all of which have helped widen her knowledge base. She enjoys interacting with people from all spheres of work and also being socially active. She is an avid traveller and passionate about art, music and dance.
Anirudh Jaiswal
Anirudh Jaiswal
Project Manager
,State Reform
Anirudh works with the State Response Team at CSF as a Project Manager and is based at Panchkula. He holds a Masters in Public Policy from NLSIU, Bangalore and has an undergraduate degree in Mathematics. Prior to joining CSF, he worked as an Analyst for Sattva Consulting.In his free time, Anirudh likes cooking, thinking about cooking or making plans to visit the newest cafe in town
Anirudh Sharma
Anirudh Sharma
Project Consultant
,EdTech
Anirudh works as a Consultant in the EdTech team supporting the overall program management for the PAL research project in Andhra Pradesh. He has previously worked with the governments of Punjab, NCT of Delhi, and Tamil Nadu on projects such as — improving access to public health, retail and wholesale market development, and tribal welfare initiatives. Prior to these stints, he worked as a business manager at Internshala wherein he was working to bridge the gap between millions of employers and jobseekers in the country. He holds a master’s degree in development studies from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering from Amrita University. In his free time, he enjoys playing football, exploring new places, and catching-up with the latest happenings in the world of politics.
Ankit Sharma
Ankit Sharma
Senior Project Lead
,Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives
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
,EdTech
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.
Anuj Bartwal
Anuj Bartwal
Consultant
,State Reform
Anuj works with the State Reform Team in Gujarat as a Numeracy Consultant. He was associated with Teach for India as a fellow in Delhi, where he taught grade 4 & 5 students at a budget-private school near Bhajanpura, Seelampur. During his fellowship, he realised the power of an effective curriculum on a larger landscape of the education system and, hence, explored different roles around curriculum and international pedagogy. Prior to joining CSF, he worked as a Teaching Faculty with Shiv Nadar School. He is often described as a ‘go to person’ by his friends and you may find him binge-watching sitcoms during his spare time.
Anurag Shrivastav
Anurag Shrivastav
Project Manager
,State Reform
Anurag works with the State reform team as Project Manager and is based out of Bhopal. He holds an integrated Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. Before joining CSF, he was working as an associate consultant with Ernst and Young LLP in planning and implementation of the public transportation projects. He wants to be part of India’s transformational journey and solve complex grass root problems of
Indian society. He enjoys reading non-fiction books, playing online blitz chess and loves watching biopic movies.
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.
Arabinda Acharya
Arabinda Acharya
Project Lead
,Strategic Support States - Odisha
Arabinda works with the Strategic Support States team as a Project Lead and is based out at Bhubaneswar. Arabinda holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Gokhale Institute of Politics and
Economics, Pune and Master in Population Studies from IIPS, Mumbai, and has worked with diverse teams across India.Prior to joining CSF, Arabinda has worked with UNICEF, CARE,
UNFPA, INDEPTH Network and KHPT, Bangalore. He is a development sector professional whose primary engagement in development sector as monitoring, evaluation and research domain. He has designed and implemented various research project in developmental issues including education for over 16 years with a deep interest and commitment towards bridging practice with scientific research findings.
Arpit Upadhyay
Arpit Upadhyay
Project Lead
,State Reform
Arpit works with the State Reform Team at CSF as a Project Lead and is based out of Panchkula. Arpit holds a Master’s in Business Management from IIM Lucknow complementing his professional expertise with a robust academic foundation. Previously a Teach For India fellow in 2016, he brings a wealth of experience in the education sector, particularly in the management of expansive projects. In his free time, Arpit enjoys exploring unconventional destinations, demonstrating a keen interest in offbeat travel experiences during his leisure time
Ashutosh Jalan
Ashutosh Jalan
Project Associate
,State Reform
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.
Avnish Kumar
Avnish Kumar
District Consultant
,Strategic Support States - 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
Ayush Soni
Ayush Soni
Project Associate
,State Reform
Ayush works with the State Reform Team at CSF as a Project Associate, and is based out of Bhopal. He graduated from Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), University of Delhi with a degree in B.Com (H). Prior to joining CSF, he worked in the Founder’s Office at an Early Stage E-Commerce Startup. He has gained experience as a Management Consultant with Zinnov and as a Founder of a social innovation think-tank. He has also worked in the slums of Delhi, leading a venture to supply affordable Sanitary Napkins to all females. In his free time, you will find him reading, trekking, running marathons, and enjoying open water swimming.
Barasha Mahanta
Barasha Mahanta
Project Consultant
,Strategic Support States - Assam
Barasha works with the State FLN Projects team as a Project Consultant and is based out of Guwahati. She holds a bachelors graduation in Political Science (Honours) from Ramjas College and a Masters in Political Science from Indraprastha College for Women. She was a Teach For India Fellow (2018 cohort, Delhi) and has worked as a Program Manager in NEAID implementing various education projects across Northeast India. Barasha finds painting therapeutic and loves to travel around observing different cultures and traditions of diverse communities, while enjoying the nature. Also, she is an adventure junkie and a thrill seeker.
Bhagyashree
Bhagyashree
Research Manager
,Classroom Instruction and Practice
Bhagyashree works as a Research Associate with the Classroom Instruction and Practice team at Central Square Foundation. Prior to joining CSF, Bhagyashree worked with Samavesh on primary education for 3 years in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, where closely worked with 112 teachers on foundational numeracy and literacy, as well as early childhood education. She liaised with various stakeholders such as block officials, students, SMC, and the tribal community. In TPD, she developed the modules for teacher training programs. During her time as a volunteer, Bhagyashree taught social studies to till 5th std in Bhandara, Maharashtra. She has completed a Masters in Education (MA Education) from Azim Premji University, Bengaluru and Commerce graduate from Nagpur University. During her free time, Bhagyashree enjoys writing poetry.
Bhawna Gupta
Bhawna Gupta
Senior Executive
,Finance
Bhawna currently works with the Finance Team at CSF as a Senior Executive. She is responsible for day-to-day accounting and managing the monthly MIS, along with employee engagement. Bhawna has spent 5+ years in the corporate sector as a Finance Executive and has experience of all compliance handling like including GST, ESI, PF, etc. Bhawna holds an M.COM degree From Indira Gandhi National Open University along with a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Delhi University. During her free time, she enjoys watching movies and TV series, listening to music and travelling with family and friends.
Chandni Kalra
Chandni Kalra
Project Consultant
,Strategic Support States - 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.
Chetan Pant
Chetan Pant
Project Manager
,State Reform
Chetan joins the State Reform Team as a Project Manager and will be based out of Lucknow. He holds a B.Tech Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Alicante University, Spain. Prior to joining CSF, he worked with Teach for India, that opened his eyes to education’s potential in uplifting marginalized communities. At Masai School, a high-growth startup, he led and scaled processes, witnessing the incredible talent of underserved students. In his free time, Chetan enjoys watching real-life movies and playing football, table tennis, and swimming. His journey is dedicated to empowering through education and finding inspiration in everyday triumphs.
Debatri Sengupta
Debatri Sengupta
Project Lead
,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
,Policy & Communications
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 he 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, he has been associated with organizations like British Council; The Indian Express, The Pioneer; with brief stints at The Guardian & BBC World News, where he 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
,Strategic Support States - 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.
Deergha Joshi
Deergha Joshi
Project Manager
,State Reform
Deergha works as a Project Manager in the State Reform Team, Uttar Pradesh at CSF. She graduated from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. Her interest lies in exploring all the nuances of the education system. She is a designer turned educator with experience managing projects, research, and design with stakeholders from SCERT Sikkim, Azim Premji Foundation, government school teachers, and school communities in Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Delhi. Before working with CSF, she was a fellow at Teach For India, Delhi. Deergha is never without an audiobook and has experimented extensively to concoct her version of the perfect cup of ginger chai.
Dinesh Kumar
Dinesh Kumar
Facilities Manager
,Administration
Dinesh works with the Administration team as the Facilities Manager and is based out of Delhi. He holds a bachelor’s degree from University of Delhi and a Diploma in Hotel Management from the Indian Hotel Management Institute in Delhi. Prior to CSF, he was associated with firms such as Accenture, Omicron, Rockwell Automation, etc. that operate in the fields of IT and industrial automation. Most recently he worked with The Convergence Foundation for more than a year and a half. In his spare time, Dinesh enjoys traveling, listening to music and reading.
Dr. Parthajeet Das
Dr. Parthajeet Das
Project Director
,Strategic Support States - 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.
Esha Kapoor
Esha Kapoor
Project Manager
,Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives
Eesha Kapoor has joined CSF as a Program Manager in the Government Partnerships team. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from NIT Hamirpur and a Master’s degree in Development Studies from University of Sussex. Prior to CSF, she worked as a software developer in Oracle Financial Services Software (OFSS) and later as a team lead in a tech-media startup, Fossbytes. After deciding to pursue her passion for the development sector, she worked with Centre for Science of Student Learning (CSSL) where she discovered her love for education and development. In her recent engagement as a Change-Maker in Education (CMIE) Fellow with the Delhi Government. Having grown up in a military family, Eesha has traveled extensively, which has nurtured her love for exploring new places, people and cultures
Faisal Siddiqui
Faisal Siddiqui
Manager
,Human Resources
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.
Faizan Saquib
Faizan Saquib
District Consultant
,Classroom Instruction and Practice
Saquib works with the Classroom Instruction and Practice team as a District Consultant and is based out of Aligarh. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Physics from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Uttar Pradesh and a Masters in Social Work from Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU), Hyderabad, Telangana. Prior to CSF, Saquib has been a Gandhi fellow and has worked with organisations like Avanti Fellows, Aashiyana Foundation and GDI Partners. He has worked on programme implementation, baseline, end line, sessions, training of children and staff of the child care institutions. He also conducted baseline assessment training for more than 150+ block resource persons (BRPs/ABRCs) for proper execution of assessment and test conduction in school. Saquib likes to swim, play cricket and carom and has also started stock trading as a hobby.
Garima Grover
Garima Grover
Project Manager
,Strategic Support States - 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
,Early Childhood Education
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
,School 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.
Gayathri Bhamipidati
Gayathri Bhamipidati
Project Associate
,Strategic Support States – Telangana
Gayathri joins CSF as a Project Manager in the Strategic Support States Team, Telangana and is based at Medchal-Malkajgiri. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Physics & Electronics from Loyola Academy – Alwal, Secunderaba. Prior to CSF, she has worked as a full-time Teaching Fellow & as a Transformational Teaching Fellow with Teach for India, Hyderabad. As the Content Advisor at TFI, Hyderabad, she held communities of practice for Secondary Science teachers in content and pedagogy. She established the first community centre in Teach for India, Hyderabad, impacting students, alumni and stakeholders of the community and designed a Science curriculum for the high school students of Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) – USA, a global community. In her free time, Gayathri can be found exploring street food or discussing Marvel comics.
Geetika Bhandari
Geetika Bhandari
Senior Project Lead
,Research, Monitoring, Evaluation, Assessment and Learning (RMEAL)
Geetika works in the RMEAL team as a Senior Project Lead, designing and implementing assessments for different stakeholders in the school education system. She has been working in the education sector for more than a decade now. In her previous instinct as well, 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 the royal blue city of Jodhpur, married to a finance professional- professor and both love cooking and exploring food. In her free time, she can be seen playing mathematical games and doing creative work. She is associated with Robin Hood Army, which is an NGO works for providing free meals to the needy.
Gouri Gupta
Gouri Gupta
Project Director
,EdTech
Gouri Gupta 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. She works with leading researchers to build evidence on what works in EdTech and supports the building of public goods like EdTech Tulna that fill critical white spaces in the EdTech ecosystem. Gouri is part of many global and Indian expert groups in EdTech and skill development.
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.
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.
Hemani Jain
Hemani Jain
Project Lead
,Early Childhood Education
Hemani works with the ECE team and is based out of Delhi. She is a science graduate from Miranda House, Delhi University and a qualified teacher. Prior to working with CSF, she has worked at LEAD for more than four years where she designed curriculum, and created books and digital plans with resources for pre-primary. She was a Fellow at Teach for India, teaching Maths and Science to grade 7-10 students. She also spent a summer at SECMOL, Ladakh, teaching conversational English and foundation mathematics to the students there. In her free time, Hemani enjoys reading, painting and watching movies.
Indranath Chatterjee
Indranath Chatterjee
State Lead
,Strategic Support States - Assam
Indranath works with the State FLN Projects team as a State Lead and is based out of Guwahati. He hails from North East India and is passionate about systemic reforms. He has 16 years of multi-faceted management experience in the development sector, successfully designing, implementing, and managing large-scale projects. Previously, he has worked with various state governments and multi-lateral agencies such as GIZ, UNICEF, and Mott Macdonald and holds a master’s degree in management. He is currently leading the CSF team in Assam towards ensuring FLN skills for all children.
Iram Gul
Iram Gul
Project Manager
,Classroom Instruction and Practice
Iram Gul works as a Project Manager with the Classroom Instruction and Practice Team and is based out of Aligarh. She holds a B.tech in Mechanical engineering from Techno India University, Kolkata.
Prior to CSF, Iram worked in the automotive industry with notable names like Maruti Suzuki. She embarked on her journey in the Education sector with Teach for India. She worked with several ed-tech companies such as Lead School and Convegenius. Iram played a crucial role in implementing innovative ed-tech solutions in both affordable private schools and government institutions, particularly in aspirational districts. In her free time, Iram likes writing poetry and traveling with an ardent inclination towards exploring spirituality.
Ishani Srivastava
Ishani Srivastava
Project Manager
,School Governance
Ishani works with the School Governance team as a Project Manager. She has an MA in Development, Climate, and Sustainability from Johns Hopkins University and a BTech from IIT Delhi. Prior to CSF, she worked in the public education sector as a Gandhi Fellow in Katihar, Bihar. She started her career as a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In her free time, she likes to read fiction, watch tennis, and experiment with vegan recipes.
Jahanavi Sharma
Jahanavi Sharma
Project Associate
,State Reform
Jahanavi Sharma works with the State Reform Team as a Project Associate and is based out of Panchkula. She holds a Postgraduate Degree in MSc. Development Administration and Planning from University College London, along with a bachelor’s in political science from Hindu College, University of Delhi. Previously, Jahanavi has interned with Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation and the Bachpan Bachao Andolan, where she co-led the ‘Justice for Every Child Campaign’ and has led several sponsored research projects in Brazil, Uganda, Singapore, and India. She enjoys reading dystopian fiction, playing Foosball and listening to the musical ‘Hamilton’.
Jayashree Paul
Jayashree Paul
Project Manager
,State Reform
Jayashree works as a Project Manager in the Strategic Support States team in Assam and is based out of Guwahati. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English Literature (Hons) from Hindu College (University of Delhi), and a master’s degree in Development Studies from Ambedkar University Delhi. Prior to CSF, Jayashree was involved with Pratham Education Foundation as a Project Associate. At Pratham, she took over projects centred on foundational learning of Anganwadi children. Her inclination towards the development sector is rooted in the desire to create an impact in society using education as an apparatus. Jayahsree loves to spend her leisure time watching anime, reading and cooking. She is also fond of exploring new places and cuisines.
Jigisha Prajapati
Jigisha Prajapati
Project Manager
,School Governance
Jigisha works as a Project Manager, Schools Governance team at Central Square Foundation is based out of Gandhinagar, Gujarat. She holds a Master’s degree in Social Work. Prior to CSF, she has worked in various in variou, including Academic Excellence Manager, Project Coordinator, Program Leader, Program Mentor, and Gandhi Fellow. Their drive to make a meaningful difference and create impactful learning experiences led them to pursue a career in education. Jigisha derives pleasure from crafting transformative learning experiences and spearheading constructive societal transformation. She is an Adventure seeker and Campsite DJ. Also she has an uncanny talent for transforming mundane work situations into hilarious memes that instantly lighten the mood and go viral within the office.
Jitendra Latchireddy
Jitendra Latchireddy
Project Manager
,Classroom Instruction and Practice
Jitendra works with classroom instruction and practice team and is based out of Aligarh. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from JNTU Kakinda. He is an alumnus of the Gandhi Fellowship Program. Before joining CSF, he worked at Azim Premji Foundation and Mantra4Change. While working with Azim Premji Foundation he worked with teachers to improve perspectives, beliefs, teaching practices, pedagogical approaches, content development, and Supported in covid Vaccination project. In his free time, Jitendra loves listening to music and is passionate about exploring diverse cultures and languages.
Jithu Paulson
Jithu Paulson
Project Manager
,Research, Monitoring, Evaluation, Assessment and Learning (RMEAL)
Jithu works as a Project Manager in the RMEAL 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 Nijhawan
Juhi Nijhawan
Consultant
,Classroom Instruction and Practice
Juhi has joined CSF as a part of the Classroom Instruction and Practice team and will be working as a Consultant, DPMU. She holds a degree in Civil Engineering from NIT, Kurukshetra. Prior to joining CSF, Juhi has spent a year in the corporate sector designing Android Applications and then she transitioned into the education sector where she has over 7 years of experience working across levels from classroom, school, district to state-level projects. She has been a Teach for India fellow and then worked with Peepul. For the last 4 years, she has been working in Governance Consulting roles with the Government of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh while being a part of organisations like Ashoka University and Samagra. In her free time, can be seen reading or watching content for the same.
Jyotsna Kujur
Jyotsna Kujur
Project Lead
,Policy & Communications
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.
Kamal Nath Jha
Kamal Nath Jha
State Lead
,Strategic Support States - Bihar
Kamal Nath Jha leads the State FLN Projects team as a State Lead in Bihar. He supports the government in the functioning of PMU for FLN in the state. He is also engaged in collection of evidence and deeper implementation of FLN activities in a few districts to showcase that FLN goals and targets are achievable within the time frame. He has a Masters degree in Political Science from JNU, New Delhi. Before joining CSF, he has worked with IPE Global, UNICEF, Save the Children and Bihar Education Project Council. During 24 years of his career span in the development sector, he has experienced early, elementary and secondary government schooling systems and learnt about the challenges they face. He was involved with the World Bank project on improving efficiency in Teachers’ Training College Institutions in Bihar. In his free time, he loves talking to children, cooking, reading and listening to music.
Kanika Tomar
Kanika Tomar
Project Consultant
,Public Governance
Kanika Tomar works with the Public Governance Team as a Project Consultant and is based out of Delhi. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Miranda House and recently completed her Masters in Development Studies from Tata Institute of Social Sciences. She entered the development sector with the Teach For India Fellowship in 2016. She has spent over four years in the education ecosystem working with various organizations such as Teach for India, 321 Education Foundation, Educate Girls and the Delhi Government. She likes to spend her free time in nature and/or with books, preferably poetry.
Kapil Khurana
Kapil Khurana
Associate Project Director
,School 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.
Karan Sabahrwal
Karan Sabahrwal
Project Manager
,State Reform
Karan works with the State Reform Team as a Project Manager and is based out of Panchkula. He holds a Bachelors degree in Information Technology from UPTU and Masters in Rural Management (PGDM) at XISS, Ranchi. Prior to working with CSF, Karan For the initial 1.5 years, he served as a Young Professional in the district and state teams of Livestock at Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society under the Rural Development Department in Bihar. Karan has also been part of Samagra Development Associates, contributing to the Family ID team under the Planning Department and the Mission Niramaya team under the Department of Medical Education in Uttar Pradesh. During his free time, Karan enjoys watching series and indulging in gardening activities.
Karthik Rangu
Karthik Rangu
Project Associate
,Strategic Support States – Telangana
Karthik joins CSF as a Project Associate in the Strategic Support States Team, Telangana and is based out of Bhadradri-Kothagudem. He holds a Bachelors in Social Work from Osmania University, Hyderabad and Masters in Social work In Public health from TISS, Mumbai. Prior to CSF, Karthik worked as a former Telangana State Outreach Coordinator at Thanal, he played a pivotal role in establishing micro-learning centres aimed at reintegrating dropout children into the formal education system. In his free time, he loves to travel and holds a black belt in karate.
Kavita Rawat
Kavita Rawat
Project Manager
,EdTech
Kavita Rawat works as a Project Manager with the EdTech team at CSF. 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.
Kohima Goyal
Kohima Goyal
Project Manager
,Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives
Kohima works with the Government Partnerships team at Central Square Foundation as a Project Manager based out of Delhi, wherein she is supporting the central government on national education strategy and programs. She has extensive experience collaborating with state governments and the Ministry of Education on initiatives like the National Education Policy, RTE and data governance (UDISE, NAS, PGI etc.). She has also worked as Chief Minister’s Research Associate in Madhya Pradesh where she gained invaluable insights into policymaking and on-ground operations by engaging with officials from various departments. Kohima holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at NUS, Singapore, along with a Postgraduate Diploma in Liberal Arts from Ashoka University (Young India Fellowship) and a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Punjab University, Chandigarh. Beyond her professional endeavors, she is an ardent long-distance marathon runner who finds solace in exploring cafes and immersing herself in the world of books during her leisure time.
Komal Kasera
Komal Kasera
Project Lead
,School Governance
Komal works with the Governance Team as a Project Lead and is based out of Delhi. She holds a MBA degree from the Indian School of Business and has a Masters degree in Biotechnology. Prior to CSF, she has led multiple 0-1 product journeys in EdTech start-ups over the last few years. She started her journey in the education sector as a Teach for India fellow in Mumbai. Since then she has been keen on solving diverse problems in the education space and furthering her impact in the sector. In her free time, she likes to explore new dance classes, read fiction, and go out with friends.
Komal Lakra
Komal Lakra
Project Manager
,State Reform
Komal works with the State Reform Team as a Project Associate and is based out of Bhopal. With a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Miranda House, Delhi University, and a Masters in Development Studies from TISS, Mumbai, she has developed a deep understanding of development dynamics. Prior to CSF, she worked at Sattva Consulting and has garnered valuable skills in research and project management. When not immersed in work, she enjoys exploring new books, savouring new cuisines, embarking on mountain adventures and spending time with dogs. She loves her chai and is always open to conversations about thriller shows and movies.
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
,Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives
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.
Leenus Roffun Silva
Leenus Roffun Silva
Project Lead
,Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives
Leenus works as a Project Lead with Government Partnerships team and and leads the DIKSHA project out of Chennai. His key responsibilities include working with government stakeholders across few focus states and Ekstep team to drive programs through DIKSHA. His foray into the development sector began with a stint with Fincare Small Finance Bank to ensure financial inclusion at the last mile. Prior to joining CSF, he worked as a Young Professional with Tamil Nadu Rural Development Department working on the design phase of Tamil Nadu Rural Transformation Project, a World Bank-funded project focused on enterprise promotion. Leenus holds a MBA degree from Xavier Institute of Management and an engineering degree from Jerusalem College of Engineering, Anna University, Chennai. In his spare time, Leenus enjoys reading non-fiction, watching movies from across the world, and catching up with friends.
Lokeshwaran Nagaraj
Lokeshwaran Nagaraj
Project Lead
,Early Childhood Education
Lokeshwaran works with the Partnerships & New Initiatives (ECE) team as a Project Lead and is based out of Delhi. He is an Aerospace Engineer by education and his journey in the education sector began in 2017 with the Teach For India Fellowship. After the fellowship, he worked with Bhumi for four years, where he had the opportunity to design the Bhumi Fellowship in whole school transformation as part of the founding team. He hails from Chennai and outside of work, he enjoys watching football, reading non-fiction and an occasional episode of The Office or Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
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
Mahesh R. Challa
Mahesh R. Challa
Project Manager
,Strategic Support States - Medak
Mahesh works with the Strategic Support States Team and is based at Medak. He holds a B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from Amrita University and a B.Ed from Mahatma Gandhi University, a unique blend of technical and educational expertise. Prior to CSF, he has worked at Teach For India, BYJU’S, where he took on the role of Senior Content and Training Associate. He then transitioned to LEAD School, took on the role of Academic Excellence Manager. Over the past two years, he has influenced 45 schools, empowered 400 teachers, and touched the lives of 16,000 students. In his free time, Mahesh loves to travel to new places and explore food.
Mahima Kansal
Mahima Kansal
Project Manager
,Policy & Communications
Mahima is part of the Policy & 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 digital communication 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.
Manideep M.
Manideep M.
Project Associate
,Strategic Support States – Telangana
Manideep Kumar Myakala joins Telangana’s State Strategic Support Team as Project Associate and is based out of Medchal-Malkajgiri. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Governance, specializing in Regulations and Institutions from Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Prior to joining CSF, Manideep worked as a Senior Research Associate at the Centre for Public Policy Governance and Performance, Administrative Staff College of India(ASCI). He has also worked briefly on evaluating innovation nominations under the Prime Minister Awards 2022. Before working at ASCI, he worked with the Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS) on Mobile applications that are aimed at increasing the efficiency of the grassroots level functionaries of Panchayat Raj & Rural Development (PPRD), Department of Economics & Statistics (DES) and Women Development & Child Welfare (WDCW) departments. In his free time, Manideep enjoys playing chess and driving.
Manpriya Sodhi
Manpriya Sodhi
Project Manager
,Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives
Manpriya has joined CSF as a Project Manager in the Office of the CEO as part of the Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives Team. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Jesus & Mary College. Prior to joining CSF, Manpriya has worked for Teach for India, where she managed acquisitions and outreach strategy on the National Development team. There, she led projects across resource mobilisation, knowledge management, strategy, and operations, while actively working with the Senior Leadership on strategic communications and advocacy. She has also worked with a diverse range of private and development sector organizations, focusing on sustainable development, youth leadership and mobilisation, and entrepreneurship..
Mansi Agarwal
Mansi Agarwal
Project Associate
,EdTech
Mansi works in the EdTech team as a Project Associate. She has 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 also 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. Mansi likes to spend her spare time cooking, reading and practicing yoga.
Megha Pandey
Megha Pandey
District Consultant
,Classroom Instruction and Practice
Megha works as a District Consultant in the Classroom Instruction and Practice team and is based out of Ghaziabad. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi and Masters in Organic Chemistry. She is a Young India Fellow and has also completed her diploma in Liberal Arts from Ashoka University, Sonipat. Prior to CSF, Megha worked with Azim Premji Foundation for three years. In her free time, she enjoys reading and doing craft work, which ranges from paper crafts to wire crafts.
Misha Nambiar
Misha Nambiar
Senior Project Lead
,Strategic Support States - Punjab
Misha works as a Senior Project Lead with the Strategic Support States Team at CSF. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Punjab University. She pursued her Masters in Business Administration from Pune. She is passionate about bringing to life CSF’s vision of quality learning for all children. Prior to working with CSF, Misha has worked as Investment Analyst, TFI fellow, Entrepreneur, Academic Expert and L&D specialist in multiple organisations. In her free time, she enjoys solving Sudoku and crossword puzzles. She loves to travel with her family.
Mohd. Faizan
Mohd. Faizan
District Consultant
,Classroom Instruction and Practice
Faizan works as a District Consultant in the Classroom Instruction and Practice Team and is based out of Aligarh. He holds a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Hindi from Aligarh Muslim University and his Master’s in Social Work from MANU University Hyderabad. In his previous role at Piramal Foundation, he managed 15 Gandhi Fellows and stakeholder engagement in two aspirational districts of Uttar Pradesh. In his free time, you will either find him in the gym or you will find him making delicious dishes for his child.
Mokshit Jain
Mokshit Jain
Project Associate
,State Reform
Mokshit joins the State Reform team as the Project Associate at Delhi. He is an advocate and has a keen interest in constitutional matters. He holds a degree in Masters in Public Policy and Governance from Azim Premji University. He is a public policy professional working towards creating positive social impact at scale through systemic reforms. He has experience working with senior bureaucrats in drafting the rules for the labor codes and making policy proposals at the NITI Aayog. He likes to discover poetry, converse about wide ranging topics and appreciate art
Mounika Kuraparthy
Mounika Kuraparthy
Project Manager
,Strategic Support States – Telangana
Mounika works with the Strategic Support States Team, Telangana and is based out of Hyderabad. She holds a B.Tech Degree from SSN College of Engineering, Chennai. Prior to joining CSF, she started her professional journey as a Software Engineer, but her passion for education brought her to the Teach For India Fellowship. Since then, she has worked with various organisations within the education sector. She found that her true joy lies in working on classroom instruction, curriculum development and collaborating with teachers. She joined Central Square Foundation with the goal of applying her skills at scale and contribute to improving learning outcomes across the state. In her free time, she likes to read and occasionally try her hand at writing.
Mridul Dhyani
Mridul Dhyani
Project Manager
,Strategic Support States - Punjab
Mridul works as a Project Manager in the Strategic Support States Team at CSF and is based out of Punjab. He holds a Masters Degree in Design with a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering and is currently pursuing a degree in Development Studies.He is an engineer turned educator. Prior to CSF, Mridul has worked in different industries from manufacturing to e-commerce and has found solace in the education sector thanks to the Azim Premji Foundation’s fellowship.This year-long fellowship journey in the hills of Almora(Uttarakhand) exposed him to the rudiments of primary education, community life, teacher engagement and the very many challenges of the life of the hills. To further build on his knowledge of teacher education, he joined the Shiv Nadar Foundation and contributed to the teacher professional development program being developed by the foundation before joining CSF. In his idle time, he can be seen exploring the different literary genres, oftentimes travelling to the hills and otherwise engaged in outdoor activities.
Mridula Kumari
Mridula Kumari
Project Manager
,Strategic Support States - Bihar
Mridula works in the Strategic Support States team as a Project Manager and is based out of Bihar. She did her masters in Home Science from Patna University and M.Ed. from Barkatullah University, Bhopal, M.P. She has 6-8 years’ experience in Health, Nutrition and Education with UNICEF, ICDS, JEEViKA (BRLPS), Going to School and Aga Khan Foundation. She had closely worked with SCERT Bihar in the Teacher Education and DIET strengthening. Mridula loves to write poem/Story/Case Study/Slogan and interact different communities to know their cultures and tradition. She wants to drive change in society through right education of each child.
Murali Krishna
Murali Krishna
Project Manager
,Strategic Support States - Bhadradri Kothagudem
Murali works with the Strategic Support States Team as a Project Manager in Telangana and is based out of . He holds a Master’s from Azim Premji University. With over 8 years of experience in the education sector, Murali previously worked on improving education quality in private schools and coached school leaders to enhance student learning outcomes. His interests encompass teacher education, school leadership, running, doodling, and photography.
Nalini Bhandari
Nalini Bhandari
Project Manager
,Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives
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.
Nanda Kishore Thallapally
Nanda Kishore Thallapally
Project Lead
,Strategic Support States – Telangana
Nanda works as a Project Lead in Strategic Support States Team, Telanagna at CSF. Nanda was born in the village of Ghanpuram, in Telangana. Having grown up in a teacher family in rural Telangana, his understanding of school education and its importance in society grew over time. After UG, he chose to go back home, and manage a family-owned low-cost private school for 3 years. During this time, he engaged with students of early grades, 1 to 5, experimenting alternative education. Pursuing PG Diploma in Rural Development from NIRD&PR equipped him with relevant skills and theoretical knowledge needed to work on large scale rural development programmes. In his previous roles with HCL Foundation & School Education Department of Andhra Pradesh, he worked on stakeholder management, curriculum development, community mobilization, training of teachers, research, inter-governmental liasoning, program Design and management. Fun Fact: He can break into a song any minute of the day.
Natasha Agarwal
Natasha Agarwal
Lead
,Human Resources
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.
Navneet Khubber
Navneet Khubber
Project Manager
,School Governance
Navneet works as a Project Manager in the School Governance Team and is based out of Udaipur. She holds a bachelor’s degree in History from Miranda House, University of Delhi. Prior to CSF, she was a part of the 2020 Young India Fellowship cohort, where she worked on a project working towards retention of out-of-school females in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Her diverse experience encompasses research and teaching assistance in gender studies at Ashoka University, as well as roles in leadership consulting at Egon Zehnder and technology consulting at Code Brew Labs. Navneet aspires to forge a career in assessment, governance and education reform within South Asian societies.
Nidhi Srinath
Nidhi Srinath
Project Manager
,Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives
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.
Nihith Bodepudi
Nihith Bodepudi
Project Associate
,Strategic Support States – Telangana
Nihith works with the Telangana SSS team (Medak district) to drive FLN outcomes for the primary school-going children. Prior to this, he was managing bids and proposals in one of the
large global professional services firms helping them submit proposals to various RfXs. Nihith attended Young India Fellowship at Ashoka University which grounded him in the Humanities
and Social Sciences education. As a young development professional, he’s all ears to learn, unlearn, and relearn. In his free time, he can be found casually flipping pages through a non-
fiction book or deeply engrossing into watching any of F1, cricket, and Tennis.
Nikhita Agrawal
Nikhita Agrawal
Project Manager
,State Reform
Nikhita works with the State Reform Team as a Project Manager, and is based out of Lucknow. She holds a Masters in Development from Azim Premji University, and a bachelor’s degree in Engineering. Prior to joining CSF, Nikhita has worked at Sattva Consulting, and has previously founded a social enterprise as well. In her personal time, Nikhita likes to read, binge watch and loves eating or thinking about food and making travel plans.
Nishant Sharma
Nishant Sharma
Project Lead
,School Governance
Nishant works with the Private Schools team as a Project Lead and is based out of Bikaner. Nishant has worked extensively in the world of academic content and teaching, and has created teaching and learning content for multiple subjects upto grade 10. He is passionate about education reform and has worked in the sector in multiple roles. He holds a Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology, Pilani.
Nitin Sharma
Nitin Sharma
State Lead
,Strategic Support States - Punjab
Nitin leads the State FLN Projects team in Punjab as a State Lead . His role entails building the state’s strength to bring systemic changes to improve FLN. He is a post-graduate in Social Work and has studied Rural and Urban development. He brings close to two decades of professional experience to the team in multiple thematic areas such as education, system strengthening, government consulting, and partnerships. His experience across multiple organizations, roles, and industries has helped him develop skills specifically in managing large-scale projects and impact delivery and a keen understanding of the sector. He strongly believes that change in society and systems are only possible through a change in the self (individual). He is passionate about creating a synergistic effect amongst people through adoption of inclusion, convergence and empathy as core values.
Nitish Chaurasiya
Nitish Chaurasiya
District Consultant
,Strategic Support States - Bihar
Nitish works as a District Consultant in the Strategic Support States team, Bihar. Nitish holds a Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree in History from Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi. He started his career as a Gandhi Fellow, introducing innovative ideas for education in a district. He is responsible for ensuring effective implementation of projects in Bihar State. Prior to this, he worked with GuruJal, an initiative of the Gurugram district, as an Associate, leading communication, community mobilization, and strategic program implementation. Passionate about driving change in society, Nitish enjoys traveling to historical places and monuments, reading fiction books, and indulging in mobile photography, Hindi movies, and documentaries.
Nitya Poddar
Nitya Poddar
Project Manager
,State Reform
Nitya works as a Project Manager with the State Reform team and is based out of Bhopal. She is a Delhi native with a background in management consulting. Her experience spans diverse projects focusing on digitisation, data analytics, change management and stakeholder engagement. Passionate about emerging technologies and business trends, she finds joy in connecting with new people and exploring fresh ideas. Alongside her professional pursuits, Nitya is a trained Kathak dancer who finds solace in watching movies and listening to old classics. What fuels her journey is the relentless pursuit of knowledge and the thrill of discovering the unknown.
Noopur Abhishek
Noopur Abhishek
Senior Project Lead
,EdTech
Noopur works with the EdTech team as a Senior Project Lead and is based out of Delhi. She has over 10 years of experience across strategy, product and management consulting. Thematically, she has focused on K-12 education in the past few years. Prior to her return to CSF, Noopur was working with LEAD, a B2B EdTech unicorn. She worked on incubation and scaling of early stage enterprises during her previous stint at CSF and has also been a management consultant on social impact projects at BCG. She holds a Masters in Economics from Oxford University and a Bachelors in Economics (Hons.) from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University. Outside of work, she loves spending time with her beagle, experimenting with healthy recipes and planning her next vacation.
Ojas Arora
Ojas Arora
Project Manager
,EdTech
Ojas works at CSF as a Project Associate in the EdTech Team and is based out of Delhi. He recently completed his Post Graduate Diploma in Ashoka Scholars Programme and is a Bachelors in Arts in History and International Relations from Ashoka University. Before joining CSF, he had worked extensively with TCPD as a Research Associate. He is passionate to make quality education equitably accessible and wishes to make a large scale impact with his work in the social sector. Outside work, he enjoys cooking for other people, and watching shows.
Pankaj Nautiyal
Pankaj Nautiyal
Project Lead
,State Reform
Pankaj joins the State Reform Team as a Project Lead and is based out of Lucknow. He holds a Masters in Science and Master in education from Azim premji University. He has more than 10 years working in the field of education across different states in India. Prior to CSF, he worked closely with government educational departments ensuring effective implementation of educational reforms. He has also worked with different organisations such as Star Education, Manipur, Lead School, Avanti Fellows Haryana, STiR education Uttar Pradesh, Bodh Shiksha Samiti, Rajasthan across the professional years. In his free time, he likes to travel and read
Paroma Raha
Paroma Raha
Project Associate
,State Reform
Paroma Raha has joined CSF as a Project Associate in the State Reform team and is based out of Lucknow. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree with a triple major in Economics, Political Science, and Sociology from Christ University, Bengaluru and Masters in Public Policy from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. Prior to joining CSF, she worked at WhiteKettle Consulting as a Research Analyst. In her free time, she enjoys baking, reading, and watching re-runs of Masterchef Australia.
Pooja Nagpal
Pooja Nagpal
Associate Project Director
,Research, Monitoring, Evaluation, Assessment and Learning (RMEAL)
Pooja is an Associate Project Director in the RMEAL team at CSF, where she is leading the assessment programs related to foundational literacy and numeracy, to improve the quality of measuring learning outcomes for both State and National level assessments. She is an education assessment, monitoring and evaluation expert with 15 years of experience in leading student assessment and measurement projects for government, national civil society organizations, NGOs and agencies. She has designed and implemented large-scale learning assessments and impact evaluations- including design of assessment frameworks, instruments and processes. She has also conducted assessment training and capacity building sessions for education stakeholders at State and National levels. At CSF, she has worked on projects like National Achievement Survey 2021, SAFAL and State Assessments by providing strategic and technical support to NCERT, CBSE and SCERTs across CSF’s focus States. She holds a bachelors and masters degree in Psychology from Delhi University, and has completed education research and measurement graduate program from University of Illinois, Chicago.
Pranay Goel
Pranay Goel
Project Manager
,State Reform
Pranay holds a commerce degree from Shri Ram College of Commerce and a master’s degree in rural management from IRMA. Prior to joining CSF, he has worked with Ipas Development Foundation on improving abortion rights and access in India and has also worked with the Government of Telangana in their Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Department. Pranay is passionate about driving social change through his work. In his free time, Pranay loves to go for a run and enjoys travelling. However, most of his free time is consumed in sleeping.
Pratik Ranjan
Pratik Ranjan
Project Manager
,Strategic Support States - Odisha
Pratik works with the Strategic Support States Team as a Project Manager and is based out of Dhenkanal, Odisha. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from KIIT University, Bhubaneswar. Prior to CSF, Pratik has worked as a Teach for India fellow in 2019 and as an Academic Excellence Manager at Lead School where he impacted 17 schools, touching the lives of 300 teachers and 3000 students, ensuring a quality educational experience. In his free time, Pratik loves teaching and nurturing young minds.
Pratiksha
Pratiksha
Project Lead
,Strategic Support States - Odisha
Pratiksha works a Project Consultant with the State FLN Projects team and is based out of Bhubaneswar. A teacher at heart, Pratiksha is a triple-major in Journalism-Psychology-English Literature. Her passion for teaching and learning brought her to Teach For India where she started as a Fellow in 2016 focusing on foundational learning for her early graders. Committed to providing children with quality education, she then continued this journey as a Program Manager coaching Fellows in their leadership journeys, and also took up the role of an Instructional Trainer at TFI’s Training Institute, facilitating learning on classroom culture-pedagogy-SEL-foundational literacy. Her desire to see impact of holistic learning at scale brought her to CSF. Fun Fact: She can hold long conversations on Partition Literature and Iced-Black-Coffee is her Elixir.
Prayasha Panda
Prayasha Panda
Project Consultant
,EdTech
Prayasha works as Project Consultant with the EdTech team and is based out of Bhopal. She holds a Masters in literature from Pondicherry University. She loves to work at the intersection of education and gender. Prayasha nosedived in the development sector as an Associate at Azim Premji Foundation in western Rajasthan where she transformed rural schools through one year of intensive field practice in the scorching deserts of Thar, working closely with displaced tribal marginalized communities. Post this, she worked with CARE India spearheading content development, design, and implementation of ECE curriculum in Anganwadi Centres of north Uttar Pradesh floodplains. A rookie video editor and an artist herself, when she’s not backpacking for trips, you can find her learning a 5th language (French) or solving a 1000-piece puzzle.
Preeti Rajput
Preeti Rajput
Project Manager
,Strategic Support States - Punjab
Preeti works with the Strategic Support States Team as a Project Manager and is based at Mohali. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering. Prior to joining CSF, she has worked in Information Technology industry, Teaching, and School leadership. She has worked with Wipro Infotech as a Project Engineer and her ourney in the education sector started with the Teach for India Fellowship, where she taught 81 middle school children in a Delhi government school. Post fellowship, I started working with The Akanksha Foundation as a Teacher Leader. Here, my work centered around Instructional leadership(Coaching and training Teachers), Strategic leadership, and Developing People and culture. In her free time, Preeti likes to walk and practice yoga.
Priyank Mandal
Priyank Mandal
Senior Project Lead
,State Reform
Priyank joins Central Square Foundation as a Senior Project Lead in the State Reform Team and is based out of Lucknow. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Engineering from NSIT and a MBA Degree from Symbiosis International University.
He has over 10+ years of experience in driving strategic growth initiatives across industries. Prior to CSF, He has worked extensively with multiple stakeholders in the Government and Public sector and Social Impact ecosystem. His contributions played a key role in driving Digital Transformation initiatives across South Asia and East Africa in the areas of job-creation and youth employability. He embraces a customer-centric approach to designing and delivering a transformational experience for beneficiaries. In his free time, Priyank engages with young entrepreneurs and students. He likes to read, play sports and travel.
Puja Mondal
Puja Mondal
Project Manager
,State Reform
Puja joins the Strategic Support States Team at CSF and is based out of Bihar. She holds a Masters Degree in Mathematics and a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.). She has built a solid foundation in both subject matter and pedagogy. Prior to CSF, Puja has made impactful contributions at Care India, Azim Premji Foundation and Vikramshila Education Resource Society. Her journey as a social sector practitioner has been enriched by hands-on teaching at Christel House India School for underprivileged students. Her grassroots experience illuminated the crucial need for extensive educational intervention. Outside of work, Puja loves spending time in script reading, public speaking, and providing background voices.
Rabb Nawaz Ahmed
Rabb Nawaz Ahmed
Project Consultant
,Strategic Support States - 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
,Policy & Communications
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
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.
Reeya Rao
Reeya Rao
Project Manager
,Classroom Instruction and Practice
Reeya works as a Project Manager with the Classroom Instruction and Practice team in Delhi. 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.
Rhea Handa
Rhea Handa
Project Lead
,EdTech
Rhea returns to CSF as a Project Lead on the EdTech team. Prior to this stint at CSF, Rhea worked on the scale-up of evidence-based programs in early childhood education on the Policy team at J-PAL South Asia; led evidence generation initiatives on the EdTech team at CSF; worked on maternal and child health at the Antara Foundation; and researched education innovation at the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution. Rhea is an Economics and Politics major from Scripps College in Claremont, California. Outside of work, Rhea is a pet parent, professionally trained Kathak dancer, amateur handpoked tattoo artist, and a budding potter.
Rishika Hazarika
Rishika Hazarika
Project Manager
,Strategic Support States - Assam
Rishika works as a Project Manager in the Strategic Support States Team at CSF. She holds a Master of Social Work from Assam University, Silchar, with a specialisation in Disaster Management. Prior to CSF, Rishika has been a Gandhi Fellow where she was placed in Mumbai for 2 years. She has also worked as a Curriculum Designer at Swiflearn (Edu tech Company), Pratyek, Delhi and In Adhyayan Foundation, She worked with 465 schools of Arunachal Pradesh and 634 schools in Tripura to Implement Shaala Siddhi Framework by enabling school and system leaders in the Government Education Department to answer the question-
“How do we know our schools are good schools and how do we enable them to improve? In her free time, Rishika finds solace in trekking and is known for her love of collecting antique postcards from different parts of the world.
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
Ritesh works with the State Reform Team as a Project Manager. 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 6+ 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 Aggarwal
Riya Aggarwal
Project Manager
,State Reform
Riya works as a Project Manager in the State Reform Team, Uttar Pradesh. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management Studies from Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, University of Delhi. Prior to joining CSF, she worked in the field of impact and management consulting, supporting governmental and non-governmental organisations across functions of strategy, programme management, product development, and more. Riya is a budding artist who likes to create (and gift) art, read and collect books, and aims to travel to every state of India at least once.
Romonika D Sharan
Romonika D Sharan
Project Director
,Policy & Communications
Romonika currently assumes the role of Project Director, Policy & Communications at CSF. 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.
Roopala Saxena
Roopala Saxena
Project Manager
,State Reform
Roopala joins CSF as a Project Manager in the State Reform Team and is based out of Panchkula. She holds a degree in Economics Hons. from the University of Delhi. Prior to joining CSF, she worked at the Haryana Right to Service Commission. As a Teach for India Fellow 2018, she served as a full-time educator in an elementary classroom to accelerate learning outcomes. She has also served as a Good Governance Associate to the Chief Minister of Haryana in the year 2020-21. She has also been recognized as a top global educator by World’s Largest Lesson & UNESCO MGIEP, wherein she participated in a cross-country exchange of best practices as an Empatico Fellow to promote Education for Sustainable Development. Roopala enjoys listening to music and traveling to hills.
S B Sriraman Pradyoth
S B Sriraman Pradyoth
Project Manager
,EdTech
Pradyoth works with the EdTech – B2G team that focuses on supporting the central and state governments on their Ed-Tech Programs. Currently, he works on helping the states with both in-school and out-of-school EdTech programs driven by evidence and programmatic approach. Pradyoth has a diverse work experience of working with the UNHCR, as a Zilla Swachh Bharat Prerak, and at the 17000 ft Foundation. Pradyoth holds a PGP in Public Policy from the Indian School of Public Policy, and B.A in History, Economics, & Political Science from Christ University. Pradyoth enjoys exploring new food recipes and places.
Sabina Laskar
Sabina Laskar
Project Consultant
,Strategic Support States - Assam
Sabina works as a Project Consultant with State FLN Projects team in Guwahati. She has lived in several parts of the country working in education, nutrition, and gender since 2016. She did her second Masters degree from the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University, Rotterdam in Human Rights, Gender and Conflict Studies in 2020. Her motivation to work with children started when she joined Piramal Foundation for Education Leadership as a Gandhi Fellow in 2016. Currently, she is supporting government officials in the State FLN team towards the implementation of the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy program in the state of Assam. A fun fact about Sabina: she has been an art fanatic and a die-hard Chelsea fan since 2009.
Saksham Saxena
Saksham Saxena
Senior Project Lead
,Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives
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
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.
Sambhrant Srivastava
Sambhrant Srivastava
Senior Project Lead
,State Reform
Sambhrant works as the State Lead for the NIPUN Haryana mission. He has extensive experience in collaborating with national and international NGOs, CSR initiatives, and governments in Haryana, Delhi, and Maharashtra. Throughout the past decade, he has been involved in diverse roles such as teaching students, coaching government teachers and Anganwadi supervisors, designing curricula, spearheading organizational strategies and expansions, as well as providing advisory and consulting services to government entities. In his previous position, he held the role of Program Lead, overseeing education policy and administration at the Office of the Deputy Chief Minister in Delhi. Sambhrant holds an engineering degree and is an alumnus of Teach For India from the 2013 batch.
Sambit Kumar Mishra
Sambit Kumar Mishra
Project Manager
,Strategic Support States - Odisha
Sambit works with the Strategic Support States team in Odisha as a Project Manager and is based out of Dhenkanal. He holds a bachelor’s degree from VSSUT, Burla and a Masters from TISS, Mumbai. Prior to CSF, he has worked with Quest Alliance, Save The Children India, BYJU’S and Shiksharth in domains of curriculum development, training and program management. Beyond his professional realm, he indulges in reading, exploring web content, and reconnecting with himself through nature walks. Sambit is passionate about education and has a personal quest for knowledge.
Sanjay Koushik
Sanjay Koushik
Senior 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 governments 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
,Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives
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.
Shagun Tyagi
Shagun Tyagi
Project Manager
,State Reform
Shagun works as a Project Manager with the Strategic State Support Team and is based out of Mohali. She holds a Bachelor’s in Literature from Lady Shri Ram College. Prior to CSF, Shagun formally began her journey in the Education Sector with the Teach For India Fellowship. In her professional journey so far she has worked as an Educator, Designer, Trainer, Founder, and Leader with a number of organizations in the development sector. Prior to joining CSF, she worked as a Foundational Literacy Anchor with the Shiv Nadar School. She is often described as an “enthu cutlet” by her students and you may find her binge-watching her favorite Netflix Series during her spare time.
Shaista Naaz
Shaista Naaz
Project Manager
,State Reform
Shaista works as a Project Manager in the State Reform team and is based out of Panchkula. Prior to CSF, she was a Governance Consultant at GDi partners wherein she steered a range of projects in education and gender working closely with the Department of Education, the Delhi Commission for Women and providing strategic support to the foreign philanthropies. She was a 2020 Teach for India Fellow and holds an academic degree in French language, literature and culture studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University and loves to immerse herself in cinema, literature and books.
Shalet Sicily Jose
Shalet Sicily Jose
Project Manager
,Strategic Support States - Central
Shalet works with the State FLN Projects Team as a Project Manager and is based out of Delhi. Prior to joining CSF, she worked as an Assistant Manager at Samhita where she managed various CSR projects. She was also a Chief Minister’s Good Governance Associate in Haryana and managed various governance initiatives across domains in the districts of Panchkula and Rohtak. She has a BA in Economics from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai and an MA in Educational Planning, Economics and International Development from UCL, London. She also holds a Post Graduate Diploma from Indian School of Development management in Noida. Her hobbies include making people laugh (by making puns) and dancing.
Shaurya Vats
Shaurya Vats
Project Associate
,State Reform
Shaurya works with the State Reform team as a Project Associate and is based out of Panchkula. Shaurya holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in Political Science and History from St. Stephen’s College in Delhi, and a Master’s degree from the Institute of Education at University College London. Prior to CSF, he has previously worked as a Business Analyst at Zomato. In his free time Shaurya loves to play football and watch cinema. He is a die-hard Real Madrid fan and can quote every line from the Dark Knight trilogy – ask him anytime!
Shilpi
Shilpi
Project Manager
,Strategic Support States - Central
Shilpi works as a Project Manager with the Strategic Support States team in Delhi. She has had diverse experiences of working in the corporate and development sector with the Tata Group, Swaniti Initiative and Grofers. Her willingness to work at the grassroot and make an impact in the lives of people is what motivated her to move to the development sector. During her previous experiences, she has worked with the Government of Jharkhand in strengthening the delivery of Government schemes at the district and state level across sectors such as education, health and livelihood. Shilpi holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from DSCE, Bangalore and a Post Graduate Diploma in Liberal Studies (Young India Fellowship) from Ashoka University. She loves spending time in the mountains and has done a couple of high-altitude treks.
Shirin Kaul
Shirin Kaul
Associate
,Human Resources
Shirin works with the Talent Management & OD team as an Associate and is based out of Delhi. She has done her Bachelors and Masters in Political Science from University of Delhi and a certification course in Strategic Human Resource Management from Loyola Institute of Business Administration. She joined CSF as an intern in the TMOD Team and explored her passion for HR while working with the team. Outside of work, Shirin can be found debating in MUNs, and participating in cultural events and different art festivals.
Shivam Chaubey
Shivam Chaubey
Project Manager
,State Reform
Shivam works as a Project Manager in the Classroom Instruction and Practice team at CSF and is based out of Ghaziabad. He holds an Integrated M.Sc (Tech) Degree in General Studies with a specialization in Developmental Studies from BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus. He has closely collaborated with senior government officials on pivotal flagship projects at both central and state levels. Before joining CSF, he spearheaded two institutional building projects with the education department of Delhi Government. Furthermore, he is an avid outdoor sports enthusiast, having competed at the national level in football.
Shivam Mishra
Shivam Mishra
District Consultant
,Early Childhood Education
Shivam works as a District Consultant with the Early Childhood Education team and is based out of Aligarh. He holds a B.Tech degree in Electrical & Electronics Egineering from SRM University and a Master’s degree in Development studies from Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Prior to CSF, he has worked in TCS, and in Early Childhood Education and Digital Skilling in Bihar’s aspirational district, Jamui, focusing on innovative educational models encouraging community participation, particularly in the five domains of ECE learning. In his spare time, he indulges in geeking over poetry, football, and cinema while also engaging in public policy challenges.
Shivangi Singh
Shivangi Singh
Project Manager
,State Reform
Shivangi works with the State Reform Team across the FLN workstream as a Project Manager and is based out of Lucknow. Shivangi holds a master’s degree in economics from the University of Warwick, and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Delhi University. Before joining CSF, she has worked across sectors such as economic research and public health. She has been a part of a child immunization strengthening project in Uttar Pradesh to support the state’s Immunization Cell in strengthening the data systems and review platforms across the Immunization department of UP.
Shivangi Thakur
Shivangi Thakur
Project Lead
,EdTech
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.
Shivani Sinha
Shivani Sinha
Manager
,Human Resources
Shivani works with the Human Resources team as a Manager and is based out of Delhi. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University and a Mastes in Elementary Education from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Prior to CSF, Shivani has more than 6 years of experience in the development sector. A Teach for India (TFI) alumna, she has previously worked with Peepul India as Sr. Project Manager, CM Rise TPD Programme in Madhya Pradesh and Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education, TISS as a Teacher Professional Development Consultant on a World Bank funded project with the Ministry of Education. Prior to joining CSF, she worked as Deputy Manager (HR) for A-PAG. In her free time, Shivani likes to sing and paint.
Shreyan Acharya
Shreyan Acharya
Project Manager
,State Reform
Shreyan Acharya joined as a Project Manager in the State Reforms team and is based at Lucknow. He is academically trained in law with a Master’s in Development Studies from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex. He has previously gained experience in education and governance at the Directorate of Education in Delhi. He publishes on different topics of education and development and has also presented at national and international conferences. He has a fondness for nature hiking especially after his stay in Brighton and a trip to Meghalaya. In his daily routine, he cherishes reading, outdoor activities and outings with his peers.
Shruti Bhadbhade
Shruti Bhadbhade
Project Manager
,Research, Monitoring, Evaluation, Assessment and Learning (RMEAL)
Shruti works in the RMEAL team as a Project Manager. Prior to joining CSF, she has worked with ASER Centre, where her role involved test development for a variety of funded and govt. partnership projects. Being a part of the core working group, she has also contributed extensively to the development of an international numeracy assessment tool as part of ELANA (Early language and numeracy assessments). Shruti has a total of nine years of experience in the education sector where she spent the initial two years in writing grade 9th and 10th Science textbooks for Chhattisgarh SCERT. She likes to spend her free time with her dog named ‘Scooter’.
Shweta Chaubey
Shweta Chaubey
District Consultant
,Strategic Support States - Bihar
Shweta joins the Strategic Support States team in Bihar as a District Consultant. She is a skilled development professional who holds Masters in Social Work from Banaras Hindu University. She started her career in the development sector as a Gandhi fellow and impacted the lives of children by enhancing the education system. She has worked with Dept. of WCD Govt. of Delhi and Ministry of Skill Development, GOI and has taken the responsibility in enhancing the lives chances of youth, women and children by enabling them through skill development and Education. She loves working for the people, by the people and of the people. Apart from this, she loves watching cooking videos.
Shweta Chourasia
Shweta Chourasia
Executive
,Finance
Shweta works as an Executive in the Finance Team and is based out of Delhi. Her work focuses on verifying and approving employee reimbursement & vendor payments, processing payments, reconciling accounts payable and receivable apart from this she assist in Taxation and Statutory compliance . She holds a bachelor’s degree from Bharti College, Delhi University and has pursued her MBA in Finance from NMIMS. In her free time, she can be found gardening, dancing, swimming or watching horror/thriller movies.
Shweta Dobhal
Shweta Dobhal
State Lead
,Strategic Support States - Odisha
Shweta works with the State FLN Projects team as a State Lead and is based out of Bhubaneswar. Prior to joining CSF, she was working with Reach to Teach in Gurgaon. She is a development sector professional whose primary engagement has been with the education sector in India. She has been designing and leading operations in education programs for over 15 years. With a deep interest in education research, her commitment has been towards bridging practice with research findings. Shweta has a Masters in Social Work from TISS, Mumbai, and has worked with diverse teams in different locations across India. In her free time, she engages in café hopping, long walks, and yoga.
Shyam Sunder Sharma
Shyam Sunder Sharma
Project Manager
,Strategic Support States – Telangana
Shyam Sunder Sharma joins the CSF State Strategic Support Team in Telangana as Program Manager (Academics). He holds a Masters degree in Economics from St. Joseph’s University, Bengaluru. After two years of immersive engagement as a TFI fellow in a low-income private school, he worked with the Government of Telangana as a Kakatiya Governance Fellow. Shyam has also worked closely with the Secretary of Finance and the Secretary of Social and Tribal Welfare Schools. His responsibilities included creating a digital repository for all cadres in the state, building and managing partnerships for academic collaborations, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and strengthening higher education in both societies. Apart from work, Shyam is a movie enthusiast and loves exploring local street food.
Sidrah Naiyer
Sidrah Naiyer
District Consultant
,Public Governance
Sidrah joins the Public Governance team as a District Consultant and is based out of Sitapur. Her journey to the metropolises of Delhi and Mumbai fuelled her commitment to bridging rural-urban disparities. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work form Jamia Millia Islamia University, Delhi and Master’s in Applied Psychology from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Prior to CSF, she worked with IIM Lucknow for the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship. She owns a handicraft business called OONY with her sister.In her free time Sidrah loves managing events, reading Chacha Chaudhary comics and Urdu poetry and solving crosswords.
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.
Snehankita Borah
Snehankita Borah
Project Associate
,Strategic Support States - Central
Snehankita works with the State FLN Projects team as a Project Associate and is based out of Guwahati. Prior to joining CSF, she was working with Tata Trusts in the project named ‘Antaran – Transforming Crafts’, a crafts-based livelihood program. She hold a Bachelors degree in Child Protection and a Masters in Social Work in Livelihoods and Social Entrepreneurship from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Guwahati. Her passion to work with people and innovate practical solutions to see the changes is what has brough her to the development sector. Her interest also lies in cooking, traveling, trying out different cuisines, and music.
Sparsh
Sparsh
Project Manager
,Policy & Communications
Sparsh is a development sector professional, currently working as a Project Manager for the Policy & Communications 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.
Subhra Sen
Subhra Sen
Project Manager
,Strategic Support States - Bihar
Subhra works as a Project Manager in the Strategic Support States team and is based out of Bihar. She holds a Political Science post-graduate degree from Heritage University, Calcutta. Starting her career in an urban slum, she developed a strong interest in education, further deepening her passion while working with Vikramshila Education Resource Society. This journey led her to pursue a Masters in Education from Azim Premji University. Subhra finds joy in learning from children in early childhood spaces. Through her Aspirational District Fellowship, she recognised the significance of using various platforms to educate people about schemes for the deprived. Subhra enjoys cooking, follows food blogs and vlogs, and loves reading and writing short stories in vernacular languages.Committed to a sustainable lifestyle, Subhra actively engages in reducing and reusing waste.
Subhransu Das
Subhransu Das
Project Lead
,Strategic Support States - 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
,Strategic Support States - 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.
Sumedha Suresh
Sumedha Suresh
Project Manager
,Research, Monitoring, Evaluation, Assessment and Learning (RMEAL)
Sumedha works as a Project Manager in the RMEAL Team and is based out of Delhi. Before CSF, Sumedha has been in the MEL and Research Domain for many years. He has worked on a diverse range of problem statements in FLN, entrepreneurial mindset for children, gender, and prevention of sexual trafficking. Sumedha holds a degree in Economics from Ashoka University and is interested in exploring the intersectionality associated with learning outcomes. He has worked previously at Peepul where he ran multivariate regressions on state wide data and developed tools to monitor behavioural changes among stakeholders in schools. Sumedha loves to cook, and is fascinated by all things fermentation in the culinary world.
Sunita Boro
Sunita Boro
District Consultant
,Strategic Support States - Bihar
Sunita Boro works with the Strategic Support States team as a District Consultant based out of Jehanabad in Bihar. She has completed her Bachelors in English Literature from Assam, and Masters in Social Work from Dibrugarh University, Assam. She started her career as a Gandhi Fellow in Bihar where she worked towards the improvement of education quality in public schools of Katihar district. Prior to CSF, Sunita was working with Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights as a Child Rights Fellow and was leading the project ‘Early Warning System’ in 1046 Government schools under the Directorate of Education, Delhi. In her leisure time, Sunita likes to binge-watch TV series and is also passionate about sports.
Suresh Ghattamaneni
Suresh Ghattamaneni
State Lead
,Strategic Support States – Telangana
Suresh Ghattamaneni works as State Lead, Telangana with State FLN Projects team working on improving Foundational Literacy and Numeracy in the state. Suresh ventured into social sector after his graduation in Mechanical Engineering and has worked with think tanks, government and not for profit organizations for around 13 years. He is a former Prime Minister’s Rural Development Fellow having worked with the Ministry of Rural Development, GoI, supporting the local administration in the last mile delivery of development initiatives. Suresh believes in continuous learning and has completed his Masters in Communication and Journalism and pursued various certificate courses as well. He also completed Post Graduation Programme for Working Professionals (MBA) from Indian School of Business, Hyderabad. Suresh loves exploring diverse fields and further connect dots to create models for social good. He is passionate about Education, Governance and Technology for Social impact.
Sushant Dabral
Sushant Dabral
Project Manager
,Strategic Support States - Punjab
Sushant joins the Strategic Support States Team as an Project Manager and is based out of Punjab. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering and a Master’s in Indian Classical Music. With over 6 plus years of experience working in the education sector, he has been part of multiple projects with the state education department of Uttarakhand in the last 5 years. Prior to CSF, he has had the opportunity to work with Room To Read India trust and American India Foundation based out of Uttarakhand. He firmly believes that education plays a pivotal role in nation building and it is education which opens the pathway to acquire knowledge. In his free time he likes to sing and listen to music, read books, and follow politics.
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.
Susmit Biswas
Susmit Biswas
Project Lead
,Research, Monitoring, Evaluation, Assessment and Learning (RMEAL)
Susmit works as a Project Lead in the RMEAL Team and is based out of Delhi. He has more than four years of experience in managing research and evaluation assignments from diverse themes including agriculture, sustainability, climate change, energy, public health, education, livelihoods, and skilling. His favorite part of the job is the extensive travel that comes with it, as his work has enabled him to visit more than 24 states in the country over the last four years. Susmit holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) from Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA), with a focus on data analytics and public policy. Additionally, he holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Economics from Calcutta University. Currently, he is pursuing a PGP degree in Data Science and Business Analytics from Austin University, Texas, a PGP degree in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence from Great Lakes Institute, and a MS in Data Science from Deakin University.
Suva Prasana Prusty
Suva Prasana Prusty
District Consultant
,Public Governance
Prasana joins the Public Governance Team at CSF as a District Consultant and is based out of Sitapur. He holds a MBA degree in Rural Management from Xavier Institute of Management University, Bhubaneswar Prior to CSF, he worked at the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW), managing projects focused on micro enterprise development, sustainable rural livelihoods (solar), access to clean energy, and skill development & training in collaboration with UPSRLM and UPPCL. He has also gained experience in Bihar as a Young Professional at BRLPS. In his free time, Prasana enjoys experimenting with food and has a penchant for bike rides while listening to his favorite tracks.Prasana, joins the Public Governance Team at CSF as a District Consultant and is based out of Sitapur. He holds a MBA degree in Rural Management from Xavier Institute of Management University, Bhubaneswar Prior to CSF, he worked at the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW), managing projects focused on micro enterprise development, sustainable rural livelihoods (solar), access to clean energy, and skill development & training in collaboration with UPSRLM and UPPCL. He has also gained experience in Bihar as a Young Professional at BRLPS. In his free time, Prasana enjoys experimenting with food and has a penchant for bike rides while listening to his favorite tracks.
Tanaya Ramani
Tanaya Ramani
Project Associate
,Public Governance
Tanaya works as a Project Associate in the Public Governance team and is based out of Delhi. She has previously worked with Ernst & Young as a Public Policy Consultant, where she was involved in key policy analysis projects for multiple stakeholders. She has studied Economics at Ashoka University and Public Policy at the Indian School of Public Policy, where she specialized in Education, Health and Infrastructure. Her keen interest in the education domain and in exploring alternative pedagogies to improve learning outcomes led her to CSF. Outside of work, she can be found sitting at a local café as she catches up with friends, her favourite sitcoms, or the latest fantasy novel that she’s reading.
Tanuj Kapoor
Tanuj Kapoor
Associate Director
,Human Resources
Tanuj works with Talent Management & OD team as an Associate Director & is based out of Delhi. Tanuj has tried his hands in multiple professions – which includes the sciences, service centres, hospitality and sales before discovering his true passion in Human Resources. He holds an MBA in HR from IMT, Ghaziabad. In the past, Tanuj has worked with organizations like Airtel , Bharti Walmart, Star Sports, American Express, and most recently, Amazon. As a certified leadership coach with more than 400 hours of coaching experience, he is passionate about how human experiences and motivations drive organizational success. When he is not working, he enjoys spending time with his wife and his Golden Retriever. His other interests include listening to classic rock music, 5k runs, and cooking.
Tarendra Kishore
Tarendra Kishore
District Consultant
,Strategic Support States - Bihar
Tarendra join the Strategic Support States team as a Project Manager. He has done his Graduation in chemistry from the Magadh University, Bodh Gaya and Post-Graduation in journalism from the Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Mass Communication, Bhopal. He holds a Master degree in Sociology from the IGNOU as well. He is a journalist turned media educator with more than 10 years experience in journalism and one year teaching experience as a lecturer of mass communication. Prior to CSF, Tarendra joined the Azim Premji Foundation as a fellow and learnt about the school ecosystem and planned interventions in it to improve the learning outcomes. He likes to call himself a movie buff, avid reader, passionate writer and a travele
Tushar Goel
Tushar Goel
Project Lead
,Early Childhood Education
Tushar works as a Project Lead with the Partnerships and New Initiatives team at CSF, and is based out of Lucknow. He has an experience of more than six years in the development sector, specifically in the education space and has been making efforts to make it more interdisciplinary. He is an engineer by academic qualification and has done his masters in Development Studies from Azim Premji University. He has also been a fellow with the International Innovation Corps and has worked with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Tushar has also worked with the state governments of Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan on the implementation of an EdTech initiative by TISS Mumbai.
Tushar Singh Bodwal
Tushar Singh Bodwal
Consultant
,State Reform
Tushar works with the State Reform Team as Consultant and is based out of Haryana. Tushar holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s in Economics (Honors), and is a Bayer Scholar with certification in Data to Policy from Johns Hopkins University. Prior to CSF, His impactful career spans roles as a development and governance consultant for the Government of Punjab, partnerships for labor innovation research at the Good Business Lab, and monitoring and evaluation of the Central Sector Schemes for the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India. Tushar is also the founder of the Annihilate the Taboo Initiative. In his free time, he loves to immerse himself in dance, music, and books.
Udayan Sanyal
Udayan Sanyal
Project Manager
,State Reform
Udayan works with the State Reform Team as a Project Manager and is based out of Panchkula. He is a Gold medalist law graduate from Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur. Prior to CSF, He served as a Legal Assistant at the Law Department in Government of Chhattisgarh’s Mantralaya between 2018 and 2019 and has also been a Mahatma Gandhi National Fellow under Ministry of Skill development and entrepreneurship from 2021 to 2023 at Rajnandgaon. Udayan played a pivotal role in implementing diverse short-term skilling initiatives and philanthropic projects for the District Skill Committee. As part of the fellowship, he earned a Certificate in Public Policy and Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode. Udayan finds joy in traveling, practicing meditation, and derives happiness by bringing smiles to people’s faces.
Vaibhav Limaye
Vaibhav Limaye
Project Lead
,State Reform
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.
Varun Khokher
Varun Khokher
Project Manager
,State Reform
Varun Khokher works as a Project Manager in the State Reform team and is based out of Bhopal. He is a Computer Science Engineer, graduated from Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam Technical University. He also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Management from the Institute of Rural Management Anand. Previously, he served as Executive – Corporate Social Responsibility at NTPC Ltd., where he oversaw the implementation, monitoring, documentation and reporting of CSR projects at the Farakka plant in West Bengal. His responsibilities included managing CSR projects exceeding INR 5 Crores annually, with a primary focus on education, health, livelihoods, drinking water, and sanitation initiatives. Apart from his professional pursuits, he is a cinephile who enjoys engaging in conversations about films. He is also a passionate sports enthusiast, often seen on badminton courts or TT tables during his leisure time.
Vibha Kumari
Vibha Kumari
District Consultant
,Public Governance
Vibha works with the Public Governance Team as a District Consultant and is based out of Hardoi. She holds a Bachelo’s in Arts from Hindu College. Prior to CSF, she started her journey
in the development sector as a research assistant on gender-based violence in Educational Forum for Women, Justice and Social Welfare. After that, she worked with the Department of Women and Child Development, the government of NCT of Delhi. Here she worked with schools of the Delhi government on improving dropout rates of children. Thereafter, she worked with GDI Partners on the Personalised Adaptive Learning program of NITI Aayog Govt. of India for the improvement of learning outcomes in aspirational districts where she was involved in monitoring, evaluation, and implementation of the Edtech project at the district level. In her free time, she loves listening to music, watching movies, and reading non-fiction books.
Vijay Jha
Vijay Jha
Associate
,Finance
Vijay works with the Finance team at CSF as an Associate and is based out of Delhi. He holds a Bachelor’s in Commerce from Patna University and has pursued Chartered Accountancy. Prior to CSF, Vijay has been a professional accountant and has 7 years of experience handling all aspects of accountant functions i.e bookkeeping, finalization of accounts, taxation, auditing etc. He has also worked in Dr. Shroff Charity Eye Hospital as an accountant for 2.5 years. In his free time, Vijay enjoys singing, listening to music, eating, cooking, playing cricket, watching movies and traveling.
Vimal P Thomas
Vimal P Thomas
Project Consultant
,Strategic Support States - Assam
Vimal works with the State FLN Projects team as a Project Consultant and is based out of Guwahati. Prior to joining CSF, Vimal worked at Azim Premji Foundation, Puducherry as a Resource Person. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Language & Literature from Madras Christian College, Chennai and a Masters in Teaching English as Second Language (TESL). It was his interest in language pedagogy for young learners that led him to work towards primary school education. He loves to travel and explore new places and believes that ‘the world is a better place if you keep exploring it’. He also enjoys writing blogs about his travel experiences.
Vinod Karate
Vinod Karate
Project Director
,State Reform
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!
Vipul Falor
Vipul Falor
Project Manager
,State Reform
Vipul Falor works with the State Reform Team as a Project Manager and is based out of Panchkula. He is a business management graduate from NMIMS, Mumbai. He has worked as a Gandhi Fellow in Maharashtra and as a Chief Minister’s Good Governance Associate in Haryana. In his previous stint at CSF, he was part of the team working on NIPUN UP. He has also travelled extensively around the country. In his free time, he likes to explore new places, read, listen to podcasts, train for long distance running and often spends a significant amount of time laughing at and sharing memes.
Vishakha Tiwari
Vishakha Tiwari
Project Lead
,State Reform
Vishakha works with the State Reform team as a Project Manager and primarily manages the Madhya Pradesh state project. As part of this role, she coordinates with the on-ground FLN partner teams and drives effective implementation of the state’s FLN mission. Vishakha has close to 7 years of experience in the development sector working across various organizations like Teach for India, Stanford University, and Leadership for Equity before joining CSF. In her free time, she can be found listening to podcasts, taking walks, reading illustrated comics, or just reflecting on life.
Vishal Naidu
Vishal Naidu
Project Lead
,Strategic Support States – Telangana
Vishal works with the State FLN Projects team in Telangana that is working on improving Foundational Literacy and Numeracy in the state. Before transitioning to the education sector, he started his career with Tata Steel as an Operations Manager and worked there for 5 years. During this period, he also led the Strategy and Program Management vertical as Executive to General Manager, in one of their divisions. Vishal holds an undergraduate degree in Mining Engineering from NIT, Rourkela. In his spare time, Vishal enjoys travelling by road, listening to music and exploring new restaurants.
Voolla Eswar Gokul
Voolla Eswar Gokul
Project Lead
,Strategic Support States – Telangana
Eswar works as the Project Lead with the Strategic Support States Team, Telangana at CSF. He received his entire education in a residential setting, from preschool to Masters. He did his BTech from GMR Institute of Technology and then a M.A in Public Policy and Governance from Azim Premji University. His stand for causing oneness in people drove him to work in the education sector as a teacher, teacher trainer, and with the governments . He is looking to leverage his on-ground experience at Central Square Foundation. Fun Fact: His day doesn’t pass without having an ice-cream. He is a big time chocolate fan.