Meet our Community

Anu Yadavalli is a mission-driven professional with extensive experience in workforce development, women’s empowerment, and community impact. Anu currently hosts the YouTube podcast Sarva Gunn Sampann, a global platform spotlighting the diverse identities, talents, and lived experiences of women from India and the diaspora, inspiring personal growth and empowerment through storytelling. Anu is the founder of Asherah Career Services, a nonprofit offering no-cost, personalized career coaching to women from underserved communities. She has also served as a Career Coach for Dress for Success and mentors Cleveland 8th graders through the True2U program. Her professional background includes leadership roles at We Can Code IT, where she supported tech inclusion through career services, community development, and employer engagement. She also served as a Business Engagement Consultant with Regional IT Engagement at the Greater Cleveland Partnership, leading initiatives like TalentNEO and managing regional workforce partnerships through state and federal to grow the IT talent pipeline. Earlier, she spent a decade in career services at a major technical institute, helping hundreds of graduates launch careers in technology. Anu’s commitment to social impact began in India with the Maya Movement for Alternatives and Youth Awareness (Bengaluru). There, she initiated and managed anentrepreneurial skills development program for women in urban slums, overseeing curriculum, trainer hiring, operations, and market linkages. The unit equipped women with employable skills and confidence to participate in the local market, secured its first order, and became profitable within six months of inception. She has also served as a corporate recruiter and career coach through roles with Goodwill Industries and Connections to Success, supporting individuals and families on their path toward economic self-sufficiency. Across her work, Anu brings strong experience in program development, workforce strategy, cross-sector collaboration, and women-centered empowerment—perspectives she hopes to contribute meaningfully to Social Venture Partners India.

After completing her schooling in Mumbai, Aparna pursued higher education in the United States at Purdue University and the University of Massachusetts. Over the past 25+ years, she has worked as a branding and marketing consultant through her own agency, supporting a diverse portfolio of clients, including several US-based non-profits.

Aparna holds a BA in Psychology -& an MSW in Human Resources Development and Management from Christ University, Bangalore. She began her development sector journey with U&I Trust, where she led capacity building for volunteers and managed a team of managers as a Senior Manager—training and supporting them to drive impact on the ground. At Teach For India, she collaborated with the Alumni community to build communities of practice, organized large-scale alumni events, and worked to strengthen connections within the Mumbai alumni network. With over four years of experience, Aparna brings strong expertise in partnerships, stakeholder engagement, volunteer and team development, and operations. She thrives in creating structure, driving coordination, and enabling meaningful collaboration.

Dr. Apoorva Haree is a general surgeon, having finished MBBS and MS General Surgery from Sri Ramachandra University. She is also ECFMG certified and has completed a fellowship in Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgery. Apoorva has worked in multiple corporate and government hospitals and now handles operations at Rajalakshmi Health City, a 600 bedded not-for-profit, multi-speciality hospital located in Sriperumbudur. Apoorva is passionate about the cause of education and healthcare for the underprivileged. Through the family trust (Sabari Foundation), they provide free education and job opportunities for students at their educational institutions and at their hospital, they provide healthcare at a minimal cost to patients. Apoorva loves reading books in her free time.

Apurva is currently based in the United States and is interning after completing her Master’s in Advertising from Boston University. A NIFT graduate in Communication Design, she has experience in design and communication and has supported NGO initiatives through her work.

Archana Bhaskar is currently working as an independent consultant with CSF. Previously CHRO, Dr. Reddy’s Labs and a member of the Management Council. With 32+ years of global experience in various industries, she champions human capital and societal impact.Previously at Royal Dutch Shell for 10 years, she held key HR roles, including global commercial businesses and talent management. Before that, she spent 15 years at Unilever, with roles in India and Europe. Archana, an alumnus of Lady Shri Ram College and IIM Bangalore, is passionate about mentoring and coaching. Archana serves on multiple boards, including The HR Fund and Ahmedabad University’s Industry Advisory board. She’s a member of CII National Committee on Skilling and Livelihoods and the Governing Board of LSSSDC. Recently, she joined the Board of Governors of IIM Raipur.

Archana in the recent years has built experience in design and execution of reform initiatives with Administration. Archana is the PMU Lead for Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department, where she is supporting to improve hostels operations as well as establishing common kitchens to improve nutrition and initiating student learning programmes and scholarship disbursal process. Archana has also volunteered with HRM, Energy and Public Departments in process re-engineering and data governance. She continues to volunteer to in boosting delivery of services with School Education Department and Cooperative Societies, Govt of Tamil Nadu. Previously she was Chief Operating Officer of Reap Benefit NGO to initiate and operate partnerships across different states. Prior to that, Archana played divisional leadership roles in Give for 7+ years. In her corporate avatar, Archana was Regional Head, South and West for Times OOH and ENIL (Radio Mirchi). Archana, in partnership with her husband Hari Shyamsunder, is a part of the Living My Promise movement. They engage in community projects, advocating for a shift in social norms towards smarter, and sooner giving in philanthropy. Archana’s interests lie in data-driven governance, leveraging technological advancements towards meaningful outcomes. Archana holds a Bachelors in Engineering degree from NIT Trichy, PGDBM from MDI Gurgaon and has completed Level II in CFA.

Arjun is the Chairman of Blaze Automation and leads the vision and ideation efforts. As a successful serial entrepreneur Arjun has received various awards for his business accomplishments and has made significant investments in Green Energy and Technology sectors. Arjun was the Co-Founder, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Intelligroup ,Inc (acquired by NTT Data). Throughout the years, Arjun has received multiple NJ Fast 50 awards, Var Business 500 Awards, NJ Entrepreneur of the Year awards, and the NJ Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2001.

He is a career banker who is now dabbling in fintech. His wife Manije is a career non-profit professional and advisor, and they are parents to Aedan, age 14, and Ahran, age 11. He enjoys cooking, with steak and stir-fries as his go-to meals. Arnab is passionate about football, a massive fan of Arsenal, loves listening to Jethro Tull and Eminem, reading PG Wodehouse and Tim Harford, and playing racquet sports. Arnab is also an NGO Engagement Committee Member at SVP India

Arpita has over 15 years of experience across finance, investing, and healthcare startups. She began her investing career at the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Since 2015, she has been associated with QI Spine, a chain of spine speciality clinics, and has held leadership roles across marketing, operations, clinical functions, and finance.

Arti has been an IT consultant, project manager & technology advisor for over 20 years, working in various corporates and an independent advisor. She is currently pursuing her doctorate at SP Jain Institute of Management & Research, with research interests in social and technology-enabled innovations for development purposes.

Chairman - B.P. Poddar Group

Arun, a Director at JR Laddha Financial Services, has over three decades of experience in the financial industry. He continues his family’s legacy of philanthropy through various initiatives, including supporting education in his village, Tabiji, Rajasthan. Arun is also a trustee at several trusts and contributes to public projects in Badrinath. He lives in Kolkata with his wife and three children.

Arun is a passionate technologist with over two decades of experience in the IT sector across startups, services, and extensive enterprise product companies. Arun served as Director of Engineering at Cisco and is currently working at Google as an Engineering Leader. Outside of core engineering and technology work, Arun’s interests lie in sustainable living, health, and fitness, and he is a passionate Yoga practitioner.

Smt. Asha Priya is on the Board of Director of NSL Group of Companies. She has an experience of over 20 years in Business. She has a bachelor’s degree in ‘Interior Design and Clothing Construction’ and a master’s degree in Science (Home Science). She also holds a post graduate diploma in journalism and diploma in Kuchipudi Dance.

Ashish is a commerce graduate from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata (B.Com. Hons., 1990) with over 35 years of business experience. He has deep expertise in financial management and has successfully led diverse business operations. He oversees a manufacturing facility in Nashik, Maharashtra, and is actively involved with various industry bodies and the Rotary Club of Calcutta. A keen sportsman, he enjoys cricket and golf.

Ashish Bhandari is the Managing Director & CEO of Thermax Limited. Prior to joining Thermax, he was the Vice President - India and South Asia region at Baker Hughes (formerly a GE company). His prior work experience includes Schlumberger, consulting with McKinsey & Co. and two start-ups overseas. Ashish completed his Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai. He received his Master’s degree in Business Administration from Duke University. Ashish is a voracious reader and enjoys traveling and playing sports, including running marathons. He is married to Anshuma and they have a daughter Neha and son Rahul.

Ashish is a partner at Malabar Investments and has been with the firm since its inception in 2008. He was a mentor at Akanksha for almost a decade.

Ashok has been building brands for over 35 years. He is a Founder-Promoter/Director of ZeeTV, DishTV, and India.com., and a Founder-Partner of Ambience Advertising and Hanmer&Partners PublicRelations. He’s also a Director at LivinguardAG, the world’s first permanently disinfecting textile technology that delivers pure, bacteria/virus free water from the dirtiest, muddiest, contaminated water, without electricity. Ashok co-invented Saafkins - a reusable and easy-to-wash solution for the billion women who can't afford sanitary napkins and use ‘rags’ -and Livinguard’s Coronavirus-destroying masks and gloves.

Ashwini runs a Performance Marketing business where they manage all e-commerce activities for their clients, including branding products & services, marketing their Apps (iOS & Android) to selling their products on various marketplaces. He is a Chartered Accountant & an MBA (Finance).

Professionally, Ashwin has worked in a variety of business roles across leading Global corporates including JP Morgan, Boston Consulting Group, and PUMA. Since 2019, he has enjoyed contributing to the growth journey of India’s largest Sportswear Brand PUMA, managing one part of the India eCommerce business. Outside of work, Ashwin is passionate about playing and following a wide variety of Sports. He is also an avid reader and blogger. Sweatha is an experienced software engineer with experience in conceptualizing and building Front-end for large scale applications. She currently works with Microsoft. Outside of work, she enjoys trekking and is an avid foodie.

Avantika Maddi Chidura is the Co-Founder of Elevento Events LLP, a premier destination wedding and personalized event decor company based in Hyderabad. With a Master's degree in Mass Communication and Political Science, Avantika combines academic excellence with entrepreneurial vision to create transformative experiences that resonate deeply with clients.Avantika has attended the Entrepreneurship Development Program at IIM Ahmedabad and passed with distinction in the Leadership Program at London School of Economics. Her educational achievements complement her natural business acumen and creative vision. At the age of 18, Avantika was already a serial entrepreneur. Along this journey, in the year 2020, she co-founded Elevento and has led her team to successfully execute over 500 events in just five years. Her leadership philosophy centers on creating emotional connections that transcend transactions, building long-term relationships with families across Hyderabad and beyond. In an industry traditionally dominated by men, she has carved out a distinctive space through mastery of her craft, unwavering confidence, and a commitment to letting excellence speak louder than words. Her goal has always been to add a personal touch that builds long-term emotional bonds with clients, making Elevento more than just a business—it's a legacy.

Avanti has completed her BBA Hons. and a patisserie course at Le Cordon Bleu, London. She is Managing Director, Crown Flakes Pvt Ltd manufacturing potato flakes/powder (Brands-Potatoking, Tiger Bites) etc. Avanti is passionate about supporting underprivileged children fighting cancer and has been working in this area for a decade. She has recently founded the Live Strong Foundation to take this work ahead in a structured manner.