Our Team

Mathangi has worked in the technology and development space, specifically on violence prevention, environmental sustainability and livelihoods across India and the US. She was awarded the 2019 Jane Mansbridge Award by Harvard University for her work on reducing gender bias in organizations in India. Previously, she co-directed Waste Ventures India and led efforts to provide composting and recycling services to 20,000+ households, 10+ corporates and mobilized citizens to create a zero-waste model village in Hyderabad.

Mathangi Swaminathan is an alumna of the Harvard Kennedy School and holds an MBA from the Indian School of Business. She is an Acumen India fellow, a Senior Fellow of Foster America and a World Economic Forum Global Shaper. She loves hiking in the woods, traveling and reading.

While pursuing her undergraduate degree in Economics, Ayushi Srivastava was introduced to social impact while she co-founded a social entrepreneurship club. She went on to work on the grassroots with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, which not only exposed Ayushi to evaluating impact, but also helped her in identifying socio-economic gaps that she someday hopes to fill as an entrepreneur.

Through her work at J-PAL, Ayushi observed that social enterprises were using traditional evaluation methods to measure impact, often focusing on “what to measure” rather than “why to measure this”. This dilemma combined with her passion for social entrepreneurship led her to work with 60 Decibels - an end-to-end social impact measurement start-up. Here, Ayushi spent her time evaluating the impact of various African social enterprises predominantly working on agriculture or energy solutions.

Ayushi is currently a Masters in Development Practice student at University of California, Berkeley.

Since his senior years, Lakshay has been working and volunteering in emergencies and crises, with movements and groups via different organizational settings and structures, which has provided him a holistic view of socio-political paradigms in the country. In the past 4 years, he has gained a diverse skill set while working in the social development and advocacy sector. He has successfully handled several campaigns and projects; e.g. organizing actions during COVID over dilution of environmental laws with Fridays for Future when MOEFCC had released draft EIA 2020; helping set-up the first climate justice library of India with Youth For Climate India which aims to promote climate literacy to young people, and sensitizing urban slum women on menstrual hygiene with EkMahina, to name a few.

He has a strong commitment to social and climate justice and is passionate about working to create a more sustainable future for all. Lakshay is neurodivergent, is extremely compassionate and loves to travel.

Pooja is a South Asian Intersectional Feminist. They have completed their Bachelor's in Journalism and Masters in Gender studies. They have worked with the Red Dot Foundation and Delhi Commission for Women. They want to continue their work on reducing Violence Against Women (VAW), child abuse, and caste-based discrimination.

Pooja is keenly interested in writing academic papers, research, and journalism. In their free time, they love to watch movies, spread joy by helping and talking to people, and create awareness through social media.

Divya Sooryakumar is MADRE’s Program Officer for Partnerships and Grantmaking. She leads MADRE’s portfolio focused on resourcing young feminists and intergenerational leadership. Prior to MADRE, Divya spent eight years working directly with adolescent girls in India through grassroots feminist organizations, including the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA Bharat) and smaller initiatives like Chhoti Si Asha. She brings expertise in education, gender, and economics. She received her M.Ed in International Education Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University.

Krishna is currently a Foster America Fellow working with the Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families, a statewide collaborative that strengthens underserved families, and reduces the number of families who touch the child welfare system. Prior to her work in Colorado, Krishna led the Acumen India Fellowship, managed a community of over 130 social impact leaders, launched a women-led handicraft enterprise in Hyderabad, and set up a boutique hotel in California. Through these roles she's developed an expertise in entrepreneurship, leadership development, collective impact, and community building. Krishna holds a BS in Business from Babson College and is a current MPA ‘23 Candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School. Krishna is driven by connection and seeks to build community and strong social fabric in her work and personal life.

Manasvini Moni is a recent UCL Human Sciences graduate pursuing a Master's in Public Health from Karolinska Institute, Sweden. Born and raised in New Delhi, she is passionate about using interdisciplinary approaches to address health and social inequities. She has donned many hats in this pursuit - being a researcher, writer, and podcaster to name a few. When not at work, you can find her reading, listening to music, and keeping up with pop culture

Michelle Partogi is a design strategist interested in building more inclusive systems. Her background in design, humanities, and computer science helps her facilitate co-creation processes and uncover “levers” to shift complex services and systems. Michelle is currently a Service Designer at Code For America. Her previous experiences as a designer at Mayo Clinic provided her opportunities to dovetail scientific methods with human-centered principles. Having grown up in Atlanta, she received her master’s in Digital Media from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Michelle is an avid foodie and loves getting lost in new cities and landscapes.

Dr Nora Khalaf-Elledge is a Gender and Development practitioner and a Post-doctoral Fellow at Goldsmiths, University of London. Since 2008, she has worked on gender initiatives with international development organisations including the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), the International Partnership on Religion and Sustainable Development (PaRD), the German Development Agency (GIZ), the Joint Learning Initiative (JLI), Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI), as well as the gender offices of multiple United Nations (UN) agencies. Since 2015, she specialises in the intersection of religion and gender within international development policy and practice. Nora holds a Master's in Gender and Development from IDS, and a PhD in Gender, Religion and Development from the University of London.

Sheela Bowler, MPH, MEd, is a social entrepreneur who has dedicated her career to building child wellbeing systems that enable families to thrive together. Sheela fundamentally believes that communities know what they need to thrive, and focuses on supporting the leaders who are creating positive change for children and families in their own communities. Sheela was the founding COO of Kidogo, Senior Program Consultant for the African Early Childhood Network, Senior Advisor for Programs Strategy at NYC's Administration for Children's Services, and Foster America's first Director of Strategic Initiatives and Innovation. She currently works for Elevate Children Funders Group, where she supports a network of child-focused philanthropies to leverage more and better funding for children in adversity.

Vamsee Gurram is currently an Engagement Manager in McKinsey and Co and has served clients in the private equity, operations and public sector across India and the US. Prior to joining McKinsey in 2015, he was the founding team member of the National Social Entrepreneurship Forum where he was recognized by the World Economic Forum for nurturing 100+ social enterprises in India. As the program manager at Industree Crafts Foundation, he implemented Govt. of India and IFC projects to promote livelihoods through handicrafts. He helped set up community-owned business units impacting the livelihoods of 5000+ artisans and improving their incomes by 75%.

Vamsee holds an MBA from the Indian School of Business and a Bachelors in engineering from BITS-Pilani. He is also an avid chess player and a foodie. When he is not working, you can find him on chess.com.

Vini is a Master in Development Practice Candidate at UC Berkeley. She has over seven years of experience in Sustainable Development and Women Empowerment. She has worked with Management Consulting firms designing strategy and policy for Government agencies. She has spearheaded multiple projects for the socio-economic development of women through integrated models of Self-Help Groups, Microfinance, and Sustainable Livelihoods. While implementing these projects, she gained vast experience working with a diverse set of stakeholders, including Government and Private agencies, multilateral organizations, and International NGOs. She brings expertise in inclusive and data-driven program and policy design and implementation. She received her MBA from the Indian Institute of Forest Management with majors in Environment and a Minor in Development.

Vishita is currently working as Freelancer in Web Development, earlier she worked as Software Engineer in Infosys Ltd in India. She is a freelancer and enterpreneur with special focus on design. She graduated from Gitam University,India with a degree in Bachelors of Computer Science Engineering. When she is not working she enjoys doing gardening and traveling.

Mathangi has worked in the technology and development space, specifically on violence prevention, environmental sustainability and livelihoods across India and the US. She was awarded the 2019 Jane Mansbridge Award by Harvard University for her work on reducing gender bias in organizations in India. Previously, she co-directed Waste Ventures India and led efforts to provide composting and recycling services to 20,000+ households, 10+ corporates and mobilized citizens to create a zero-waste model village in Hyderabad.

Mathangi Swaminathan is an alumna of the Harvard Kennedy School and holds an MBA from the Indian School of Business. She is an Acumen India fellow, a Senior Fellow of Foster America and a World Economic Forum Global Shaper. She loves hiking in the woods, traveling and reading.

Michelle Partogi is a design strategist interested in building more inclusive systems. Her background in design, humanities, and computer science helps her facilitate co-creation processes and uncover “levers” to shift complex services and systems. Michelle is currently a Service Designer at Code For America. Her previous experiences as a designer at Mayo Clinic provided her opportunities to dovetail scientific methods with human-centered principles. Having grown up in Atlanta, she received her master’s in Digital Media from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Michelle is an avid foodie and loves getting lost in new cities and landscapes.

Sheela Bowler, MPH, MEd, is a social entrepreneur who has dedicated her career to building child wellbeing systems that enable families to thrive together. Sheela fundamentally believes that communities know what they need to thrive, and focuses on supporting the leaders who are creating positive change for children and families in their own communities. Sheela was the founding COO of Kidogo, Senior Program Consultant for the African Early Childhood Network, Senior Advisor for Programs Strategy at NYC's Administration for Children's Services, and Foster America's first Director of Strategic Initiatives and Innovation. She currently works for Elevate Children Funders Group, where she supports a network of child-focused philanthropies to leverage more and better funding for children in adversity.

Mathangi has worked in the technology and development space, specifically on violence prevention, environmental sustainability and livelihoods across India and the US. She was awarded the 2019 Jane Mansbridge Award by Harvard University for her work on reducing gender bias in organizations in India. Previously, she co-directed Waste Ventures India and led efforts to provide composting and recycling services to 20,000+ households, 10+ corporates and mobilized citizens to create a zero-waste model village in Hyderabad.

Mathangi Swaminathan is an alumna of the Harvard Kennedy School and holds an MBA from the Indian School of Business. She is an Acumen India fellow, a Senior Fellow of Foster America and a World Economic Forum Global Shaper. She loves hiking in the woods, traveling and reading.

While pursuing her undergraduate degree in Economics, Ayushi Srivastava was introduced to social impact while she co-founded a social entrepreneurship club. She went on to work on the grassroots with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, which not only exposed Ayushi to evaluating impact, but also helped her in identifying socio-economic gaps that she someday hopes to fill as an entrepreneur.

Through her work at J-PAL, Ayushi observed that social enterprises were using traditional evaluation methods to measure impact, often focusing on “what to measure” rather than “why to measure this”. This dilemma combined with her passion for social entrepreneurship led her to work with 60 Decibels - an end-to-end social impact measurement start-up. Here, Ayushi spent her time evaluating the impact of various African social enterprises predominantly working on agriculture or energy solutions.

Ayushi is currently a Masters in Development Practice student at University of California, Berkeley.

Since his senior years, Lakshay has been working and volunteering in emergencies and crises, with movements and groups via different organizational settings and structures, which has provided him a holistic view of socio-political paradigms in the country. In the past 4 years, he has gained a diverse skill set while working in the social development and advocacy sector. He has successfully handled several campaigns and projects; e.g. organizing actions during COVID over dilution of environmental laws with Fridays for Future when MOEFCC had released draft EIA 2020; helping set-up the first climate justice library of India with Youth For Climate India which aims to promote climate literacy to young people, and sensitizing urban slum women on menstrual hygiene with EkMahina, to name a few.

He has a strong commitment to social and climate justice and is passionate about working to create a more sustainable future for all. Lakshay is neurodivergent, is extremely compassionate and loves to travel.

Pooja is a South Asian Intersectional Feminist. They have completed their Bachelor's in Journalism and Masters in Gender studies. They have worked with the Red Dot Foundation and Delhi Commission for Women. They want to continue their work on reducing Violence Against Women (VAW), child abuse, and caste-based discrimination.

Pooja is keenly interested in writing academic papers, research, and journalism. In their free time, they love to watch movies, spread joy by helping and talking to people, and create awareness through social media.

Manasvini Moni is a recent UCL Human Sciences graduate pursuing a Master's in Public Health from Karolinska Institute, Sweden. Born and raised in New Delhi, she is passionate about using interdisciplinary approaches to address health and social inequities. She has donned many hats in this pursuit - being a researcher, writer, and podcaster to name a few. When not at work, you can find her reading, listening to music, and keeping up with pop culture

Vini is a Master in Development Practice Candidate at UC Berkeley. She has over seven years of experience in Sustainable Development and Women Empowerment. She has worked with Management Consulting firms designing strategy and policy for Government agencies. She has spearheaded multiple projects for the socio-economic development of women through integrated models of Self-Help Groups, Microfinance, and Sustainable Livelihoods. While implementing these projects, she gained vast experience working with a diverse set of stakeholders, including Government and Private agencies, multilateral organizations, and International NGOs. She brings expertise in inclusive and data-driven program and policy design and implementation. She received her MBA from the Indian Institute of Forest Management with majors in Environment and a Minor in Development.

Divya Sooryakumar is MADRE’s Program Officer for Partnerships and Grantmaking. She leads MADRE’s portfolio focused on resourcing young feminists and intergenerational leadership. Prior to MADRE, Divya spent eight years working directly with adolescent girls in India through grassroots feminist organizations, including the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA Bharat) and smaller initiatives like Chhoti Si Asha. She brings expertise in education, gender, and economics. She received her M.Ed in International Education Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University.

Krishna is currently a Foster America Fellow working with the Colorado Partnership for Thriving Families, a statewide collaborative that strengthens underserved families, and reduces the number of families who touch the child welfare system. Prior to her work in Colorado, Krishna led the Acumen India Fellowship, managed a community of over 130 social impact leaders, launched a women-led handicraft enterprise in Hyderabad, and set up a boutique hotel in California. Through these roles she's developed an expertise in entrepreneurship, leadership development, collective impact, and community building. Krishna holds a BS in Business from Babson College and is a current MPA ‘23 Candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School. Krishna is driven by connection and seeks to build community and strong social fabric in her work and personal life.

Dr Nora Khalaf-Elledge is a Gender and Development practitioner and a Post-doctoral Fellow at Goldsmiths, University of London. Since 2008, she has worked on gender initiatives with international development organisations including the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), the International Partnership on Religion and Sustainable Development (PaRD), the German Development Agency (GIZ), the Joint Learning Initiative (JLI), Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI), as well as the gender offices of multiple United Nations (UN) agencies. Since 2015, she specialises in the intersection of religion and gender within international development policy and practice. Nora holds a Master's in Gender and Development from IDS, and a PhD in Gender, Religion and Development from the University of London.

Vamsee Gurram is currently an Engagement Manager in McKinsey and Co and has served clients in the private equity, operations and public sector across India and the US. Prior to joining McKinsey in 2015, he was the founding team member of the National Social Entrepreneurship Forum where he was recognized by the World Economic Forum for nurturing 100+ social enterprises in India. As the program manager at Industree Crafts Foundation, he implemented Govt. of India and IFC projects to promote livelihoods through handicrafts. He helped set up community-owned business units impacting the livelihoods of 5000+ artisans and improving their incomes by 75%.

Vamsee holds an MBA from the Indian School of Business and a Bachelors in engineering from BITS-Pilani. He is also an avid chess player and a foodie. When he is not working, you can find him on chess.com.