Team Ahvaan

Prashanto has a Bachelor’s Degree in History (Hons) from St. Stephens College. He has completed his LLB from the University of Delhi, and a Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) from the University of Oxford, UK.

He commenced practice in the litigation department of the leading corporate law firm, Amarchand Mangaldas before joining the Chambers of Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Senior Advocate and Parliamentarian and former Additional Solicitor General of India. He established his independent practice in 2004 and was designated Senior Advocate in 2017.

Prashanto's principal practice area is commercial litigation and arbitration. He appears in both the Supreme Court as well as the High Court of India as well as a number of law Tribunals.

He is involved in public law matters and his larger engagement with civil society involves pro bono public interest work. He was part of the drafting committee of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006. He is one of the founder Editors of the Quarterly Bar Review of the Delhi High Court Bar Association. He is on the board of Charkha Development Communication Network, a non-profit organization that works towards inclusion of marginalized communities through the creative use of Media.

After his education at Delhi and Cambridge Universities, Probir worked in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), retiring as Secretary to the Govt. of India and Secretary-General of the National Human Rights Commission.

During the course of his career in the IAS, Probir headed Indian Airlines and Air India, among other organisations. After retirement, he was appointed Director, India International Centre and served on the Boards of a number of Trusts and NGOs, which included Eklavya, the National Foundation for India, the Ramakrishna Ashram, Gwalior and presently, Sitaram Bhartia Hospital.

An innovative educationist, Abha has spent 40 years in Education, Media (BBC), Arts Management (Arts Council of England) both in India and the UK. She taught at her alma mater, Lady Shri Ram College and completed a second Masters in Theatre Arts at the University of Leeds, UK.

As former Director of the Shri Ram Schools and Adviser Education to Step by Step School Noida, she has been instrumental in founding and developing two major educational institutions in the country. Presently, she is an educational consultant working on Policy and Strategy to upgrade Government schools and teachers’ skills and proficiencies.

Rakesh Jinsi is by education an Electrical Engineer. He brings 44 years of varied experience in the Corporate and the Not-for-Profit sector with expertise in the areas of Change/Turnaround Management, Business Operations and Organisation & People development.

He has held leadership positions with organisations such as Eicher, Hero Motors, Chase Manhattan, Force Motors, Tata Trucks, New Holland Fiat Tractors, SOS Children’s Villages and the School Of Inspired Leadership (SOIL).

He has been a member of a number of national-level bodies such as the National Human Rights Commission, Voluntary Action Network of India (VANI) - the apex body of the NGO sector; and the Proposal Approval Committee of the National Skill Development Corporation. He continues to be closely associated with the Not-for-Profit sector, serving as the Chairperson of the Board of SOS Children’s Villages of India, and the Khushboo Welfare Society.

He is also a Member International Senate (Governing Body) of SOS Children’s Villages International, Austria, and Member Advisory Board, Leadership et Humanities, a Chicago based Leadership development organization.

Mandavi has been the Manager of Stokes Memorial School, Shimla, since 2011, where she also teaches Social Studies and English to classes 6 to 10. She has previously worked at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies – a foreign policy think tank in Washington, DC – working on Indo-US relations.

Mandavi studied at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, New Delhi, and Rishi Valley School, Andhra Pradesh. She did her BA in Central Asian Studies at Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts, her MA in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Massachusetts, and her PhD in the History of Art and Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

Kanishka was educated at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University and graduated from the Huntsman Program of International Studies & Business at the School of Arts and Sciences; and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Economics and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies.

He also has an LL.B. from Campus Law Centre at the University of Delhi and is licensed to practice law in India. His first job was as an investment banker in the Media Mergers & Acquisitions practice of Lazard Frères & Co. in New York.

He has spent the past decade and a half focused on doing political and social work in India. His social work is principally in the fields of rural development, healthcare and financial inclusion in Uttar Pradesh. He serves as a Trustee of the largest charitable hospital in Uttar Pradesh.

Priya is Senior Vice President, English Helper, was the Country Head, India, of Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), Managing Director, Dāna Asia, Consultant /Advisor for Give2Asia and United Way International in India.

Priya also served as a Board Member of Asia Pacific Philanthropy Consortium, was an Advisory Board Member on Give2Asia’s Asian Philanthropy Advisory Network. She is a Trustee of All Creatures Great and Small – a shelter for animals in distress. A Senior Fellow of the Synergos Institute, a published author on global and Indian philanthropy, Priya graduated from the University of Madras with an M Phil in History.

Preeti has had a 15-year long career in broadcast media where she worked with Network-18, CNBC-TV18, Times Now and the UTV Group.

In 2011, she changed careers and has since been working in the field of education. She has been a drama teacher with Barry John’s Young Actors Club. Preeti studied at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, Delhi, got a B.Com (Hons) degree from Sri Venkateswara College, Delhi University, and a Certificate for teaching English Language to Adults (CELTA) from British Council.

After serving as Founding Director of Ahvaan for 6-years, Preeti took a break to pursue a Masters in Education from Azim Premji University, Bangalore.

Indrajit has been involved with education in India for several decades. He is the longest-serving Life Member of the Delhi Public School Society and is Chairman of several Delhi Public Schools.

In his professional career, he was Director of the world’s leading quality control company, Societe Generale de Surveillance India, retiring as its Chairman. A graduate in Economics from St Stephen's College, Delhi, Indrajit read Law at the University of Cambridge and is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Accountants, England and Wales.

Sarvjeet graduated with distinction from the Central Institute of Education, Delhi University and taught English at Modern School, Delhi. An idealist at heart, with an abundant concern about the welfare of others, she has always worked towards a cause.

It was this motivation and a passion for education that inspired her to help conceive of Ahvaan. She has also been working with the Women’s Relief & Rehabilitation Trust since 1990. Her interests are wide-ranging and she enjoys literature, theatre, travel, gardening and her dogs!

Venita is Professor Emerita at Ambedkar University Delhi, where she has headed the School of Education Studies and Centre for Early Childhood Education and Development since its inception.

Venita, a Senior Education Specialist in the World Bank from 1998 to 2008, was Professor and Head of Department of Preschool and Elementary Education at the NCERT where she worked for more than 20 years.

She has a Master’s degree in Psychology from Allahabad University, for which she was awarded the Chancellor’s gold medal. Her doctorate is from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

Vijaya is a Distinguished Professor at Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD), having worked as Dean Planning since 2005. Following his retirement, he was awarded a Fellowship at the Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla.

He taught for almost 40 years at the Department of Physics and Astrophysics of the University of Delhi. Since 1972, he has also worked with the Hoshangabad Science Teaching Programme for rural government schoolteachers of Madhya Pradesh. He was the President and is still a member of the Governing Body of the Eklavya Foundation.

Vijaya was awarded an ICI fellowship to study theoretical physics at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, from where he obtained a DIC and a PhD.

Mr. Ashok Dayal has had a long and illustrious career in the Financial Services sector and has headed several leading banking institutions. He was Managing Director, Grindlays Bank and Regional Director of Deutsche Bank for the Asia Pacific region. Presently he serves as a Director on several national and international companies.

An alumna of Sherwood College, Nainital, he graduated from St. Stephens College, University of Delhi. He is deeply committed to education reform and is passionate about Cricket!

Sayantani leads the Ahvaan Trust as its Executive Director with 25 years of experience in the field of Social Development and Education. Her experience spans diverse sectors and community settings in India, Bangladesh and Iran.

She has post-graduate degrees from Jawaharlal Nehru University and School of Planning & Architecture, Delhi, in the fields of Geography and Urban and Regional Planning respectively.

Prior to leading Ahvaan, she invested in understanding and certifying herself as an educator in the Krishnamurti Foundation School in Rajghat, Varanasi, India. She believes in working towards building the agency of individuals and communities, as stakeholders and decision-makers, in all the initiatives that she has led. She enjoys travelling, music and continuous learning.

Manish is currently heading the Delhi Operations at Ahvaan and is responsible for the quality and monitoring of all programs, as well as liaison with the Government of Delhi.

With more than 15 years of experience in the Education sector, Manish comes with a rich background of having worked with CSR, Corporate and Social Sector initiatives. He brings with him a vast experience of Program Management, Facilitation, and Coaching & Mentoring.

Manish was a Senior Faculty member with the XSEED Institute and a Senior Education coach at XSEED Education. He has led the implementation of CBSE workshops across India and has implemented the XSEED curriculum in over 100 schools across Rajasthan & Gujarat. He has been a Master Trainer with Bharti Enterprises and Program Coordinator with Pratham Education Initiatives.

He studied at DAV Ghaziabad, did a Bachelors in Computer Applications from Meerut University and a Post Graduate Degree in Rural Management from the Indian Institute of Rural Management in Jaipur.

Samina leads Ahvaan’s State engagements outside Delhi, and presently is leading the programs, delivery and monitoring of our critical work with the Government of Tripura, taking Ahvaan’s footprints as far as the North East.

Samina has over 16 years of experience in the K-12 Ed-Tech sector, across Corporates and Non-Profit organizations, including running her own Education startup. She has worked on a variety of Educational programs across multiple states.

She has experience in Curriculum and Instructional Design, Training & Development and Impact Assessment. She approaches her work and life with entrepreneurial zeal and a lively sense of humour! Samina is a Masters in Political Science from Calcutta University and has a Diploma in Training & Development from the Indian Society for T&D, New Delhi.

Sakshee leads the Curriculum and Training Programs at Ahvaan. Sakshee has a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education (B.El.Ed) from Miranda House, Delhi University, a Master’s in Sociology from Jamia Millia Islamia and a Bachelors in Education from Maharishi Dayanand University. Sakshee’s B.El.Ed dissertation was on ‘Finding Alternatives to Punishment’ in a Delhi Government School. During her graduation, she spent considerable time in Delhi Government schools teaching primary classes.

Before joining Ahvaan, she taught underprivileged children under a school readiness program at a residential home for street children in Delhi. During her journey in Ahvaan, she participated in a number of courses including Programme in Instructional Leadership and Certificate Program Practitioner Skills for facilitation.