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An MSW Gold medalist from Madras school of Social work, Chitra Shah is passionate about changing lives of the people with disabilities (PWDs). She has over 15 years of experience in the field of disability. She is the Director of Satya Special School in Pondicherry, which was registered as a society in 2003.
Satya Special School started as a rehabilitation centre offering free services to 20 children with special needs, now has 1029 children under the umbrella. Satya started its journey with a single infrastructure, currently operates through 10 urban centres, 3 village centres, mobility across 44 villages, 4 upcoming satellite centres and over 100 staff.
Her research interest includes: Psychosocial conditions of families of CWSNs, Women & disability and Sexuality & Disability.
Visit ProfileDr. Pekham Basu has more than 20 years of experience across sectors and issues, from domestic violence to social entrepreneurship to corporate social responsibility.
She has worked extensively on mining issues in Rajasthan, with specific focus on minor minerals, issues of child labour, and policy advocacy for occupational health and safety, and organising informal labourers. She has worked extensively in India, and for a brief period in London.
After graduating in History from Loreto College, Calcutta she did her post graduation in Social Work from TISS. Doctoral thesis on "Widows of the Mine – Undercounting Silicosis and its Impact on the Widows of Mineworkers".
Visit ProfileBrij Kothari is an academic and social entrepreneur. He is on the Faculty of IIT-Delhi's School of Public Policy and the founder of PlanetRead.
He conceived of Same Language Subtitling (SLS) on mainstream TV in India for mass literacy, in 1996. He is an Ashoka Fellow and the recipient of the International Literacy Prize from the Library of Congress.
He has a Ph.D. in education from Cornell University and a Masters in physics from IIT Kanpur.
Visit Profile(Chair)
(Chair)
Shweta Suresh specializes in nonprofit strategy and has experience working across philanthropy, social enterprise, and the private sector. In her current role as Senior Strategy Officer at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, she is a strategic advisor to Melinda Gates, and has supported strategy development across a variety of teams, including family planning, gender equality, and US education.
She has a dual degree in business and development economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University and is especially passionate about closing gender gaps in development.
Visit ProfileRobert G. Lynch is a Professor of Economics at Washington College, where he has taught since the fall of 1998.
Dr Lynch has served as a consultant to numerous organizations including private businesses, governments, labor unions, and research organizations.
His areas of specialization include International Economics, Public Policy, Public Finance, Economic Development and Comparative Economics. Dr. Lynch holds masters (1981) and doctoral (1984) degrees in Economics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and a bachelor’s (1979) degree in International and Development Economics from Georgetown University.
Visit ProfileMegan J. Smith is an award-winning entrepreneur, engineer, and tech evangelist.
Served as the third U.S. chief technology officer from 2014-2017 after spending eleven years as vice president at Google leading new business development, and later at Google[x]. PlanetOut CEO, General Magic and co-founder of the Malala Fund. Board member of MIT, Vital Voices; Member, National Academy of Engineering.
Visit ProfileBrij Kothari is an academic and social entrepreneur. He is on the Faculty of IIT-Delhi's School of Public Policy and the founder of PlanetRead.
He conceived of Same Language Subtitling (SLS) on mainstream TV in India for mass literacy, in 1996. He is an Ashoka Fellow and the recipient of the International Literacy Prize from the Library of Congress.
He has a Ph.D. in education from Cornell University and a Masters in physics from IIT Kanpur.
Visit ProfileMegan J. Smith is an award-winning entrepreneur, engineer, and tech evangelist.
Served as the third U.S. chief technology officer from 2014-2017 after spending eleven years as vice president at Google leading new business development, and later at Google[x]. PlanetOut CEO, General Magic and co-founder of the Malala Fund. Board member of MIT, Vital Voices; Member, National Academy of Engineering.
Visit ProfileBrij Kothari is an academic and social entrepreneur. He is on the Faculty of IIT-Delhi's School of Public Policy and the founder of PlanetRead.
He conceived of Same Language Subtitling (SLS) on mainstream TV in India for mass literacy, in 1996. He is an Ashoka Fellow and the recipient of the International Literacy Prize from the Library of Congress.
He has a Ph.D. in education from Cornell University and a Masters in physics from IIT Kanpur.
Visit ProfileAvinav Nigam is the Founder and CEO of the London headquartered TERN Group, the leading upskilling Indian platform for global opportunities. He was previously senior executive or founder of leading global technology companies such as Disney+ Hotstar (100m users), IMMO ($1.5Bn in UK/EU real estate), Cars24 ($3Bn+ market cap in Asia & Australia), and PayU ($100Bn+ payment volumes) as well as leading Ariel’s Asia business at Procter & Gamble. He serves as an Advisor to the National Skills Development Council, Ministry of Skills Development (Govt of India). He’s an active investor in fast growing technology and education businesses across India and Europe.
Raj Sarkar serves as Chief Marketing Officer of CloudBees, driving global marketing strategy and execution, and extending market awareness. Prior to CloudBees, he was CMO at 1Password, a 2023 Forbes Cloud 100 company, and CMO at Prisma Cloud, Palo Alto Networks' cloud security platform.
Raj also spent six years at Atlassian as the head of marketing, overseeing cloud products like Trello, Confluence, Bitbucket, and Jira Work Management. Earlier in his career, he played foundational roles in product marketing at both Google Cloud Platform and Amazon Web Services.
Raj holds an MBA in marketing and corporate strategy from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Science degree in electronics and telecommunications engineering from Jadavpur University. In 2022, Forbes recognized him as one of the top 50 CMOs in The Forbes Entrepreneurial CMO List.
Visit ProfileSonali Khan leads Sesame Workshop’s educational mission in India to create innovative and engaging content that maximizes the educational power of all media to help kids grow smarter, stronger, and kinder.
Visit ProfileTathagata Bandyopadhyay has been into the teaching and research of statistics for the last four decades. He joined the department of statistics, University of Calcutta, India as a lecturer in the year 1984. He was there until 2005. During this period, he visited numerous universities abroad to teach and do collaborative research.
In 2005, he joined IIM Ahmedabad as a faculty and retired in October, 2021 as the Dean (Faculty). His stint at IIM Ahmedabad, gave him an opportunity to collaborate with researchers working in other disciplines. From 2008, he started collaborating with Dr. Brij Kothari on the Same Language Subtitling (SLS) project. Their research proved beyond doubt that a long term exposure to SLS helps in enhancing the reading ability of the semi-literate by giving them a regular reading practice.
Currently, he is a distinguished professor at the Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India.
Visit ProfileVikesh Mahendroo has over 40 years of experience in leadership and human resources. Vikesh retired as CEO of CLG (now Alula) and became Senior Advisor to the CLG Board in June 2016. He is the former CEO of Intrepid Learning Solutions (2007 to 2011), a firm specializing in the design and delivery of business-focused learning solutions; he served on the Intrepid Board from 2007 to 2017. Prior to joining Intrepid, he was the Global Executive Vice President of Mercer Human Resource Consulting and a member of the Board and Executive Committee, and also served as President of the U.S. company.
He is a Board member of Landesa (a global land rights organization), and a past Board member of Frontier Signal, Gettysburg College, and the HR Certification Institute. Prior to moving to the US from India, he was a member of the prestigious Indian Administrative Service (IAS). Vikesh has a BA (hons) and Master’s in Economics from St. Stephen’s College in Delhi University, and an MBA from Columbia University. Vikesh is based in New York City.
Raj Sarkar serves as Chief Marketing Officer of CloudBees, driving global marketing strategy and execution, and extending market awareness. Prior to CloudBees, he was CMO at 1Password, a 2023 Forbes Cloud 100 company, and CMO at Prisma Cloud, Palo Alto Networks' cloud security platform.
Raj also spent six years at Atlassian as the head of marketing, overseeing cloud products like Trello, Confluence, Bitbucket, and Jira Work Management. Earlier in his career, he played foundational roles in product marketing at both Google Cloud Platform and Amazon Web Services.
Raj holds an MBA in marketing and corporate strategy from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Science degree in electronics and telecommunications engineering from Jadavpur University. In 2022, Forbes recognized him as one of the top 50 CMOs in The Forbes Entrepreneurial CMO List.
Visit ProfileSonali Khan leads Sesame Workshop’s educational mission in India to create innovative and engaging content that maximizes the educational power of all media to help kids grow smarter, stronger, and kinder.
Visit ProfileTathagata Bandyopadhyay has been into the teaching and research of statistics for the last four decades. He joined the department of statistics, University of Calcutta, India as a lecturer in the year 1984. He was there until 2005. During this period, he visited numerous universities abroad to teach and do collaborative research.
In 2005, he joined IIM Ahmedabad as a faculty and retired in October, 2021 as the Dean (Faculty). His stint at IIM Ahmedabad, gave him an opportunity to collaborate with researchers working in other disciplines. From 2008, he started collaborating with Dr. Brij Kothari on the Same Language Subtitling (SLS) project. Their research proved beyond doubt that a long term exposure to SLS helps in enhancing the reading ability of the semi-literate by giving them a regular reading practice.
Currently, he is a distinguished professor at the Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India.
Visit ProfileVikesh Mahendroo has over 40 years of experience in leadership and human resources. Vikesh retired as CEO of CLG (now Alula) and became Senior Advisor to the CLG Board in June 2016. He is the former CEO of Intrepid Learning Solutions (2007 to 2011), a firm specializing in the design and delivery of business-focused learning solutions; he served on the Intrepid Board from 2007 to 2017. Prior to joining Intrepid, he was the Global Executive Vice President of Mercer Human Resource Consulting and a member of the Board and Executive Committee, and also served as President of the U.S. company.
He is a Board member of Landesa (a global land rights organization), and a past Board member of Frontier Signal, Gettysburg College, and the HR Certification Institute. Prior to moving to the US from India, he was a member of the prestigious Indian Administrative Service (IAS). Vikesh has a BA (hons) and Master’s in Economics from St. Stephen’s College in Delhi University, and an MBA from Columbia University. Vikesh is based in New York City.
Director - Partnerships & Development
Director - Partnerships & Development
Revati Deshmukh brings in 13+ years of extensive experience of fundraising across India, UK, US, Middle East, Asia. She has worked with high-impact global non-profits like Room to Read, Educate Girls and GiveIndia. She has managed relationships across segments of donors including Corporates, Foundations, HNI’s, Advisory Boards and Government agencies to secure major grants and build long-lasting partnerships. She has worked with Reap Benefit and Indus Action to guide them on their fundraising efforts. Revati started her career in Investment Banking with JP Morgan.
Revati received her Master’s in Finance from NMIMS, Mumbai and a Bachelor Degree in Commerce from Symbiosis.
Visit ProfileFounder & Director
Founder & Director
Brij Kothari is an academic and social entrepreneur. He is on the Faculty of IIT-Delhi's School of Public Policy and the founder of PlanetRead.
He conceived of Same Language Subtitling (SLS) on mainstream TV in India for mass literacy, in 1996. He is an Ashoka Fellow and the recipient of the International Literacy Prize from the Library of Congress.
He has a Ph.D. in education from Cornell University and a Masters in physics from IIT Kanpur.
Visit ProfileLegal Counsel
Legal Counsel
Tanvi has joined PlanetRead/BIRD as Legal and Compliance Counsel. She is a legal professional with over six years of work experience in the technology industry as a regulatory compliance and contracts specialist. She is an undergraduate and postgraduate alumna of the University of Manchester, UK. She currently resides in Pondicherry, is a trained classical dancer and enjoys reading and playing the guitar in her free time.
COO
COO
Nirav Kumar Shah began working on the SLS project right from its inception at IIM Ahmedabad, in 2002.
He has been the COO of PlanetRead and BookBox since 2003. At PlanetRead, he has led the team in India to implement SLS on 10 languages across the country and produce over 100 AniBooks (animated stories) at BookBox.
He graduated from Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education, Pondicherry and has an MBA in International Business from Pondicherry University.
Visit ProfileCAO
CAO
Parthibhan Amudhan has been part of the executive team at PlanetRead and BookBox for almost 20 years. He currently serves as the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) based in Pondicherry, South India.
Parthibhan is part of the Billion Readers (BIRD) Initiative's core team in India, which secured a USD 500K design grant in 2021 and a USD 6.5 million system-change grant in 2022 to scale up Same Language Subtitling (SLS) in India over the next five years.
Parthibhan currently leads two pillars: Human Resources and Quality Assurance. His efforts focus on organizational strengthening and implementation of systems to monitor quality implementation of SLS. He works closely with Legal and Compliance Counsel for the signing of all major MoUs with partners. Additionally, he serves as the Secretary to PlanetRead India's Governing Board and liaises with government departments to build strategic partnerships.
Parthibhan also co-led the production of over 100 AniBooks (animated stories) by BookBox. These AniBooks, powered by SLS, are designed to enhance language learning and improve reading skills, particularly among children.
Visit ProfileDirector - Strategic Partnerships
Director - Strategic Partnerships
Legal Counsel
Legal Counsel
Tanvi has joined PlanetRead/BIRD as Legal and Compliance Counsel. She is a legal professional with over six years of work experience in the technology industry as a regulatory compliance and contracts specialist. She is an undergraduate and postgraduate alumna of the University of Manchester, UK. She currently resides in Pondicherry, is a trained classical dancer and enjoys reading and playing the guitar in her free time.
COO
COO
Nirav Kumar Shah began working on the SLS project right from its inception at IIM Ahmedabad, in 2002.
He has been the COO of PlanetRead and BookBox since 2003. At PlanetRead, he has led the team in India to implement SLS on 10 languages across the country and produce over 100 AniBooks (animated stories) at BookBox.
He graduated from Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education, Pondicherry and has an MBA in International Business from Pondicherry University.
Visit ProfileCAO
CAO
For 15+ years, Parthibhan Amudhan has been closely involved in the implementation of PlanetRead’s Same Language Subtitling (SLS) on TV in India, for mass literacy and the production of 100+ AniBooks (animated stories with SLS) at BookBox.
He has a Masters in French from Pondicherry University and University of Rennes 2, France. He has done a PG Diploma in Computer Science from Loyola Informatics Centre, Chennai. He was also Director, Public Relations at the Loyola College Rotaract Club.
Visit ProfileDirector - Strategic Partnerships
Director - Strategic Partnerships
Communications Manager
Communications Manager
Aditi is a seasoned researcher and producer with over six years of experience in the media industry, complemented by a strong academic research background. She has explored a diverse array of topics, such as disaster management, climate change, ecology, biodiversity, and social dynamics. Her work has taken her across various terrains in over 22 states in India, enriching her expertise and deepening her understanding of these complex subjects. Aditi has collaborated with renowned clients, including National Geographic, MoEFCC, Doordarshan, Zee Network, WaterBear Network, and both national and international NGOs. She brings meticulous attention to detail to every project and is committed to delivering high-quality content, bringing creative visions to life with excellence.
Aditi's mission is to make scientific research accessible to the general public by simplifying complex concepts and fostering a deeper understanding of the world around us. She believes that documentaries can bridge the gap between people and the urgent realities of global issues, from conservation to social and environmental challenges. Through her films, Aditi strives to create informative content and transformative experiences that inspire viewers to actively address critical global concerns. She is dedicated to delivering high-quality, impactful work that resonates with diverse audiences and motivates meaningful change.
Creative Designer
Creative Designer
Anusha Menon has joined as a Creative Designer at PlanetRead. She has 6 years of experience working independently as a visual designer. Integrating her animation and illustration practice, she has collaborated with NGOs, independent musicians and educators. She has a Bachelor's in Animation Film Design from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.
Researcher - Gender & Media
Researcher - Gender & Media
Anushree joined PlanetRead as a Researcher: Gender and Media. With an MA in Development from Azim Premji University, she started her career with a grassroots development organisation called Gram Vikas in Odisha. Transitioning to gender research, Anushree also conducted an impact evaluation study of the SWAYAM project under NRLM in Deogarh, Odisha, using ethnography and qualitative methods.
She plans to use her research experience to contribute more to policymaking and on-ground implementation efforts by PlanetRead in order to advance literacy and accessibility. She also has a keen interest in photography and is eager to explore how it can be used as a medium in her research.
HR Coordinator
HR Coordinator
K.Dhanalakshmi Graduated with M.tech (Wireless Communication) from Pondicherry Technical University and MBA (HRM) from Pondicherry University. She has Hands on Experience in Human Resource Management, she joined the team in March 2023 as a HR Admin Coordinator. Her main responsibilities include HR Activities and administrative functions of the organization.
Co-Lead, BIRD operations & Research
Co-Lead, BIRD operations & Research
Field Researcher
Field Researcher
As one of the first team members, Hema Jadwani joined the PlanetRead right from the day we started field research for the Same Language Subtitling (SLS) project at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. She has been instrumental in the making of many Gujarati folk songs and children's stories and provided research support in several states.
Researcher - Gender & Media
Researcher - Gender & Media
Anushree joined PlanetRead as a Researcher: Gender and Media. With an MA in Development from Azim Premji University, she started her career with a grassroots development organisation called Gram Vikas in Odisha. Transitioning to gender research, Anushree also conducted an impact evaluation study of the SWAYAM project under NRLM in Deogarh, Odisha, using ethnography and qualitative methods.
She plans to use her research experience to contribute more to policymaking and on-ground implementation efforts by PlanetRead in order to advance literacy and accessibility. She also has a keen interest in photography and is eager to explore how it can be used as a medium in her research.
HR Coordinator
HR Coordinator
Co-Lead, BIRD operations & Research
Co-Lead, BIRD operations & Research
Field Researcher
Field Researcher
As one of the first team members, Hema Jadwani joined the PlanetRead right from the day we started field research for the Same Language Subtitling (SLS) project at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. She has been instrumental in the making of many Gujarati folk songs and children's stories and provided research support in several states.
Video Editor
Video Editor
Research Associate: Gender & Media
Research Associate: Gender & Media
Malavika has joined as a Research Associate: Gender and Media at PlanetRead. She has completed her masters in Development policy, Planning and Practice from Tata Institute of Social sciences. She is deeply passionate about the dynamic interplay between literacy, gender, and policy-making. With a strong passion in academia and on ground experience, she is dedicated to unraveling the complexities of these three critical domains and driving meaningful change at their intersection through research. Further, she likes making time to read, watch movies, cook and dance.
Community Mobiliser and Coordinator
Community Mobiliser and Coordinator
Video & Subtitle Editor
Video & Subtitle Editor
Video Editor
Video Editor
Hindi Language Expert
Hindi Language Expert
Community Mobiliser and Coordinator
Community Mobiliser and Coordinator
Video & Subtitle Editor
Video & Subtitle Editor
Video Editor
Video Editor
Hindi Language Expert
Hindi Language Expert
Operations Manager
Manager - Media and Film Partnerships, South India
Manager - Media and Film Partnerships, South India
Video Editor
Video Editor
Eye Tracking Coordinator
Eye Tracking Coordinator
Accounts Officer
Accounts Officer
Project Manager
Project Manager
Video Editor
Video Editor
Eye Tracking Coordinator
Eye Tracking Coordinator
Accounts Officer
Accounts Officer
Project Manager
Project Manager
Video Editor
Video Editor
Field Coordinator
Field Coordinator
Operations Manager
Operations Manager
Dr Brij Kothari is an academic and social entrepreneur. He is on the Faculty of IIT-Delhi’s School of Public Policy and the founder of PlanetRead. He is also the CEO of BookBox Inc, a for-profit social venture producing children’s animated stories in more than 25 languages. He co-founded PlanetRead and BookBox as a Reuters Digital Vision Fellow at Stanford University.
Brij conceived the idea of Same Language Subtitling (SLS) on mainstream TV in India for mass literacy, in 1996. Brij and his team have innovated, researched, and nationalized the use of SLS on Bollywood film songs on TV, for mass literacy in India. He laid the foundation for the SLS project as an Associate Professor IIM-A in its Centre for Educational Innovation.
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