OUR TEAM
Shivani Pandit
FOUNDER-CEO
With a doctorate in Special Education from Rutgers University, USA, Dr. Shivani Pandit has been working with children with disabilities for over twenty years. She has been trained in Intensive Early Behavioral Therapy techniques for working with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (birth-five years of age). She has worked on several professional development initiatives for the Minnesota Department of Education in the USA. When not working, Shivani loves singing and is currently learning Hindustani classical music.
Shwetal Pandit
NAINI INCLUSIVE BOOKS
Shwetal is a social worker and remedial instructor by training, and a copywriter by passion. Currently, as a copywriter for an advertising firm, she writes brand stories. Shwetal is an advocate for inclusion and has authored four books for Saamarthya. When not playing with words, she loves playing with her son.
Parv Tiwari
NAINI INCLUSIVE BOOKS
Parv is a professional illustrator by day and an artist at night. For many years he's been exploring various methods of art. He loves delving into the world of comics and is an avid fan of Batman and his world. Parv has illustrated three titles for Naini Inclusive Books.
Shweta Bothra
NAINI INCLUSIVE BOOKS
Shweta is a creative writer who has been working in the field of media and advertising for the past eight years. She has a postgraduate degree in communications and has always wanted to write for children.
Teesta Das
NAINI INCLUSIVE BOOKS
Teesta is a design alumnus from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, and California College of the Arts, San Francisco. Her work explores simplicity, playfulness and joy. Teesta illustrated our first two books: Me and My Friends and Let’s Play.
Aatish Shinde
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Aatish is a psychologist & a screenwriter with a penchant for research that dissolves disciplinary boundaries. His background and determination in social & community research outcomes lead him to believe that the aim of scientific activity should be to recognize new psychological realms in which people might need our help. With Saamarthya, he is in quest fo increased awareness, better human rights, and well-being of people with disabilities. When not working, you’ll find him either playing an intense game of chess or cooped up in a corner with his beloved Kindle.
Aarthi Nagvenkar
PROGRAM MANAGER
Aarthi is a mental health counselor, educator & a certified art therapist. She uses art and play based techniques to create fun engaging activities for children with disabilities. Her mission and passion revolves around normalizing & creating mental health awareness and to empower individuals by providing safe space with unparalleled dedication, commitment & determination by being an Inclusion Activist. Apart from that she is a fun loving person and jovial by heart.
ANJALA NILOFAR
Varada Deshpande
SAAMARTHYA AMBASSADOR
Varada is an undergraduate Economics student with a passion for writing and creativity. She enjoys herself the most while composing poetry or travelling. Equality is achieved when we lift each other up; with this thought she looks to contribute to society and help the differently abled. She hopes to help make the world a better place for as many as possible.
Marissa Noronha
SAAMARTHYA AMBASSADOR
Marissa Noronha is an Imaging Technologist by profession but in her free time she is always finding ways to create textured art pieces! She loves recreating family recipes and adding a modern twist to it. She believes it is our shared responsibility to always be mindful of others and find ways to help each other out through love and empathy.
Srijanya Rajesh
SAAMARTHYA AMBASSADOR
Srijanya is a physiotherapist by profession who has always been very crafty with a pen, hoping to move people with just a delicate string of words. She is very excited to work with Saamarthya again and hopes to create a small impact in the lives of many wonderful people.
Pratiksha Shetty
SAAMARTHYA AMBASSADOR
Dr. Pratiksha Shetty is an Intern (Dental) at MCODS, Manipal. She is a Trained Bharatnatyam dancer who loves to sketch, stitch and read. Graphic designing for her is a newly found hobby! As a part of the team she looks forward to learning and understanding more about the specially abled so that she can treat them better in her practice in the future.
PROGRAM MANAGER
Anjala is a certified special educator who primarily practices as an educational therapist now after she started her journey with psychology. Throughout her career, she had worked in multiple setups and environments ranging from intervention centers and government projects to schools with different learning approaches which made an impact on her perception of education. She firmly believes in the concept of neurodiversity affirmative for every child and bring forth awareness and skillset to the adults around them.
Andrea Celestine
SAAMARTHYA AMBASSADOR
Andrea is an Occupational Therapist by profession who otherwise spends her time trying to forge things together that she can call art. She is an avid explorer of finding new ways to make the world a more inclusive place for everyone. She is very excited to join Saamarthya Foundation in its journey to do the same.
Shravani Kherde
SAAMARTHYA AMBASSADOR
Shravani is a second year student studying human development in SNDT College of Home Science based in Pune. She has unconditional love for children and enjoys spending time with them doing things they would love. Shravani is an ambassador in Saamarthya and active in the events team with Club Ananda.
Soumya Kohli
SAAMARTHYA AMBASSADOR
Soumya is an undergraduate student of Applied psychology. She loves baking and practices meditation. She previously worked with Saamarthya as a volunteer and enjoyed working with the kids and other members of the foundation leading her to continue the same. She is super excited about this new role and wants to do complete justice to it.
Jeyalakshmi Ramanathan
SAAMARTHYA AMBASSADOR
Dr. Jeyalakshmi is a Dental intern at MCODS, Manipal. She is a huge true crime buff and loves to sketch cartoons to decompress. She is glad to be a part of this wonderful team and hopes to contribute in any and every way she can.
Sindhu Agarwal
SAAMARTHYA AMBASSADOR
Sindhu is a final year physiotherapy student at Manipal. She enjoys herself the most when she is reading, volunteering, or interacting with new people. She believes that equality is a birthright and that being kind to every being is what makes us human. She is grateful to be a part of this foundation and take a step toward a more inclusive environment.
Fareha Ansari
SAAMARTHYA AMBASSADOR
Fareha is a Licensed Special Educator. She has worked with children having physical, mental or sensory impairment, children on spectrum, learning disabilities, ADHD, Cerebral Palsy, Intellectual Disabilities and has conducted assessments, development of IEP goals, documentation, develop different teaching strategies to achieve IEP goals as per individual need. She has a passion to teach children with disabilities and make a positive difference in their life.
Mrudula Alla Sai Santhosha
SAAMARTHYA AMBASSADOR
Mrudula is a final year MBBS student from Andhra Medical College, Andhra Pradesh. She paints, makes sketches, and teaches students in her free time. She believes being a good person is important before becoming a good doctor. She hopes Saamarthya will provide her with a platform to improve herself.
Priyanka Swaminathan
SAAMARTHYA AMBASSADOR
Priyanka is a banker by profession and currently residing in the financial capital, Mumbai. She is passionate towards multiple causes in the disability space such as improving sibling connect, creating more awareness about IDD among neurotypical, and supporting PwD in their path towards self sufficiency. She likes to play badminton, read books, and paint in her spare time, apart from volunteering . She has been with Saamarthya since 2020 and has led the content team.
Prashansa Puri
SAAMARTHYA AMBASSADOR
Prashansa is a physiotherapist by profession. Since her first year in college, she has been a very active volunteer for the organizations which used to run for the specially-abled. The smiles on their faces after they achieve something, even if it is something very small, keep her going! She has always wanted to make differently-abled children self-confident and to provide them a place in society where they are not only accepted but also respected for their special abilities. She believes Saamarthya is one such organization that works towards these goals. She is very glad she gets to be a part of this family and wishes to contribute in every possible manner.
Gourav Singh
SAAMARTHYA AMBASSADOR
Gourav is pursuing his post graduation in Psychology. He is resilient, self-motivated, conscientious, and keeps a curious mind towards all disciplines. He also likes to apply psychological principles in diverse areas. He has interests in the field of mental health education, research, and organizational psychology. He is skilled in the MS Office 365.
Snigdha Mallik
SAAMARTHYA AMBASSADOR
Snigdha is an IT graduate who enjoys art, music & design. She loves traveling places, taking pictures and is also inspired by different architectures, countries, and cultures. She believes in humanity, love, and united people working together for a good cause to make the world a better place to live and thrive. It's amazing to be part of the community this way!
Srishti Jaiswal
SAAMARTHYA AMBASSADOR
Srishti is an artist and she loves to read in her free time. She's a high school student advocating for and working towards helping the unprivileged. She's very passionate about finding solutions to modern-day problems. She's glad to be a part of this organization and she hopes to contribute to the best of her abilities.
Sanjana Seshadri
SAAMARTHYA AMBASSADOR
Sanjana is currently studying BASLP at MCHP, Manipal. She is a passionate singer, an artist and loves to read a lot of books. She has always wanted to work with children with diverse abilities. As a part of the Saamarthya Foundation, she believes that she can bring out a revolution in the field of disability and inclusion.
Sudeepta Maiti
SAAMARTHYA AMBASSADOR
Sudeepta is doing her masters in medical imaging technology at Manipal University. As a part of various committees and NGOs, visiting various schools, orphanages and interacting with kids, and enjoying and learning at the same has been one of her special activities which have always taught her something. She is very happy to be a part of this family and looks forward to learning and contribute in every possible way.
OUR PARTNERS
OUR FUNDERS
We are grateful to the Fleishhacker Foundation for their support and generous gift to Saamarthya Foundation’s intervention programming for children with Autism and Intellectual disabilities in India.
Fleishhacker Foundation, based in San Francisco, has been dedicated to public service since 1947. Their values are “integrity, honesty, humility, thoughtfulness, intellectual curiosity, respect for all people, personal empowerment, self-determination, and “repairing the world” in the Jewish tradition of Tikkun Olam.” (https://www.fleishhackerfoundation.org/). This holiday season, we are proud to receive support from such a mission-driven organization.