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Good Rural
Governace
Water
Management
Agricultural
Development
Transform
Lives

Together We Empower Rural India

Rural
Research
Community
Media

Team

Trustees
Council of Advisors
Rural Development

Jan Dirk Geertsema

Advisor

Jan Dirk (JD) is author, management consultant, executive coach, and management trainer since 1997, working extensively with management teams in the global business theatre, including Agriculture, Airline, Automotive, Biotechnology, Chemical, Food, Graphic Arts, Manufacturing, and Software Engineering industries, and with the governments of the USA, Ukraine, and the Netherlands. JD teaches ‘Leadership & Human Logic’ at various international universities.

JD has been supporting the S M Sehgal Foundation as a volunteer since 2004, primarily focusing on management and team development.
Arun Maheshwari

Advisor

Arun Maheshwari studied at IIT, Mumbai and IIM, Kolkata, and proceeded to the US in 1967, where he studied at Columbia, Stanford, and Wharton.

He has worked for McKinsey as a consultant, and for many Fortune 500 companies, including Tata Consultancy Services, as a senior executive. He founded and managed two different software companies in India between 1996 and 2008. After retirement, he served on the boards of many listed and private companies.
Venkata Subbarao

Advisor

Venkata Subbarao, Kolli, PhD, is a strategic business leader with extensive experience in agriculture, biosciences, and life sciences; a seasoned professional and a strategic thinker. He retired as Regional President – Corteva Agriscience and has also served as Vice Chair for Federation of Seed Association of India, President of National Seed Association of India from 2011-13; on CII Agriculture Council and FICCI Biotechnology committee.
Vyoma Nair

Advisor

Vyoma Nair is executive board adviser to Nucleus, is an expert on international expansion who developed an integrated “one-stop shopping” service model covering multi-country HR, legal, accounting, tax, and compliance services for smaller US tech companies seeking international expansion. She worked with Redback Networks, RedHat Software, and Theorem Clinical Research.
Anjali Godyal

PGDip, Chief Development Officer

Rural management diploma (Institute of Rural Management, Anand, Gujarat); rural community development, project development, project management in water, agriculture, and governance.
Email: a.godyal@smsfoundation.org
Anjali Makhija

MA, Chief Executive Officer

Social work master’s (Delhi School of Social Work), economics degree (Delhi Univ.), Leadership Foundational Principles certificate course by HarvardX; strategy building, program planning, and people management; building capacities on themes of rural development and women empowerment. Certified Corporate Director, Institute of Directors (IOD), Life member of National Association of Professional Social Workers in India (NAPSWI), Member of undergraduate board of studies in the Department of Social Work, BPS University, Sonipat, and Internal Committee member for Marks and Spencer India Sourcing Office. Email: anjali.makhija@smsfoundation.org
Arti Manchanda Grover

MA, Senior Manager, Public Relations

Mass communications master’s (Guru Jambheshwar Univ.), Journalism degree and business journalism and communication diploma (Delhi Univ.); development communications and community radio. Sehgal Foundation Gender Committee Chair (2021-2023). Email: arti.manchanda@smsfoundation.org
Chander Shekhar

MBA, Associate Director, Finance and Accounts

Finance master’s (Amity Univ., Noida); accounting, payroll management, taxation, and statutory compliance.
Email: c.shekhar@smsfoundation.org
Chander Shekhar Mehra

MA, Social Scientist, Rural Research and Development

MA (Economics) (IGNOU); BA (H) Economics (Delhi University ). Rural livelihood, agriculture, education, labour, and development research. Monitoring and evaluation; impact assessment; and quantitative research.
Email: cs.mehra@smsfoundation.org
Debika Goswami

MA, Senior Program Lead, Local Participation and Sustainability

History master’s (Presidency College, Univ. of Calcutta), “Non-Farm Activities and Rural Development in Developing Countries” (Univ. of Rome, La Sapienza); grassroots research and rural governance.
Email: d.goswami@smsfoundation.org
Ellora Mubashir

PhD, Project Documentation Specialist

PhD in Life Sciences from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Management experience in the corporate and CSOs, documentation expertise in scientific and social science fields, CSR projects, and academic publications.
Email: e.mubashir@smsfoundation.org
Lalit Mohan Sharma

MTech, Principal Scientist, Water Research & Training

Civil engineering graduate (Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi); master’s in management and systems (Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi); water management technology research, development, and implementation.Email: lalit.sharma@smsfoundation.org
Manoj Sharma

MBA, Head, IT Infrastructure

Master’s in information technology management (Sikkim Manipal Univ.), BA in IT (Delhi Univ.); information technology in profit and nonprofit sectors.
Email: m.sharma@smsfoundation.org
Meenakshi Mrinalini

PGDip, Senior Manager, Human Resources

Human Resource Management (The Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India); human resources operation and administration, team management, employee engagement, data verification, training, and quality monitoring. Email: m.mrinalini@smsfoundation.org
N P Singh

Msc (Agri), Program Lead, Agriculture Development & Extension

Specialization in soil microbiology (G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar); agriculture and allied activities programme planning; development and management; and social mobilization.
Email: n.singh@smsfoundation.org
Navneet Narwal

MA, Associate Lead, Transform Lives

Law degree (Delhi Univ.), English master’s (Punjab Univ., Chandigarh), MBA (Sikkim Manipal Univ.), journalism diploma (Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, Chandigarh); grassroots policy training.
Email:n.narwal@smsfoundation.org
Neema Joshi

MSc, Manager, Partnerships

Agriculture master’s from G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar; Programme Planning Development and Management, Asian Institute of Management (AIM), Manila, Philippines. Sustainable agriculture, value chain development and governance.
Email: n.joshi@smsfoundation.org
Niti Saxena

MSc, Principal Scientist, Rural Research and Development

Human development master’s (Lady Irwin College, Delhi Univ.); social science research includes qualitative research and participatory development. Email: niti.saxena@smsfoundation.org
Pankaj Gaur

MBA, Manager, External Reporting & Indirect Taxes

Finance master’s (Amity Univ.), master’s in commerce and social studies (Agra Univ.); accounting, financial, and project reporting. Email: pankaj.gaur@smsfoundation.org
Pawan Kaswan

MTech, Program Lead, Water Management

MTech, Construction Technology and Management; BTech Civil Engineering MDU, Rohtak; diploma in Civil Engineering. Planning and execution of Rainwater harvesting structures (check dams, ponds, RWH tanks) and school transformation work.
Email: p.kaswan@smsfoundation.org
Pawan Kumar

MSc, Principal Lead, Agriculture Development & Extension

Agriculture economics master’s (G. B. Pant Univ. of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar), forestry, science policy, and management master’s (Oxford Forestry Institute, Oxford Univ.); agricultural development, watershed management, and natural resource management. He is a Commonwealth Scholar 2001 and also a Ford Fellow 2015. Email: pawan.kumar@smsfoundation.org
Pooja O. Murada

MA, Principal Lead, Outreach for Development

Mass communications master’s; English honors; bridge marketing program (Tuck School of Business); over twenty years in brand management, marketing, and development communications in corporate and development sector. Spearheaded a community radio in an aspirational district; former chairperson of the gender committee at Sehgal Foundation, invited ICC member, Volvo India, and former governing board member of Community Radio Association.
Email: poojamurada@smsfoundation.org
Ramesh Kapahi

PGDip, Chief Financial Officer

Finance and marketing diploma (Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management, Delhi); internal auditing, company finance, and administrative leadership functions.
Email: r.kapahi@smsfoundation.org
Rashi Gupta

Msc, Manager, Partnerships

Msc, International Business (University of West London), English Honours (Delhi University). Multi-sector project development, project management, corporate partnerships and fundraising.
Email: r.gupta@smsfoundation.org
Salahuddin Saiphy

MSc, Principal Lead, Water Management

Applied geology master’s, hydrogeology diploma (Aligarh Muslim Univ., Aligarh), environmental monitoring and impact assessment diploma (Jamia Hamdard Univ., New Delhi); design, implementation, and monitoring of rainwater harvesting and water management projects.
Email: s.saiphy@smsfoundation.org
Sam Kapoor

MS, Manager, Partnerships

Instructional design and technology master’s (California State Univ.), business computer IS degree (Minnesota State Univ.), AA degree (Minnesota State Univ., Akita, Japan), Japan Area studies certification; training and development.
Email: s.kapoor@smsfoundation.org
Saurabh Srivastava

PGDip, Senior Program Lead, Local Participation and Sustainability

International business management diploma and sustainable development practices diploma (Birla Institute of Management Technology), pharmacy degree (Uttar Pradesh Technical Univ.); capacity building of village-level institutions in health, education, and governance. Email: s.srivastava@smsfoundation.org
Shalinder Singh

PGDip, Manager, MIS

BSc PGDCA Punjab University Chandigarh Manager MIS (Solution Design Architect, big data analytics, machine learning, cloud technologies, data visualization and research data collection technologies, public health systems.
Email: s.singh@smsfoundation.org
Shailesh Kumar Pant

BSc Agr. & AH, Program Lead, Agriculture Development and Extension

BSc Agr. & AH from G.B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology. Expert in Sustainable Agriculture Development & Rural Community Livelihood Enhancement.
More than twenty years of experience in the corporate and development sector.
Email: s.pant@smsfoundation.org
Shashank Devra

PGDip, Program Lead, Local Participation and Sustainability

Post graduate diploma (Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal) with specialization in development management; project management, financial inclusion, community-based organizations development and management, stakeholder management, micro-enterprise development, women empowerment and development, adolescent empowerment.
Email: s.devra@smsfoundation.org
Shruchi Singh

M.Sc., Program Lead, Farmer Producer Organization

Masters in Agriculture Agronomy from JNKVV, Jabalpur, Certified Scrum Master from Agile Premier Hyderabad. Farmer producer organization, sustainable agriculture practices; natural resource management; community mobilization; women empowerment and capacity building; livelihood interventions.
Email: sh.singh@smsfoundation.org
Sonia Chopra

MA, Program Lead, Outreach for Development

Master’s degrees in library and information and in political science (Delhi Univ.); content development for Hindi publications, database management, and community radio. Email: sonia.chopra@smsfoundation.org
Subhransu Kumar Bebarta

PGDip, Manager, Partnerships

Post graduate diploma (Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal); course on rural entrepreneurship from Wageningen University and Research, Netherlands; rural community development, project development in water, agriculture, and governance.
Email: s.bebarta@smsfoundation.org
Surinder Mohan Sehgal

Founder and Chairman of Board of Trustees

Surinder (Suri) M. Sehgal, PhD, leading international crop scientist; chair of the Board of Trustees of S M Sehgal Foundation and Sehgal Foundation, USA; founder of the William L. Brown Center for Economic Botany at the Missouri Botanical Garden, St Louis, Missouri, and emeritus trustee of the Garden.
Edda Gudrun Sehgal

Co-founder

Edda G. Sehgal, educated at Hohenstaufen Gymnasium, Goppingen, Germany; cofounder and trustee of S M Sehgal Foundation in India and Sehgal Foundation, USA; and founder, with Suri Sehgal, and board member of Proagro Group, India, and Global Technologies Incorporated, USA (1990–1998).
Anjali Makhija

Trustee and CEO

Anjali Makhija, social work master’s (Delhi School of Social Work), economics degree (Delhi Univ.), Leadership Foundational Principles certificate course by HarvardX; Certified Corporate Director, Institute of Directors (IOD), Life member of National Association of Professional Social Workers in India (NAPSWI), Member of undergraduate board of studies in the Department of Social Work, BPS University, Sonipat, Internal Committee member for Marks and Spencer India Sourcing Office. Email: anjali.makhija@smsfoundation.org
Bernd Uwe Sehgal

Trustee

Bernd Uwe Sehgal, PhD, member of the board of directors of Sehgal Foundation, USA, and board member of the William L. Brown Center at the Missouri Botanical Garden, USA.
Bhamy Venkatramana Shenoy

Trustee

Bhamy Shenoy, PhD, associated with Mysore Grahakara Parishat, Pratham, and other NGOs.
Ganesan Balachander

Trustee

Ganesan Balachander, PhD, former director, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Bangalore, India, and member of the Consortium Board of Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).
Gensuke Tokoro

Advisor

Gensuke Tokoro, professor (special appointment) at the Institute of Innovation Research of Hitotsubashi University (2008–2014); president and CEO of NAI, Inc. and Kyoto Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.; and board member of Institute for the Study of Panspermia and Astroeconomics.
Jan Leemans

Advisor

Jan Leemans, PhD, member board of directors, Misr Hytech Seed International, Egypt; Solynta, Wageningen, The Netherlands; and Agrosafve, Gent, Belgium; and former research director of Plant Genetic systems, Belgium.
Jane E. Schukoske

Advisor

Jane E. Schukoske, BA, JD, LLM, advisor, higher education and development consultant based in the USA. Former positions: executive director of US-India Educational Foundation, associate professor at University of Baltimore School of Law, and CEO of S M Sehgal Foundation (2011–16).
Rajat Jay Sehgal

Trustee

Rajat Jay Sehgal, executive vice president of Sehgal Foundation; former managing trustee and executive director of S M Sehgal Foundation.
Raman K. Sehgal

Advisor

Raman K. Sehgal, MBA, managing director and member of the Board of Directors of Misr Hytech Seed International, Egypt, and member of the Board of Directors of Hytech Seed, India.
S.K. Vasal

Advisor

S. K. Vasal, PhD, plant breeder and geneticist from CIMMYT, World Food Prize laureate, and recipient of Dr. M. S. Swaminathan Award for leadership in agriculture.
Suhas Pralhad Wani

Trustee

Suhas P. Wani, PhD, Research Program director, Asia Region, and director, ICRISAT Development Center, ICRISAT, Patancheru, Telangana, India (www.icrisat.org).
Vidhi Tandon

CA, Manager, Accounts

Chartered Accountant (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India); financial statements, statutory audit, core accounting, exceptional reporting.
Email: v.tandon@smsfoundation.org
Vikas Jha

PhD, Principal Lead, Local Participation and Sustainability

Doctorate (Jawaharlal Nehru Univ., New Delhi); policy studies diploma (SOAS, University of London); policy analysis in development sector, governance and advocacy, capacity building, community mobilization, social accountability. Email: v.jha@smsfoundation.org

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