Akanksha Education Fund

Staff

Gouri Sadhwani, Executive Director 

Gouri has worked with various civil society organizations focusing on human rights, social justice, education and poverty for over two decades. Prior to joining Akanksha, she served as Deputy Executive Director at Amnesty International USA where she led Amnesty’s work on domestic and international human rights campaigns. She has also worked on labor rights here in the U.S. with the Service Employees International Union, Local 32BJ and at the global level with the National Labor Committee. She has served as Executive Director of both the New York Civic Participation Project and of the Hague Appeal for Peace. She worked on bringing together environmental and labor public policy as Vice President of Campaigns at the Blue Green Alliance.  She earned her MPA from New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service. Born and partially raised in India, she joined the Akanksha Fund in 2013 with a desire to contribute to work being done to empower India’s underserved communities.

Meghan McNamara, Development Manager

Meghan McNamara comes to the Akanksha Fund with over 10 years of experience in the non-profit and education sectors. Previously, Meghan taught science, math, and writing to adults pursuing their high school equivalency diplomas in the Bronx and Manhattan. In this capacity she developed and taught science curriculums that built STEM literacy and confidence in adult learners, which she presented on regionally and nationally. Prior to that, Meghan was director of programs at Girls Write Now, a nationally-recognized writing and mentoring program for NYC high school girls. Meghan also runs a non-profit she co-founded called the Octavia Project, which uses arts and STEM enrichment to encourage critical thinking, build confidence, and develop skills in a myriad of subjects for teens in Brooklyn.

Srigowri Kumar, Communications Manager

Gowri envisions a future where education is equally accessible, meaningful and transformative for all children all over the world. To that end, she has taught at various capacities in India and the US, including an year-long volunteering stint at an Akanksha Foundation after-school center in Pune. Before her foray into the education and development sectors, she worked/interned with various wings of the Indian media, where she contributed features on social issues. She is currently finishing her doctoral studies in English Literature at St. John’s University, Queens. With (and through) Akanksha, she hopes to become a well-rounded advocate for education.

Volunteers and Interns

The Fund’s team also includes volunteers and interns that make our work possible.