Akanksha Education Fund

  • ABOUT AKANKSHA
    • Our Mission
    • Board of Directors
    • Sustained Donors
    • Akanksha Foundation
  • OUR IMPACT
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  • GET INVOLVED
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  • EVENTS
    • 2020 Virtual Event
    • The Akanksha Fund 2019 Gala
    • Akanksha Fund’s 2018 Gala: Educating Children, Empowering Communities
    • Akanksha Fund’s 2017 Gala: The Stories Behind the Numbers
    • Past Events
  • OUR TEAM
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You are here: Home / Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Ramesh Srinivasan, President

Ramesh also serves on the Akanksha Foundation board in India and joined the Fund upon moving to New York. He currently lives in New York and is a Director at McKinsey and Company. He continues to be involved in strategic planning for the Akanksha Foundation.

Sarah Roberts, Vice President

Sarah lived in Mumbai, India for four years in the 1980’s. When Shaheen Mistri, the daughter of family friends, founded the Akanksha Foundation in 1990, Sarah, in partnership with others in the U.S., organized the Akanksha Fund Inc. to raise support and awareness for Akanksha in the United States. Sarah has served on the board of the Fund since it was founded.

Bharti Malkani, Secretary

Bharti Malkani earned her BA at the University of Pennsylvania and worked for many years in the field of Investor Relations where she represented small-cap, publicly-traded technology companies to the investing community. She then left the corporate world and ventured out on her own founding a wholesale jewelry company and, after selling that, to running a learning center for preschool and elementary schoolchildren in New York City. She serves on the Host Committee of Opening Act, an organization that provides after-school theater arts programming to underserved New York City public high schools and is a member of the Trustees Council of Penn Women. Bharti has been a member of Akanksha Fund’s Host Committee for the past two years and resides in New York City with her husband, Vijay Jayant, and two children, Arjun and Ajay.

Fally Malkani, Treasurer

Fally has been a supporter of Akanksha for many years. She graduated with a degree in Economics and Accounting from the University of Bombay and then went on to complete a two-year course in Design and Typography from the London College of Communication.

Colette Haider

Colette Haider is Special Counsel for Philanthropic Ventures at Hillspire, LLC. Prior to that Colette was a Senior Counsel at the Ford Foundation, which she joined in 2006. Colette advises on a wide variety of legal issues relating to the Foundation’s governance, grantmaking, investment portfolio and global operations, particularly matters relating to the Foundation’s investment portfolio and to the grantmaking and operations of its offices in Asia. Prior to the Ford Foundation, Ms. Haider was an associate at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, where she specialized in investments work. She is a graduate of Williams College and Harvard Law School and is admitted to the New York bar. Colette is the youngest of 11 children and grew up on a farm in rural Kansas. She currently lives in Westchester County with her husband Jawad and their three children.

Shankar Iyer

Shankar is CEO of Viteos Fund Services and an entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in building businesses with a global influence in the outsourcing industry. He founded Viteos in 2003, and his leadership led the company to become an international enterprise. Prior to Viteos, he served as President and CEO of Silverline Technologies.

Medha Prakash

Medha Vedaprakash is currently Head of Global News partnerships at Google. Previously, Medha worked at the private equity firm, McAndrews & Forbes where she advised portfolio companies on their digital transformation and innovation strategies. Prior to that, she was a venture capitalist for several years and held several board member roles at high growth technology startups. She is a passionate supporter of women entrepreneurs and is an angel investor in several women-founded and led companies. Medha is a deep believer in the power of education to change lives and has been a supporter of Akanksha for the past 4 years.

Punyashree (Punya) Viswanath Shah

Punya previously worked at Mitusi & Co., India where she was responsible for Trading and Business development. Subsequently, she worked for Bearing Point Inc. and PwC, focusing on Strategy and Risk management primarily for Financial Services clients. Punya has also served as a member of the executive committee of Carnegie Mellon’s Alumni Association Board for three years.

Kate Shoemaker

Kate Shoemaker is currently the VP of Public Policy and University Partnerships Strategy for Braven, a non-profit that focuses on the college to career transition for first-generation and low-income college students. She has also served as Chief Operating Officer at the South Ward Children’s Alliance in Newark, and for 16 years she led public policy and special projects for Geoffrey Canada at the Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ). A highlight of her tenure at the HCZ, was advising the Obama Administration and others on the federal Promise Neighborhoods program, which was inspired by HCZ. She and her husband Anand live in Short Hills, NJ with their two children.

Brande Stellings, J.D.

Brande works to advance gender equity in corporate boardrooms globally as Senior Vice President, Advisory Services. Brande practiced law for 12 years prior to joining Catalyst. She serves on the board of Legal Momentum (the Women’s Legal Defense and Education Fund) and formerly served on the board of the New York Women’s Foundation.

About Akanksha

Established over 23 years ago, the Akanksha Fund supports organizations that focus on reforming India’s education system. Akanksha Fund has raised and granted millions to the Akanksha Foundation, which runs schools and centers for disadvantaged children in Mumbai and Pune.

Akanksha Fund has supported a wide range of Akanksha Foundation schools and projects over the years.  Any donations to the Akanksha Fund not explicitly restricted for a particular project will be utilized for the charitable purposes Akanksha Fund determines are most urgent, which may include support of the Akanksha Foundation’s endowment or corpus to ensure the organization’s long-term stability.

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Contact Us

The Akanksha Fund Inc.
tel: (917) 930-6515
email: info@akankshafund.org

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The Akanksha Education Fund Inc.

1 month ago

The Akanksha Education Fund Inc.

We're so proud to partner with Vivo Life and their fantastic team. 100% of net profits of their Magic Chaga Chai Latte will be donated to the Akanksha Education Fund. Thank you for supporting our mission and children's education in India! ☕️ ... See MoreSee Less

Vivo Life | A Very Special Partnership

vivolife.co.uk

When we launched our MAGIC Chaga Chai latte, we wanted to make sure it was something special, that paid respect to the drink's origins. So, we decided to partner up with the Akanksha Foundation, and w...
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The Akanksha Education Fund Inc.

2 months ago

The Akanksha Education Fund Inc.

After over 7 years as our Executive Director, Gouri Sadhwani has decided to transition out of her role over the next few months. Under Gouri’s leadership our income increased by over 1000% allowing us to significantly increase grant making towards Akanksha’s 21 schools in India.

We are extremely grateful for her leadership. The Board is searching for our next Executive Director and hope to share an update with you on this soon.

Thank you for your continued support of Akanksha’s work!
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The Akanksha Education Fund Inc.

2 months ago

The Akanksha Education Fund Inc.

Thank you for supporting Akanksha in this difficult year. But we still need your support in 2021! Please consider making a year-end gift of any amount today: akankshafund.org/2020-holiday-giving/

Thank you for your support and we wish you a bright new year ahead✨
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The Akanksha Education Fund Inc.

2 months ago

The Akanksha Education Fund Inc.

From our family to yours, we wish you a very happy holiday season! Here's to a bright, joyful new year ahead. #happyholidays ... See MoreSee Less

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The Akanksha Education Fund Inc.

2 months ago

The Akanksha Education Fund Inc.

Did you know that Akanksha has impacted nearly 10,000 students across India? 100% of those students graduate high school and 96% enroll in a junior college.

With your support, we can continue educating these brilliant students. Make a donation today and transform a child's life.
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2020 Holiday Giving

akankshafund.org

2020 Holiday Giving This holiday season, we ask you to make Akanksha part of your annual giving and make a donation below. Your support will help our students pursue their dreams and end the poverty c...
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The Akanksha Education Fund Inc.

3 months ago

The Akanksha Education Fund Inc.

On this #GivingTuesday, a generous donor has agreed to match all first-time donations to Akanksha. This is the perfect time to DOUBLE the impact of your gift!

All matched donations will go towards the Mahalaxmi Mumbai Public School which serves 300+ students in Kindergarten through grade 7.

Make a donation today and transform a child’s future. Be sure to share this post and tag your friends as well!
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The Mahalaxmi Mumbai School Fund

akankshafund.org

The Mahalaxmi Mumbai School Fund The Mahalaxmi Mumbai Public School was founded in 2012 and now serves 300+ students in Kindergarten through grade 7 in Mumbai’s Breach Candy area. It is one of Akank...
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The Akanksha Education Fund Inc.

3 months ago

The Akanksha Education Fund Inc.

This #CyberMonday, we're sharing the best deal you can find! For $125, you can provide a tablet to an Akanksha student, so they can continue learning safely at home. Make a donation and give the greatest gift of all: education.

Donate today: bit.ly/39sTflJ
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