Fellows

Ankit is a queer feminist activist. He is a member of Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights (YCSRR) and also serves on the Board of Directors. Ankit is passionate about reproductive justice for queer and trans youth, and has worked on a range of issues from Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and public safety to environment and climate change. He serves on the Advisory Group to The Guttmacher-Lancet Commission on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and the CIVICUS’s Youth Action Taskforce.

Host Organization:  Gay and Lesbian Victory Institute

 Role at Host Organization: As a program manager, Ankit will be working on the international program expanding to other countries including India. He will contribute his knowledge of the situation in India to the program. Overall, he will be supporting Victory’s programs in a range of different countries.

Ankur has an entrepreneurial mindset with a blend of corporate culture (Processes) and startup experience (Result-oriented). He is passionate about analytics and creativity, with an expertise in understanding and managing the integration of marketing, sales, operations, customer service and analytics in order to create effective, meaningful and result-oriented business strategies. As a communications specialist, Ankur takes utmost care in the finer points of both oral and written communication. He finds it incredibly fulfilling to build excellent, high performing teams–individually, we can’t always be at our best but when camaraderie persists, a team can go far. Good teamwork makes every journey better. Ankur also loves to pursue innovation. And while he enjoys connecting the dots across seemingly unrelated information, his MBA has also refined his pragmatic business knowledge to implement explorative growth ideas.

Host Organization: American India Foundation

Role at Host Organization: At American India Foundation, Ankur will be serving as the Executive Assistant Fellow to Chief Executive Officer. In this role, he will act as a key partner to the Chief Executive Officer, helping to brainstorm and identify solutions to challenges faced by the organization. He will develop relationship building skills while managing interactions with external volunteer bodies and board members, and also manage a variety of program design, resource mobilization, marketing, and communication projects across the US and India.

Karuna holds a Master’s degree in Human Rights from the Indian Institute of Human Rights. Additionally, she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Delhi in India, and a Graduate degree in Information Technology from the National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT), in India. She has extensive experience working with communities and the government sector, as well as six years of experience in the non-profit sector. Karuna has engaged in volunteer work with prominent nonprofits such as Prayas, Project WHY and Rotaract in India. Initially, Karuna enjoyed a brief exposure in the corporate sector with IBM and Adecco India. In her most recent role, Karuna worked as a Program Officer with Multiple Action Research Group (MARG). Her experience includes project management and implementation in the areas of empowerment, gender & governance, media and policy advocacy, youth development and capacity building on projects supported by UNICEF, UNDP and Oxfam India. She has closely worked with the media, advocacy groups, and the Delhi Task Force to combat trafficking and to mobilize support and create awareness of child labor. Prior to MARG, Karuna worked with the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), one of India’s leading non-profits, contributing to multi-donor projects in order to combat human trafficking. As a part of the Delhi Task Force on Child Labor, she led teams in rescuing more than 300 victims of human trafficking from Jharkhand, Orissa, Rajasthan, Haryana, West Bengal, Bangladesh & Nepal. Karuna is passionate and committed to the cause of working towards bettering lives of marginalized women and children.

Host Organization : CARE International

Role at Host Organization: Karuna will be engaged in supporting research and analysis around implementation of donor and government policies addressing early forced marriage in Bangladesh and Nepal and will contribute to the development of an advocacy strategy to influence key stakeholders at global and national level. Karuna will also be engaged in supporting the Tipping Point team in strategic planning and project implementation including activities aimed at capacity building, communications and knowledge management.

Namrata Sehgal is a self-employed architect and communication designer with nine years of experience, including four years in the nonprofit sector as a digital media marketing and design professional. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in architecture from Amity University, Uttar Pradesh, and a Master’s degree in information arts and design from Srishti Manipal Institute in Bangalore. Namrata has worked with nonprofits to promote education and environmental conservation, primarily in underserved areas, applying design thinking tools and strategizing effective digital media campaigns. Her identity design and fundraising campaigns enabled a nonprofit focusing on environmental conservation through afforestation to achieve 20% above its fundraising goal. Namrata spearheaded the design of an ecosystem in Northern India by planting native species utilizing the essential components of environmentally responsible behavior and simultaneously inculcating community participation among the locals. As Communications Fellow at Collaborating for Resilience (CoRe), Namrata manages communications and outreach across program areas and supports development of curriculum materials and programs that build capacity of civil society partners to drive governance innovations. Namrata’s role also encompasses identification of insights and distinctive voices from comparative analysis of outcomes across partnership working sites working towards systemic change, building out the organization’s visibility and partnership networks, and communication of lessons for policy and practice. Additionally, Namrata is the Head of Decor at F of X and Fuel Human Festival. She has acquired digital media marketing skills and event planning expertise through these experiences. Namrata strongly believes in environmental conservation and youth empowerment.

Host Organization: Collaborating for Resilience (CoRe)

Role at Host Organization: As the Communications Fellow at Collaborating for Resilience, Namrata will gain experience in principles of multi-stakeholder dialogue to promote citizen engagement in policy reform and implementation and will apply these principles through one or more international partnerships. The Fellow will manage communications and outreach across one or more program areas, and support development of curriculum materials and programs that build the capacity of civil society partners to drive governance innovations. The Fellow will identify insights and distinctive voices from comparative analysis of outcomes across different partnership sites working towards systems change, build out the organization’s visibility and partnership networks, and communicate lessons for policy and practice.

Natasha conceptualized and implemented a nation-wide program aimed at sensitizing the youth and mobilizing thought and action around the cause of women’s empowerment while working at CARE India as the Youth Engagement Coordinator. Previously, as part of Ashoka’s Full Economic Citizenship initiative, Natasha supported marketing and communication efforts for the ‘Global Summit of Housing Entrepreneurs’ held in Barcelona, Spain. She also assisted volunteer teams with strategies for onsite implementation and event delivery. Natasha has held multiple leadership positions in AIESEC, the world’s largest youth-run organization, which she was a part of for three years. She partnered with thirty-five NGOs focusing on HIV/AIDS, education, and child rights, and implemented innovative social projects that combined international exchange programs with local awareness events. She organized Delhi University’s first HIV/AIDS testing drive and facilitated HIV/AIDS and reproductive health workshops for over 500 students. Additionally, she led six diverse and multicultural teams throughout her tenure and in 2009, was selected to represent AIESEC India as a cultural envoy to Turkey. In 2010, she led a five member international team and handled media relations and PR for India’s largest youth congregation comprising of 700 young leaders from 110 countries. Through these experiences, Natasha has honed strong communication, project management, and leadership skills and has grown into a committed and ambitious nonprofit professional. Natasha has earned a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Delhi, India, and is a strong advocate for women and children’s rights.

Host Organization : PYXERA Global/US Center for Citizen Diplomacy

Nilanjana has four years of experience with fundraising and public relations for teams in the UK, USA, and Netherlands as the information and communication officer and later fundraising and PR officer for the Brooke Hospital for Animals in India. She has also assisted in preparing international summits, field visits and socio-economic impact assessments. Previously, Nilanjana worked in the Child Guidance Centre within the Department of Social Work at the University of Delhi, where she surveyed the community to analyze adolescent girls’ literacy levels and organized recreational activities. Nilanjana has also focused her efforts on child rights advocacy and ending sexual abuse through researching child-trafficking cases in Delhi for Umeed. As a member of Shafa, she organized group programs with adolescents and drug addicts, conducted initial interviews and case work, learned the therapeutic community module for drug rehabilitation and Alcoholics Anonymous for alcohol rehabilitation, and advocated against drug use in outreach programs. Nilanjana’s background is in social work, and with her experience working for NGOs, she aims to address the challenges youth face in an urban centric development model (with factors influencing drug peddling, human trafficking, the sex trade, and more). She earned a B.A. in social work from Delhi University and has a post-graduate diploma in public relations from Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan in Delhi.

Host Organization: InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington

Radhika Ralhan is a sociologist, a sustainable systems thinking professional, and an impact strategist. As a University Gold Medalist, she enhanced her academic erudition in diverse professional contexts. These contexts include extending strategic advisory at leadership levels, executing critical sustainability programs in diverse themes, such as renewable energy, menstrual hygiene, and health, and devising policy research projects on SDGs. She also spearheaded teams by working primarily on social impact analysis and global and national-level positioning of programs. She has been instrumental in curating innovative partnerships platforms such as CSR Collaboration Hub and SDGs Drivers Forum among private sector, government institutions, and NGOs with set-focused outcomes. She has enhanced her professional dynamism by working with leading multi-faceted organizations, such as IIT Delhi, United Nations Global Compact, Development Alternatives, CAF, and Dr. Reddy’s sustainability unit. At the policy front, in her independent capacity, the Bureau of Indian Standards, Government of India appointed her to formulate the first of its kind CSR Standards as a key drafting expert. She has presented her research work and perspectives at global platforms in Milan, Istanbul, and Copenhagen and has taught at prominent universities such as IHM, Pusa, and Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi. For Radhika, innovation, unconventional thinking, working on unexplored avenues, and leveraging social outcomes are key drivers in the sustainability discourse.

Host Organization: Collaborating for Resilience

Role at Collaborating for ResilienceAt Collaborating for Resilience, Radhika will serve as the Program Management Fellow: promoting citizen engagement in policy reform and implementation, managing partner collaborations, undertaking action research in one or more program areas, and contributing to program development, marketing, and communications initiatives.

Sudeshna has over five years of experience in the nonprofit sector, working across such organizations as Oxfam India, the Resource Alliance, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of India, and GIVE India. Sudeshna received a Master’s degree in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai in 2005. In addition, she is a Post-Graduate in the Certified Fundraising program, conducted by the Resource Alliance and S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, where she stood first in academic ranking. Sudeshna began her career in program management at GIVE India and gradually transitioned to implementing effective fundraising and donor stewardship strategies for corporations, news media, and high net-worth individuals. In her last assignment with Oxfam India, Sudeshna focused on new business development, retention of existing corporate donors, and ethical evaluation of companies prior to public association. This position gave Sudeshna insight on Oxfam affiliates and international policy-making in different countries. In 2008, Sudeshna received recognition for her work with the Pareto Bursary and attended the 8th International Workshop on Resource Mobilization in Kuala Lumpur. In her free time, Sudeshna volunteers as a country ambassador for Showcase of Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration (SOFII) in India, where she educates others on the state of fundraising in India.

Host Organization: GlobalGiving