Board Members

Deepa Dhanraj is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and feminist researcher who has been actively involved in the women’s movement since 1980. Over a career spanning more than four decades, she has participated extensively in workshops, seminars, and public forums addressing women's political participation, healthcare access, and education. Deepa has directed landmark documentaries and educational series, including Enough of this Silence, The Advocate, Something like a War, Kya Hua Iss Shehar Ko, The Legacy of Malthus, Sudesha, and a widely utilized 12-film series designed for elected women representatives in Gram Panchayats. Her films have traveled to numerous international film festivals and serve as foundational pedagogical tools in human rights and gender studies.

Sashi Kumar brings decades of senior management and operational leadership across the financial, corporate, and voluntary sectors. The founder general secretary of PDSU, he served as a Middle Management (MM 2) Officer at the State Bank of India before moving into development consulting as Director of ThinkSoft Consultants. In that role, he led impact assessments, operational management, and the implementation of the ILS (Bhubharati) land entitlement project in Nizamabad district. He subsequently served as Lead Partner and Director of Satyam Foundation, guiding major CSR portfolios, and advised Speck Spatial Technologies. Having previously served as Yugantar's Executive Director, Sashi provides long-term strategic and institutional direction to the organization.

Tejaswini Madabhushi is a feminist organizer and development sector professional who directs organizational operations, institutional partnerships, and community-level initiatives as Secretary and CEO of Yugantar. A key voice in urban feminist mobilization, she helped organize the landmark Midnight March in Hyderabad on January 5, 2013, and went on to co-found Hyderabad for Feminism. She has managed research and national conferences with women's studies platforms like Anveshi and contributed to documentary research on extractive industries, including Nabikei, a film on uranium mining in the USA. At Yugantar, she spearheads programs focused on women’s financial literacy, civic technology, and accessible public systems across underserved communities.

Dr. K. Lalita is a renowned feminist scholar, author, and institution-builder whose work centers on gender, public health, and women’s education. She was the founder-president of the Progressive Organisation of Women (POW), one of India's earliest independent women’s activist groups and the founder-coordinator of the Anveshi Research Centre for Women’s Studies. 

Dr. Lalita has co-authored and edited several classics in Indian historiography and gender studies, including Women Writing in India: 600 BC to the 20th Century, We Were Making History: Women in the Telangana People’s Struggle, and Taking Charge of Our Bodies.

Dr. Vithal Rajan holds a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and has taught at the University of Bradford, UK. A pioneer of civil society in India, he founded landmark organizations including the Deccan Development Society (DDS) and the Confederation of Voluntary Associations (COVA). Internationally, he has served as Executive Director of the Right Livelihood Award Foundation in Stockholm, on the jury of the Alternative Nobel Prize, and as Director of Ethics and Education at WWF-International in Switzerland. In Andhra Pradesh, he served on state task forces for social development and poverty missions. Dr. Rajan was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2006 in recognition of his service to international development, and is also an accomplished playwright and author.

Madan Mohan Rao is a senior journalist, development professional, and social entrepreneur with decades of experience exploring rural communications and civic technology. Following an extensive career with United News of India (UNI), he was a principal driver of the Rural Telecom Foundation (RTF), helping design information delivery systems for underserved communities. Madan was awarded the Ashoka-Lemelson Fellowship for social entrepreneurship and served as a Fellow under the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Fellowship Program (2002–2003), advising on public outreach, rural livelihoods, and administrative communication architectures. 

L. Ravi Chander is a Senior Advocate with over 45 years of practice at the High Court, holding a rank in Economics from Osmania University. He has served three consecutive terms as Additional Standing Counsel for the Union of India and as Special Government Pleader in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh, assisting the Advocate General in legislative drafting and statutory enactment. In his legal practice, he has handled significant constitutional matters, including fundamental rights and Habeas Corpus petitions challenging public policy. 

Alongside his legal career, he worked as a legal reporter for UNI, served as legal correspondent for The Indian Express and Deccan Chronicle, has been associated with The Times of India since its inception in Hyderabad, and authored articles on cinema and is a film critic for the Hans India. 

Anhad Imaan is a development communications and urban policy specialist focusing on sustainability, climate resilience, and equitable urban governance. An Erasmus Mundus Scholar, he completed an MSc in Urban Studies across leading European institutions, following an MA in Sociology from the University of Hyderabad. 

Throughout his career, Anhad has led initiatives centered on affordable urban housing, climate adaptation planning, and spatial equity. He brings deep expertise in knowledge translation, transforming technical environmental datasets and institutional research into compelling narratives for public engagement, policy advocacy, and community outreach. His practice focuses on designing grounded communication strategies that empower local communities and promote socially just, sustainable urban futures.

Vandana is a seasoned international development and climate finance professional with more than 20 years of experience advancing sustainability across global markets. As a Business Advisor at SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, she helps structure bankable water and land-use investments across Sub-Saharan Africa through the Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD). 

Her core expertise lies in circular economies, inclusive enterprise models, and sustainable agriculture, energy, and water solutions. In addition to serving on the board of Yugantar, she chairs the Investment Committee for the Mastercard Foundation–backed FIYMA programme at MESPT, and mentors young entrepreneurs across the Global South.

Anjaneyulu Madduluri is a development professional and legal researcher whose work bridges public entitlement access, social justice, and administrative systems. With interdisciplinary academic training spanning engineering (B.Tech), social sciences (M.A.), and law (LL.B.), he collaborates with grassroots research organizations including the Centre for Dalit Studies to support marginalized communities in securing statutory rights, welfare schemes, and identity documentation across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.