Team Durga
Priya is a dedicated advocate for gender justice, boasting over 23 years of experience, 15 of which were spent in various roles spanning government affairs, trade relations, and civil society organizations, where she contributed to strategy, program development, and regulation. At present, Priya works at Co-Impact, focusing on a systems change approach to gender equality, collaborating closely with civil society organizations to develop strategies for advancing towards gender parity. Previously, she played a pivotal role at the Azim Premji Foundation, anchoring their efforts in gender justice and intersectionality, and supporting numerous civil society organizations in their gender-focused initiatives.
Priya holds a Masters in Women and Gender Studies and is a qualified Chartered Accountant. Beyond her professional pursuits, she engages in writing for online platforms addressing gender issues, enjoys exploring diverse cultures through travel, and advocates passionately for animal welfare, embodying the ethos encapsulated in Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s quote: “Well behaved women seldom create history.”
Shanthi Varadarajan is a retired professor of English with a rich experience of more than three decades. Her interest in Language teaching compelled her to pursue her doctorate in Communicative English. This gave her abundant opportunities to explore various pedagogical methodologies to make class room interactions interesting and meaningful. Realizing the importance of learner centric teaching, innovative learning strategies were adopted. Her professional career further included setting papers for Bangalore University, and presenting papers and conducting seminars too.
Besides teaching literature and language, Shanthi has always had a penchant for music, which she pursues in her free time. An extremely amiable person with spontaneous empathy towards both friends & strangers, Shanthi’s instant ‘connect’ with people is her forte, and she identifies herself Durga’s mission to empower women and work towards gender equity.
Uma is an experienced Director with a demonstrated history of working in multiple organizations in the services industry. She is skilled in Business Planning, Coaching, Sales, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and Entrepreneurship. With a master’s in International Relations, Uma is a strong professional with an aptitude for building people and businesses. She has also been actively involved in establishing thought leadership in the education segment and in the tourism industry as the Founder of Go Magic Trails.
Divya was with Greenpeace for over 14 years, campaigning and leading Greenpeace India on the twin goals of environmental sustainability, and equity on issues of climate change , energy transitions, sustainable agriculture , farming and food. In the next 6 years, she shifted her focus to building independence and resilience in institutions through financial sustainability and strengthening systems through Common Ground and the Azim Premji Philanthropy.
Now, Divya is with Rootbridge; an organization that bridges the gap between the middle class Indian citizen and the social change organization through one on one dialogue that results in a regular monthly donation.
Evan is the Founder of Shadow Liberation, a globally reputed participatory theatre method for facilitating sexual violence prevention. He was a 3-time Faculty Fellow at Project Zero within Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. At Lesley University in Cambridge, MA, USA, Evan taught in the Masters in Teaching program and the Bachelors in Expressive Therapies program.
In India, he was faculty at Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design, and Technology, taught in the Foundation in Expressive and Creative Arts Therapies program at the Studio for Movement Art and Therapies, and has been visiting faculty at Xavier’s College Mumbai and Ahmedabad University. He has also spent 2 years in Aotearoa New Zealand as the Artistic Director of the Theatre in Health Education Trust and an Honorary Fellow in Theatre Studies at the University of Otago. Currently, Evan is an Assistant Professor at Azim Premji University in Bengaluru, India.
Anant Gangola has over 30 years of extensive experience spread across school education, higher education and adult literacy. 15 years were spent in Azim Premji Foundation leading field institutions in Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Bihar and he was also the head of the field practice segment of Azim Premji University.
Prior to this, Anant worked with the Government of Madhya Pradesh and was the key coordinator for highly impactful DPEP, SSA, TLC projects. When he started his career, Anant spent close to 3 years living, teaching and learning in a Gond tribal community in Madhya Pradesh and the association is still alive to this day. Scores of young people in the social sector have been mentored by him and he continues to guide and encourage the folks at WeLive Foundation.
Vidhya worked in the field of climate change and energy, natural resource management and sustainable development for over 23 years. She is currently Director ecological footprint Portfolio at WWF India in New Delhi. Vidhya also has experience managing and delivering a multidimensional climate resilience programme across South Asia, known as Climate proofing growth and development. Prior to that she was engaged as a senior regional advisor on Energy Climate and growth with the UK Government, responsible for South Asia. She is an onboard advisor to the UNFCCC adaptation Secretariat on Resilient Frontiers- Planning Adaptation beyond 2030. She also sits on the advisory board of the Greenko Skills Foundation, a German Initiative.
Fondly known as Raji, Rajyalaxmi deals with office administration, accounting & HR work. Her love for accounting and processes makes her strict about each and every transaction. She is the principal at Durga who makes sure that each employee follows organization policies.
When not at Durga, Raji can be found at home experimenting with new recipes, spending time with her kid and indulging in crafts. She enjoys making handmade accessories and decorative items. Raji is a music lover and reads a lot of children’s literature and articles.
Thejaswini is the programme coordinator for Durga’s work with men. Previously, Thejaswini has donned several hats at Durga during her 7 plus years with the organization as the impact measurement officer, accountant and a facilitator.
Thejaswini is an MBA graduate in HR & IT, and always wanted to be an HR person in corporate. Over time, however, she realized that her interest lay in interacting with people. That was what brought her to Durga. She likes music and dance and encourages her kids to pursue their interests which are quite similar to hers. When not at Durga, she is engrossed in art activities.
Ravitha’s philosophy as the Associate Director at Durga is, “There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” An inquisitive and passionate individual, Ravitha has over 10 years of experience working with central and state governments and teaching & counseling adolescents. She is also a gold medalist in the Civil Defense Course organized by the Karnataka Government. During her leisure time, Ravitha spends time with her kids, and picks up new skills that aid her work. She also enjoys traveling and gardening.
Pushpa is the Assistant Program Coordinator for DARE; Durgas Are Real Heroes Everywhere. She has over 5 years experience in volunteering and social work; and has also worked as a child protection officer in an organization. Pushpa is a National Level Volleyball Player and is often engaged in different athletic activities in her spare time. She also loves to travel to new places and enjoys trekking.
Shreedevi is the assistant program coordinator for Women at Work. After completing her post graduation in Social Work from Bangalore University, Shreedevi is a valuable asset to any team she joins; she is hard working and extremely quick to learn. She has over 4 years of work experience; serving as a District Coordinator in Rural Women Empowerment & Development Schemes. Her hobbies are listening to music and reading books.
Likhitha is an avid people’s person whose love for interacting with different people drove her to becoming a facilitator at Durga, where she engages with several communities as part of the Women At Work (WAW) program. With an Msc in Human Development, she envisions a world where women, regardless of their caste, creed, religion, age, or race are treated with equal respect. Outside of work, she experiments with food, spends time with her partner or pens down poetry.
Shobha is a program facilitator at Durga. She is enthusiastic about assisting children and advocating for their welfare. Shobha has over 11 years of experience in the social sector, previously having worked with Makala Jagriti and Magic Bus. Her strong level of self-assurance helps her accomplish her goals. In her free time, she likes to sing, read, and make creative design artwork. She can also speak multiple dialects.
Keerthi is an ambivert by nature; and her work as a facilitator at Durga is aided by her desire to work for the community and people’s mental health. She enjoys singing and dancing, and has a strong desire to understand and learn about various cultural and value systems. The adage “ now or never” strongly resonates with her, and keeps her personality bubbly!
Merlin is a program facilitator at Durga who has over five years of work experience in the areas of gender equality, marketing, sales, and web design. Eventually, working for the people and their overall growth was what drew her closer to social causes. Merlin supports a gender-just society and women’s empowerment. Living life to the fullest is her guiding principle through life.
Winnie is the Communications Lead at Durga. She has completed her master’s degree from Azim Premji University, previous to which she completed her bachelor’s in English (Hons) at Christ University. Her area of interest is women’s studies and popular culture. The creation of a safe, democratic, online community for men and women to interact with each other has been the crux of her work with Durga. Engaged in narrative building and communications, Winnie is the editor of Durga Dares, the monthly Durga newsletter. In her personal life, she is working towards co-building a social enterprise of her own to aid animal welfare. Her hobbies include reading, writing, design and hanging out in the company of cats.
Lalitha is an Arts Based Therapy (ABT) practitioner, writer, artist and art educator. She is passionate about mental health, wellbeing, and inclusion. She works with diverse groups of people across the life-span.
She began her career as a writer in advertising and transitioned into the NGO space as a writer for mental health, life skills and socio-emotional learning. Alongside, she has also been teaching art consistently for the last seven years. Lalitha facilitates individual/group ABT sessions in-person and online; workshops in schools, colleges, universities to advocate for mental wellbeing and to highlight the power of the arts in healing. She loves nature and enjoys going on long walks in the park.