Meet The Team
The Pratham International team consists of experienced Pratham veterans, development sector professionals, and talented young individuals united by a shared commitment to providing high-quality support to programs and partners worldwide.
Devyani Pershad
Director, Programs & Partnerships
Devyani Pershad
Director, Programs & Partnerships
Devyani Pershad is the Director of Programs and Partnerships at Pratham International. She leads technical strategy and approach for programs, and manages partner relationships across geographies. Devyani also supports building donor relationships and grant management.
Usha Vithal Rane
Senior Director, Content & Training
Usha Vithal Rane
Senior Director, Content & Training
Usha Rane is a Senior Director of Content & Training (Language) at Pratham International. She leads literacy pedagogy design and research for Pratham International’s education programming across diverse geographies. Usha also builds the capacities of government staff and partner organisations to contextualise and adapt Pratham’s innovations to multiple languages.
Meera Tendolkar
Director, Content & Training
Meera Tendolkar
Director, Content & Training
Meera Tendolkar is Director of Content & Training (Math) at Pratham International. She leads numeracy pedagogy design and research for Pratham International’s education programming across diverse geographies. Meera also builds the capacities of government staff and partner organisations to contextualise and adapt Pratham’s innovations for varied local realities.
Meenal Joshi
Manager, Content & Training
Vikas Varma
Manager, Content & Training
Indresh Talsaniya
Manager, Content & Training
Anjali Shandilya
Manager, Measurement, Monitoring and Evaluation
Anjali Shandilya
Manager, Measurement, Monitoring and Evaluation
Anjali Shandilya is the Senior Associate for Measurement and Monitoring at Pratham International, where she designs and implements measurement systems, analyzes data, and drives program improvement. Anjali supports multiple geographies including countries in Sub Saharan Africa.
Sohael Memon
Senior Associate, Content & Training
Board Of Directors
Meet our Board members, who are passionate about education solutions and innovations that empower children and youth.
Dr. Madhav Chavan
President
After obtaining a PhD in chemistry from Ohio State University and serving on the faculty at the University of Houston, Dr. Madhav Chavan returned to India where he worked in the slums of Mumbai as part of the National Literacy Mission. In 1995, he co-founded Pratham as a result of a UNICEF initiative to address problems of universal primary education in Mumbai. Since then, Dr. Chavan has led the development of the organization, pioneering large-scale innovations to address literacy problems among India’s underserved children. Named a 2014 Asia Game Changer by the Asia Society, Dr. Chavan also received the 2012 WISE Prize instituted by the Qatar Foundation. Dr. Chavan combines his scientific training with his creativity (he has written songs about human rights and anchored television shows) to continually seek innovative ways of educating India’s underprivileged children.
Deepak Raj
Independent Director
Deepak Raj is founder and managing director of the New Jersey-based private investment firm Raj Associates that has investments in real estate and public and private securities. He is currently the chairman of Pratham USA. He is also a CFA and, with his wife Neera, the founder of the Raj Center on Indian Economic Policies at the Columbia University. Mr. Raj has extensive experience as an equity analyst and an investment banker, including 24 years with Merrill Lynch. As director of Global Equity Research, he managed a staff of approximately 700 investment professionals located throughout the world. He graduated from IIT Kanpur with a BTech in electrical engineering and completed his MBA from Northeastern University.
Dinyar Devitre
Independent Director
Dinyar (Dinny) Devitre is an international business executive who has held leadership positions over a 45-year period in the consumer products and financial services industries in Asia, Australia, Japan, Europe, and the U.S. Mr. Devitre held several senior operating positions with Philip Morris Inc. and then with Altria Group Inc. where he had a 35-year career. He was Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, Altria Group Inc., a role he held from 2002 to 2008 before retiring from the Company. Between 1998 and 2001, Mr. Devitre was Executive Vice President and Group Head of Citibank’s Global Consumer Bank for Europe, Middle East, Africa, and South Asia.