Founders, Board and Team members

Founders, Team and Board Members

Dr. Lalitha Iyer | Managing Trustee

She is Gowri’s mother and a consultant with a special interest in institutional change facilitation in social sector, formerly Director of Bharatiya Samruddhi Financial Services Ltd, of the Basix group, a Board Member of Sathi (Bangalore), (Ananda Bharathi Hyderabad) and former Dean ( Professional Excellence) Indian Society for Applied Behavioral Sciences (ISABS). She has been the external anchor for the Roopantaran initiative of Sir Ratan TataTrust. 

She is the author of “The Strategic Business Spiral” (Sage, 2001) and has co-edited “Institutions Consultants and Transformation – Cases Studies from the Development Sector” (Sage, 2009)and co-authored ‘Whose Sustainability Counts? BASIX Long March from Microfinance to Livelihoods” (Sage, 2012) and “Rescuing Railway Children” (Sage, 2013), “The Learning Crucible” ISABS (2015) besides many papers.

She worked as an officer in SBI for over two decades, headed Vidyaranya, a progressive school in Hyderabad for three years (1998-2001) and was a consultant in Thinksoft Consultants Hyderabad from 2001 to 2009. She moved to Bangalore in 2009 and works as an independent consultant now.

Smriti Kedia | Founder Trustee
Smriti is a consultant with special interest in enterprise development, menstrual health and labour rights’. She has worked in various states of India with rural communities to design interventions strategies and curriculum, conduct training and research on her subjects.
 
Some of the organizations she has worked for include Government of India, Tata Trusts, European Union, UNFPA and IIT Madras. Smriti holds a Masters in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and an Engineering degree from University of Pune. She worked with Naandi Foundation Hyderabad till 2010 and moved to Udaipur, Rajasthan thereafter. She is passionate about travelling, theatre and working with people, bringing energy to everything she does. 

Smriti Kedia joined Sadhna in November 2020 and took over as CEO in February 2021. Sadhna is a women’s handicraft enterprise started by Seva Mandir (an NGO) in 1988 with an aim to provide alternative income to women in the Udaipur and Rajsamand districts of South Rajasthan.
As the handicraft industry has been severely affected by the pandemic, Smriti is committed to pulling Sadhna out of this situation and she is confident they will make progress. Smriti has diverse roles in managing this social enterprise. Sadhna is a production and retail house together with its roots in women empowerment. This combination being Smriti’s favourite, she believes there is so much to learn and explore.
Gita Narasimhan| Trustee
Gita is a Masters in Applied Economics. A former banker with over 30 years of experience, she retired as General Manager in State Bank of India in 2015. She has served IDBI asset management Ltd for over 3 years. She is currently an Independent Director of BOI Asset Management Pvt Ltd.
Girish Mahale | Advisor | Trustee
Girish is an Education Scientist and founded Pratyaya EduResearch Lab (a not-for-profit action research organization) in 2013.
 
Since then, he has been involved in the education sector in varied settings – developing “Foundation of Education” modules, developing pedagogical module framework for primary till high school levels, designing student driven learning process & spaces inside schools and communities and capacity building of educational leader at various levels ranging from school student volunteers, graduate student volunteers, in-service teachers and grassroots community leaders working in education. Prior to initiating Pratyaya, Girish worked in R&D Engineering in Microprocessor Development at IBM, Bangalore and post-graduated from IIT Khargpur. He leads Pratyaya EduResearch Lab and is intensively working in Pandhurna Block of Chhindwara District of Madhya Pradesh.
His work in education involves developing “project-based-learning” pedagogical modules and the processes for nurturing a “Self-sustainable Educational Ecosystem” at village or town level, and that too within the existing system and with the given local resources.

Priya Anantharaman | Program Director

Priya brings over two decades of cross-sector experience spanning financial services, human resources, and organisational development. She has worked with institutions such as Citibank N.A., Datamatics Financial Services, and Health Factors Inc., Canada, Growup and has led initiatives in recruitment, operations, and workforce strategy, including enabling women to re-enter the workforce through remote skilling and employment models.

Having anchored our HR and operations, she brings a deep understanding of both people and processes. In this role, she will be leading the direction and implementation of our programs with collaborations to build an ecosystem that remains grounded, intentional, impactful and sustainable.

Priyanshi Sharma | Program Manager
Priyanshi is our Program Manager based in Udaipur. She is associated with Plustrust since 2019. She is an Electrical Engineer & Freelance qualitative Researcher and did her B.tech From GITS, Udaipur. 
She decided to join Plustrust to be a part of the social development sector.
 
She feels that at some point in life, everyone should be able to contribute some of their time for the development of society because that is what makes the world a better place for everyone.
 
Prior to joining Plustrust, she worked as a Research and Development Engineer in Pyrotech Electronics and has done major projects like light designing for AAI Agartala and AAI Vadodara during her tenure in Pyrotech.
Disha Mehta | Program coordinator  | Nagda 
Disha belongs to Nagda in Ujjain district. She completed her graduation from Vikram University, Ujjain, and has also completed her Master’s in Social Work (MSW) from Madhav College, Ujjain. She is keen to work with NGOs and wants to contribute to different sections of society. Disha has been working as an Associate at Plustrust since December 2021. During her journey, she has gained strong confidence in managing data and maintaining warm relationships with aspiring women fellows and alumni. She also manages CHE projects and supports their smooth coordination. Disha enjoys reading books, traveling, studying, and spending time with her family.
Moin Khan | Fellowship Manager 

Moin’s journey with Plustrust began in January 2023 as a part-time social media manager, evolving into a full-time role as IT and Social Media Manager before stepping into his current position.

An electrical engineer by education and a passionate advocate for experiential travel, Moin graduated from GITS Udaipur. His prior experience includes working with Mahindra & Mahindra to create an innovative platform for booking authentic adventure activities across India.

Moin believes in leading by example, inspiring others through action rather than words.

Abhishek Joshi | Social Media Manager

Abhishek Joshi is a self-taught documentary photographer, and voice-over artist from Bhopal. His work focuses on visual storytelling that documents grassroots initiatives and brings attention to everyday realities often overlooked. Alongside creating, Abhishek also works as an educator and facilitator, helping individuals and communities build photographic skills and confidence in expression.

A BBA graduate with an entrepreneurial mindset, he has previously led his own venture and continues to collaborate with purpose-driven organisations. He currently works with Plustrust, strengthening digital presence and outreach for rural women and community leaders across India, while nurturing his ongoing interest in history, heritage, and community-centered narratives.

khushi khamesra | Social Media Associate

Khushi belongs to Udaipur, Rajasthan, She completed her graduation in Digital Marketing and is keen to work with NGOs. She wants to support different sections of society through digital learning. Khushi has been working as a Social Media Associate at Plustrust, where she manages the organization’s social media pages, posts stories, reels, and content about our fellows, CHEs, and events. She also takes beginner-friendly digital sessions for fellows and alumni. She teaches important digital skills such as using smartphones, Google tools, social media, PDFs, and online safety. She conducts digital learning classes, supports the English learning classes, and coordinates closely with fellows and CHEs. Khushi enjoys dancing, traveling, learning new skills, and spending quality time with her family and friends.

Amita Chouhan | CHE Coordinator | Ujjain
Amita belongs to Koyal, a small village in Ujjain (M.P.). She studied till 12 and got married. She wanted to pursue nursing but could not do it. In 2022 she was selected for the pilot Batch of CHE. Since then she never turned back. Currently she is working as a CHE coordinator for Plustrust. 
Babita kumari | CHE Coordinator | Bihar
Babita Kumari, from Harpur village, Bandra block, Muzaffarpur district, Bihar, is a BA graduate and joined Plustrust  in 2023 as a Community Health Entrepreneur (CHE). She actively worked in her community to promote health awareness and services and is now serving as a CHE Coordinator, guiding and supporting other CHEs to strengthen community health initiatives.
Mithu kumari | CHE Coordinator | Bihar
Mithu Kumari, a resident of Rasalpur village in Aurai block, joined Plustrust in 2023 as a CHE after completing her B.Sc from LNMU. She actively worked in her community to promote health awareness and services and is now serving as a CHE Coordinator, supporting and guiding other CHEs.
Kajal kumari | CHE Coordinator | Bihar
Kajal Kumari, from Rajkhand village in Aurai block, Muzaffarpur district, Bihar, is a BA graduate and joined Plustrust in 2023. She was first selected as a Community Health Entrepreneur (CHE) and actively worked in her community by providing services like BP, sugar, thyroid, and hemoglobin checks. For the past year, she has been serving as a CHE Coordinator and continues to support and guide CHEs as part of Plustrust’s health initiatives.
Riya Halder| CHE Coordinator | Ratlam

Riya, from Isampur, Alote Tehsil, Ratlam district, has completed her B.Com along with a Diploma in Computer Application, and joined Plustrust in December 2022 as a Community Health Entrepreneur (CHE). She contributed to health initiatives in her community and is now serving as a CHE Coordinator, guiding and supporting other CHEs to strengthen community health efforts.

Nitu Pandit| CHE Coordinator | Barwani

Growing up in rural Madhya Pradesh, Neetu Pandit knows firsthand the barriers women face and has spent over 14 years breaking them down for others.She is the Founder of Gram Roots Collective Foundation, a grassroots organisation working at the intersection of gender, governance, youth leadership, women’s livelihoods, and community health in rural and tribal Madhya Pradesh.A former Assistant Block Manager with the State Rural Livelihoods Mission (MPSRLM), she has deep expertise in SHG strengthening, financial inclusion, institutional building, and farm & non-farm livelihoods.

Neetu started her journey with plustrust through a transformative fellowship that deepened her commitment to rural women’s entrepreneurship and community-led development. She is currently an anchor and serves as CHE Coordinator Barwani at plustrust, supporting and strengthening initiatives for rural women entrepreneurs.She holds an MSW, an MBA in Rural Management, and a PGPDM from SPJIMR, Mumbai, and is an alumna of SOCHARA Community Health Fellowship, Pravah Delhi’s Changelooms, and Commutiny – The Youth Collective.