Who We Are

The Akshaya Patra Foundation USA

Advisory Board

Dr. Deepak Chopra

Founder, The Chopra Center for Wellbeing

DEEPAK CHOPRA MD, FACP, founder of The Chopra Foundation and co-founder of The Chopra Center for Wellbeing is a world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation, and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Endocrinology and Metabolism. TIME magazine has described Dr. Chopra as “one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century.”He is the author of more than 80 books translated into over 43 languages, including numerous New York Times bestsellers. Two of his books, Ageless Body, Timeless Mind (1993) and The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success (1995), have been recognized on The Books of The Century Bestsellers List. Chopra is the co-author with Rudolph E. Tanzi of the instant New York Times bestseller, Super Brain and current bestseller, Super Genes (Harmony, November 2015).

Chopra serves as co-founder of Jiyo, Adjunct Professor at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School, Columbia University, Clinical Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of California, San Diego, Health Sciences, Faculty at Walt Disney Imagineering and Senior Scientist with The Gallup Organization. For the last three years, Greatist.com recognizes Dr. Chopra as one of “The 100 Most Influential People in Health and Fitness.” The World Post and The Huffington Post global internet survey ranked Dr. Chopra #17 influential thinker in the world and #1 in Medicine”.

Sumir Chadha

Co-founder & Managing Director at WestBridge Capital Partners

Sumir Chadha is a co-founder and Managing Director of WestBridge Capital, a leading investment firm focused on India, with over $2.5 billion of capital under management. WestBridge has offices in California and India. Prior to WestBridge, Sumir co-founded Sequoia Capital India. He was also part of the Principal Investment Area (PIA) at Goldman Sachs. Sumir has also worked at McKinsey & Co. in New York, where he was part of the early team that helped establish McKinsey in India in 1994. Sumir currently serves on the India Advisory Board for Harvard Business School, and on the Advisory Board of the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS) at Princeton University. Sumir has previously served as Chairman of the Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (IVCA). Sumir holds an MBA from Harvard Business School with Distinction, and a BSE in Computer Science from Princeton University.

Narayana Murthy

Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Infosys Limited

Narayana Murthy, is an Indian IT industrialist and the co-founder of Infosys, a multinational corporation providing business consulting, technology, engineering, and outsourcing services. He started Infosys in 1981. Murthy has been listed among the 12 greatest entrepreneurs of our time by Fortune magazine. He has been described as Father of Indian IT sector by Time magazine due to his contribution to outsourcing in India. Murthy has also been honoured with the Padma Vibhushanand Padma Shri awards.

Dr. Nitin Nohria

Dean, Harvard Business School

Nitin Nohria became the tenth dean of Harvard Business School on 1 July 2010. He previously served as co-chair of the Leadership Initiative, Senior Associate Dean of Faculty Development, and Head of the Organizational Behavior unit.

Dean Nohria’s is co-author or co-editor of 16 books. He is also the author of over 50 journal articles, book chapters, cases, working papers, and notes. He sits on the board of directors of Tata Sons and Massachusetts General Hospital. In addition, he serves as an advisor to the Piramal Group.

Prior to joining the Harvard Business School faculty in July 1988, Dean Nohria received his Ph.D. in Management from the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a B. Tech. in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (which honored him as a Distinguished Alumnus in 2007). He was a visiting faculty member at the London Business School in 1996.

Vandana Tilak

CEO, The Akshaya Patra Foundation USA

Vandana is the founder of Bombay Pictures, the Oshan Center and co-founder of Almex USA, Inc. a family owned engineering firm. Vandana started volunteering in 2012 and later started the Akshaya Patra Los Angeles chapter in 2014. Under her leadership, the chapter consistently raised over $1 million dollars every year. Vandana was appointed to the Akshaya Patra USA board in 2015.

As the CEO for an exemplary organization, Vandana oversees a team of development officers, a marketing and admin team. Vandana works with thirty Akshaya Patra chapters across the USA, planning and implementing brand strategy, fundraising and fostering donor relationships. She collaborates with Akshaya Patra India for establishing new kitchens and partially funding operating costs for feeding 1.8 million children daily.

Vandana is a trained ayurvedic practitioner, an avid reader of philosophy and enjoys travel, poetry, music, painting and photography. She has grown married children Anjani and Kedar, and two grand-daughters, Jiya and Lila. Vandana lives with her husband Ravi (class of 1980, IIT Bombay, Metallurgy) in Manhattan Beach, CA.

Satya Tiwari

President, Surya, Inc.

Satya started his career as an investment banker after graduating from Northwestern University with degrees in computer engineering and economics. He joined Surya, his family business, in 2004 to build the firm into a global brand.

Today, Surya is a recognized leader offering the widest selection of rugs and coordinated accessories in the U.S. Surya currently works with 75% of the top U.S. furniture retailers, leading hospitality and design services companies, as well as global retailers. Surya proudly serves over 5,000 independent retailers and interior designers. Surya was named to Inc. Magazine’s Inc. 500/5000 list of the fastest growing privately held companies in the United States and surpassed $50M annual revenues in 2011.

Surya leverages the talents of emerging and world renowned designers such as HGTV-host Candice Olson and Emmy-award winning costume designer Bob Mackie to create inspirational and trend-driven designs. A majority of the products are manufactured in its India based facilities, and Surya has been increasingly relying on innovative manufacturers in Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Satya is committed to sustainable communities. Surya is the employer of choice for 50,000 weavers in India. This employment along with Satya’s community involvement provides financial stability so that the artisan craft of rug weaving can be preserved. Satya is a board member for two nonprofit organizations, East Meets West and Akshaya Patra , that are committed to improving the quality of lives in rural communities in Asia by elevating the accessibility and quality of healthcare and education.

Fareed Zakaria

Author, journalist and Host of CNN’s “GPS”

Farheed Zakaria is a journalist, political scientist and author. He is the host of CNN‘s Fareed Zakaria GPS and writes a weekly column for The Washington Post.He has been a columnist for Newsweek, editor of Newsweek International, and an editor at large of Time.

Sanjeev Kapoor

Celebrity Chef

Chef Sanjeev Kapoor is an Indian celebrity chef, entrepreneur, television personality & author of best-selling cookbooks to a global audience. He is best known as the star of TV show Khana Khazana, which is the longest-running show of its kind in Asia. Chef Kapoor is also the co-owner of a successful TV Channel ‘FoodFood’ & Managing Director of Khana Khazana India Pvt Ltd. He is recognized globally as the winner of several culinary awards and a passionate restaurateur with locations across the world.

Ramamurthy Sivakumar

Founder, Pragya Ventures

Ramamurthy Sivakumar (Siva) spent nearly his entire adult life at Intel Corporation before stepping down in Dec 2018 to pursue other interests. Siva served as Vice President and Managing Director at Intel Capital overseeing investments across many sectors and technologies to further Intel strategy. Siva served as a voting member of the investment committee at Intel Capital.

At Intel, Siva drove the development of a number of enterprise video products and co-authored a US patent in multicast video technology focused on Intel’s market entry into India, driving strategic programs; including investing in India’s startups. He eventually ran Intel Capital’s M&A program and was the CEO for Intel South Asia for 6 years.

Siva recently founded Pragya Ventures, an entrepreneur-friendly investment fund focused on the next wave of data-centric businesses that commercialize AI and other core technologies.

Board of Directors

Madhu Pandit Dasa

Chairman, Akshaya Patra Foundation India

Madhu Pandit Dasa has been a member of the Akshaya Patra USA Board of Directors since 2006. He completed his B.Tech in Civil Engineering from IIT-Mumbai in the year 1980. While he was doing his Masters in Technology in IIT-Mumbai in 1981, he became a full-time member of ISKCON. In 1994, he initiated an integrated social development project for the benefit of the rural people of Mysore and Mandya districts. A model, prototype organic farm based on natural and earth-friendly farming methods along with an internationally accredited farmer-training center has been setup in the 110-acre land on the banks of river Kaveri in Srirangapatam. He designed the first centralized and mechanized kitchen of Akshaya Patra, to provide school meals to underprivileged children in the Government schools of Bangalore Rural District during July 2000.

Chanchalapathi Dasa

Vice Chairman, Akshaya Patra Foundation India

Chanchalapathi Dasa, known to many as “CP Ji”, was among the first founders of the Akshaya Patra Foundation. While in college, he embraced the mission of Srila Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and became a full-time dedicated member in 1984. Inspired by Srila Prabhupada’s message of compassion and self-less service, Chanchalapathi Dasa helped found Akshaya Patra as a pilot program serving school meals to just 1,500 children in 5 schools in Bangalore. Together, the founders combined their own knowledge of engineering to transform Akshaya Patra into one of the world’s largest NGO-run school meal programs that today serves 1.76 million children daily in over 15,024 schools from 48 kitchens in 12 states across India. Today, Chanchalapathi Dasa manages the executive operations of the Foundation.

Gururaj “Desh” Deshpande

Chairman Emeritus, The Akshaya Patra Foundation USA

Gururaj “Desh” Deshpande was the Chairman of Akshaya Patra USA from 2008 to 2020. Dr. Deshpande is the President and Chairman of Sparta Group LLC and has founded several successful companies including Cascade Communications and Sycamore Networks. Dr. Deshpande holds a B. Tech. in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology – Madras, an M.E. from the University of New Brunswick in Canada, and Ph.D from Queens University in Canada. Dr. Deshpande serves as a life-member of the MIT Corporation.

B.V. Jagadeesh

President and CEO, KAAJ Systems

B. V. Jagadeesh is a successful serial entrepreneur in the field of technology, a Venture Capitalist and a philanthropist. He co-founded and was CTO of Exodus communications in 1993 that pioneered the concept of Internet data centers. He was instrumental in successful IPO of Exodus in 1998. Jagadeesh seed funded NetScaler and became President and CEO in 2000. NetScaler was successfully sold to Citrix for $325M and Jagadeesh served as Group VP and GM for Citrix application networking division. Jagadeesh has served as CEO and President for 3Leaf Systems. Currently Jagadeesh is a Managing Partner at KAAJ Ventures.

Prabhakar “PK” Kalavacherla

Partner, KPMG USA

Prabhakar “PK” Kalavacherla is a partner with KPMG in San Francisco, CA, beginning in February 2014. From 2009 to 2013 he was a Board Member for the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), the organiztion responsible for issuing international financial reporting standards. Previously, he was a partner with KPMG USA in San Francisco, and has done rotations with KPMG in London and India.

Dr. Rachana Kulkarni, MD

Cardiology

Dr Rachana Kulkarni is a cardiologist in New Jersey for the last 20 years.
She is the managing partner of Medicor Cardiology, a leading cardiology
group in Central Jersey. She has served as the Chief of Cardiology and
Chairman of Medicine at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
Somerset and is the President of American Heart Association New
Jersey Chapter.

Dr Kulkarni has been involved with Akshaya Patra for the last several
years. She has been instrumental in building a robust Chapter of
Akshaya Patra in New Jersey and has led her team to host two
successful Galas in New Jersey. She passionately believes in improving
the world through education and thinks that Akshaya Patra is the
perfect vehicle to achieve that change in an entire generation of Indian kids.

Srivatsan Rajan

Vice Chairman, The Akshaya Patra Foundation USA

Srivatsan (Sri) Rajan is a Partner in the Bain & Company’s San Francisco India office. Prior to this, he was the Chairman of Bain’s India offices and has also served as the Managing Director there.

He has over 20 years of management consulting experience in India and the United States. He has supported the creation and execution of turnaround strategies for multiple diversified firms and has significant experience working with private equity firms in pre-deal diligence and post-deal strategy, as well as in operational engagements across sectors.

Sri serves on the board of Delhivery, a logistics startup in India and is an investor in and advisor to many other startups and funds. He is also on the Advisory Board of Bridgespan India, Central Square Foundation, Fireside Ventures and is also the Chair of the Consultative Council of Akshaya Patra in India.

Siva Sivaram

Board Chairman, The Akshaya Patra Foundation USA

Dr. Siva Sivaram was appointed executive vice president of memory technology in May 2016 when SanDisk was acquired by Western Digital and is responsible for the ongoing development of the company’s industry-leading NAND flash memory, as well as the development of next-generation technologies, including 3D NAND (BiCS) and 3D ReRAM. Sivaram has over 30 years of experience in semiconductors, 3-D memory architectures, process technology, equipment and materials. He has held executive positions at Intel and Matrix Semiconductor, and at SanDisk after its acquisition of Matrix. Additionally, he was the Founder and CEO of Twin Creeks Technologies, a solar panel and equipment company. Under his leadership, SanDisk created the world’s first cross point 3D memory technology, the world leading 15nm 2D NAND technology, and the industry’s first 256 Gigabit (Gb) 3-bit-per-cell (X3) 48-layer 3D NAND chip. Sivaram has also served as a board member of several start-up firms, was entrepreneur-in-residence at Crosslink Capital and XSeed Capital, a research scholar at Matsushita Electric, and an adjunct faculty member at San Jose State University. Additionally, Sivaram has published numerous technical papers as well as a textbook on Chemical Vapor Deposition, and he holds several patents. He earned his doctorate and master’s degrees in materials science from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he has been elected to its Board of Trustees. He is a Distinguished Alumnus of the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchi, India, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.

Vandana Tilak

CEO, The Akshaya Patra Foundation USA

Vandana is the founder of Bombay Pictures, the Oshan Center and co-founder of Almex USA, Inc. a family owned engineering firm. Vandana started volunteering in 2012 and later started the Akshaya Patra Los Angeles chapter in 2014. Under her leadership, the chapter consistently raised over $1 million dollars every year. Vandana was appointed to the Akshaya Patra USA board in 2015.

As the CEO for an exemplary organization, Vandana oversees a team of development officers, a marketing and admin team. Vandana works with thirty Akshaya Patra chapters across the USA, planning and implementing brand strategy, fundraising and fostering donor relationships. She collaborates with Akshaya Patra India for establishing new kitchens and partially funding operating costs for feeding 1.8 million children daily.

Vandana is a trained ayurvedic practitioner, an avid reader of philosophy and enjoys travel, poetry, music, painting and photography. She has grown married children Anjani and Kedar, and two grand-daughters, Jiya and Lila. Vandana lives with her husband Ravi (class of 1980, IIT Bombay, Metallurgy) in Manhattan Beach, CA.

Staff

Vandana Tilak

CEO – vandana@apusa.org

Vandana is the founder of Bombay Pictures, the Oshan Center and co-founder of Almex USA, Inc. a family owned engineering firm. Vandana started volunteering in 2012 and later started the Akshaya Patra Los Angeles chapter in 2014. Under her leadership, the chapter consistently raised over $1 million dollars every year. Vandana was appointed to the Akshaya Patra USA board in 2015.

As the CEO for an exemplary organization, Vandana oversees a team of development officers, a marketing and admin team. Vandana works with thirty Akshaya Patra chapters across the USA, planning and implementing brand strategy, fundraising and fostering donor relationships. She collaborates with Akshaya Patra India for establishing new kitchens and partially funding operating costs for feeding 1.8 million children daily.

Vandana is a trained ayurvedic practitioner, an avid reader of philosophy and enjoys travel, poetry, music, painting and photography. She has grown married children Anjani and Kedar, and two grand-daughters, Jiya and Lila. Vandana lives with her husband Ravi (class of 1980, IIT Bombay, Metallurgy) in Manhattan Beach, CA.

Geeta Kulkarni

Director of Development, West – Geeta@apusa.org

Geeta has been associated with Akshaya Patra almost since inception due to her passion to do something transformational for society. She started working as a volunteer in December 2001 and was one of the founder member of the fund raising team in India. She has deep expertise in fund raising and has extensive experience in creating different products, avenues for fund raising. She was instrumental in creating various unique programs for engagement and volunteering for the corporate sector. She also has played transformational roles in Human resources by defining engagement drivers and strategy for our employees. Geeta has a Masters in Software Engineering from Brandeis University, and is based in the Bay Area.

Ankita Narula

Director of Development, East – Ankita@apusa.org

I am open-minded, fun loving, an easy-going, caring, adventurous and sincere woman.I am honest and give 100% in everything I do. I enjoy exploring new places such as- historical spots, cruise with friends, hill stations, mountains. Fitness – Yoga/Meditation, Music, and Fashion are some interesting subjects to me.

Helping others really matters to me. I saw a worthy cause with an emotional appeal in Akshaya Patra. I feel proud to be a part of this exceptional effort. The cause is huge – almost infinite. I believe better education leads to a better quality of life.

Healthy, happy and knowledgeable children are essential for prosperity and progress. Akshaya Patra’s focus on food and education goes a long way towards helping to achieve that.

Swati Sharma

Development Director, East Coast – Swati@apusa.org

Swati has joined The Akshaya Patra team as a Development Director- East Coast. Prior to joining the team full time in January 2020, she worked pro-bono for a year. In her role as Development Director, she will be building new partnerships and opportunities for funding through potential corporate, individual and philanthropic donors for Akshaya Patra Foundation USA.

She possesses more than eight years of experience in progressively responsible positions with various Non-profit organizations, including Save the Children India, ICCo, Udyogini. She is adept in program management, fundraising, building strategic partnerships with different stakeholders (including government and allied institutions, companies and CSR initiatives), program implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programs.

Swati has a Masters degree in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India. She is also a trained Special Educator- specializing in learning disabilities.

Outside of work, Swati loves reading, painting or going on road trips with her husband.

Chandani Punia

Development Director, East Coast – Chandani@apusa.org

Anshuma Mehta

Director of Finance – Anshuma@apusa.org

A Southern California resident, I grew up in India closely observing several uncles and aunts actively volunteering at service organizations. I was most affected and inspired by my father’s contribution supporting human welfare globally that spanned more than five decades.

After many years in commercial organizations, I have found real joy in contributing to the mission of investing in our children, our nation’s future. I love reading, painting and creating, when I can and oversee Finance and Accounting at Akshaya Patra.

Shivani Patel

Creative Director – Shivani@apusa.org

Shivani has over ten years of experience in graphic design and marketing. She has worked with a variety of companies spanning industries like entertainment, health & beauty and medical education. In this process she has gained much experience in various areas which she can now apply in this vital role with Akshaya Patra. Shivani currently resides in Southern California with her husband, young daughter and 2 dogs. She loves to spend her free time with her family and friends. Shivani is involved with the local Indian community and in her spare time enjoys dancing, traveling and being creative.

Proshonjit Das

IT Project Manager – Das@apusa.org

Proshonjit Das has over 7 years of experience in the field of IT and Engineering. A Bachelor’s of Engineering (Hons) graduate from the University of Birmingham, UK, he brings with him over 8 years of experience in IT and Engineering. Prior to Akshaya Patra, he has served in various roles in technology with experience dealing with software in CRM, payments, blockchain, big data and IOT. He is also a Certified Scrum Master® and an agile development practitioner. His expertise in driving Digital Transformation projects specifically on key digital subjects from mobility to e-commerce is complimented by his technical knowledge.

Matt Luckey

Director, Communications & Marketing – matt@apusa.org

Matt has over eleven years of experience through various technical positions including product management, marketing, design, and video production for startups to Fortune 500 companies. With rich experience in digital media, Luckey is spearheading digital communications for Akshaya Patra USA as Director of Communications and Marketing.

Luckey has traveled throughout South East Asia including celebrating and documenting Holi in Vrindavan, India. Giving back and supporting others is an important part of his ethos, and is the basis for joining the team at Akshaya Patra.

Navneet Kaur

Project Manager – navneet@apusa.org

Navneet comes to Akshaya Patra with experience in project management, fundraising, nonprofit development, and government relations. After completing her Master in Public Policy, she gained experience in the nonprofit and governmental sectors where she applied her strong communication skills and a “can do” attitude to all her work. As Project Manager, she brings her passion for social good and thoughtful problem-solving to help the team reach their exponential goals. Navneet enjoys practicing yoga, meditation and cooking in her spare time.

Geeta Rai

Business Development Manager – geeta.rai@apusa.org

Geeta Rai brings 15 plus years of business development and marketing experience in the corporate and non-profit domains. She has played many management roles at AT&T and Silicon Valley startups including a theater non-profit. She loves that her current fundraising responsibility enables tangible value to the children of India. She has an MBA from Drexel University. She lives in the Bay Area, CA and enjoys hiking, meditation and watching movies.

Alexia Burton

Digital Marketing Manager – alexia@apusa.org

Alexia comes to Akshaya Patra with over six years of experience in digital marketing, social media, brand development, fundraising, and content creation. After completing her Master in Public Policy, Alexia began her career working for a startup nonprofit to more recently spearheading social media marketing for a Fortune 500 company. As Digital Marketing Manager, she brings her compassionate spirit, creative problem-solving, and zealous enthusiasm to help achieve Akshaya Patra USA’s goals and mission of investing in the future and wellbeing of those that need it most.

Alexia resides in Los Angeles with her two cats and enjoys hiking and traveling in her spare time.

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