"Over the past 8 years, I have had the opportunity to work on the ground to understand and appreciate the challenges and the massive opportunity of empowering adolescent girls can have on the global ecosystem. Truly believe in the vision and mission and Milaan’s team ability to execute".
Ameet Mehta is the CEO at Armentum, a product innovation studio that build digital experiences that generate revenue for clients such as Viacom and The Scripps Institute. Prior to starting Armentum, Ameet co-founded Azadi with Dhirendra, an impact venture that had a mission to make menstruation a non-issue in rural India. Through his work at Azadi and board role at The Milaan Foundation, Ameet has developed a deep sense of the development sector in India and lends that experience to grow the organization.
“Everyone can play a role in improving gender equality issues that exist globally. Don’t look the other way. Be part of the change”.
Amy Fahey spent 29 years in banking at JPMorgan Chase, holding a variety of leadership positions in Risk Management, Banking, Finance, Operations, and Technology. While in those positions, Fahey was also a member of the Regional Executive Committee and the Foundation. Since leaving JPMorgan, Fahey has worked as a consultant for several non-profit organizations, including Opportunity International. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Milaan Foundation and IC Catholic Prep, and on the Dean’s Advisory Council for Northern Illinois University.
“Educating,enabling and empowering youth in rural India is broadly what Milaan envisions. I, as a board member, feel strongly that we're weaving a million dreams and translating them into reality slowly but surely.”
Bindu Singh brings her 30 years of experience in the education sector to the Milaan Be The Change Board. Having worked as the Project Lead of SLRC Milaan, she has been an invaluable asset in the creation and nurturing of the Swarachna School. In addition to her work for Milaan, she is also the Principal of the prestigious Navayuga Radiance School in Lucknow as well as a member of CBSE subject expert Panel for class XII.
"It bothers me to see how we are contained in boxes made of social walls and then labeled, which challenges the very concept to exploring one’s identity and the chance to explore one’s full potential. I co-relate empowerment to freedom and thus am passionate about working towards building a free and equal world."
Dhirendra Pratap Singh is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Milaan. Under his leadership, Milaan launched the Girl Icon Program to Inspire, Nurture and Amplify the Voices of girl leaders as empowered agents of change in their communities and the world.He actively advocates for equal rights of girls both national and globally. With a Masters degree in Development Studies and BSc (Honors) in Mathematics, he has also been a recipient of the Karamveer Puruskar and Youth Ambassador for Peace Award by Universal Peace Federation on 24th Jan 2007. In 2017, Dhirendra was a part of the Indian delegation to South Asian Youth Summit in Afghanistan. He is currently part of Artira - Leadership Accelerator Program by Phicus Social Solutions at IIM Bangalore. In the past, Dhirendra has worked with many international and national development organisations like Vidya Grants India, United Way of Delhi, ASER, etc. He is a board member of Community - The Youth Collective. He is also the Co-Founder of Azadi, a US-based impact venture, with a commitment to making menstruation a non-issue in India.
As the proud father of twin daughters, the vision and mission of Milaan resonate deeply with Harish. “The passion and imagination with which the team at Milaan goes about its work and the impact that it has been truly inspiring. This is only the beginning and I am certain that Milaan, with the support of donors and well-wishers, will transform the lives of millions of girls in India and help unleash the potential of our country.”
Harish Doraiswamy is a former corporate sector professional with over 30 years of experience across multiple industries and functions. Harish has been associated with the Education Sector for more than a decade and his last assignment was as Vice-President at Pearson India responsible for a few verticals across South Asia. He has led several pioneering initiatives in his corporate career and would now like to do the same in the social sector. He is an alumnus of IIT Madras and IIM Calcutta.
"Milaan is playing a crucial role in addressing gender equality and empowerment for adolescent girls in India. They are helping girls to lead, not only on the field but in all aspects of life".
Rati Misra serves as the Treasurer at Milaan. She was, formerly, Director of Resource Mobilization at Special Olympics Bharat in her last official designation. Prior to that she has also served as the Regional Representative, South Asia at The Resource Alliance where she was responsible for the NGO India awards. She has also been a Program Manager at Ashoka Innovators for The Public.
"Greater participation of young girls from underserved communities paves the way for building a progressive, equitable economy. Milaan Foundation's Girl Icon initiative offers young girls the support and safe spaces they need, values that resonate deeply with the design and spirit of the SHEROES platform. "
Sairee Chahal is the Founder and CEO of SHEROES – the world’s largest online ecosystem for women. She is on the Board of Directors of Paytm Payments Bank. The SHEROES Network is home to the SHEROES app; Babygogo, a platform to support young mothers’; Maya, a global reproductive health platform and remote work product MARS. The network has a national and global footprint of 16 million women. Sairee has an M. Phil from JNU and a PGDBM from IMT Ghaziabad. She is a Fellow of the Ananta Aspen’s Kamalnayan Bajaj Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. She is a recipient of the Devi Award, Femina Achievers Award, Editor's choice for LOreal, Femina Women Award and Business Today, Most Powerful Women in Indian Business, and a Cartier Award Alumni. In 2018, SHEROES was awarded in the " Social & Economic Empowerment" category at the IAMAI Digital Awards.
"Educating and empowering girls is going to be the single biggest factor in determining India's growth story over the next 2 decades. Milaan plans to be the spearhead in the process of empowering adolescent girls to play a larger role in society."
Co-founder of the organization, he serves as the General Secretary. His commitment to quality sets the benchmark for the organization, driving it’s culture and work ethic. A voracious reader, his love of books and the strong belief that given the right instruction anyone can achieve greatness, irrespective of their background, drove him to pursue this line of work.
"With education and opportunities, girls have time and again proved that they smoothly slip into leadership positions. Milaan's facilitating role is praiseworthy."
Shubha Bahl works closely with Milaan Foundation as a board member and brings with her a commendable experience of many years. A graduate in economics and a Masters in Business Economics from Delhi University. After a short stint at a lectureship in Delhi University, she started a business in 1985 in Export of handicrafts. In 2002 she took voluntary retirement from the business and started spending most of her time in social projects. Besides teaching children from low-income backgrounds she started a social initiative by publishing a Hindi magazine for young children. Shubha is currently working at the Community Library Project which she has joined as a trustee after volunteering in the library for three years.
"I have had the fortune to spend endless nights with incredibly strong girls dealing with societal issues ranging from childhood marriage, to rape, to a lack of basic life's opportunities -- The work that Milaan is doing truly invigorates the often dormant powers that reside in each of these young girls to drive change and stand up for their rights.”
Shweta Gandhi is the Associate Director of Personalized Learning and Innovation for a national US-based Charter School Network managing over 20 schools and 10,000 kids across the country. Founder of Karmany a platform aimed at driving human capital and collaboration to the social enterprise sector and a board member of Milaan Foundation since the inception. With an educational background in Finance & Accounting and one folded startup under her belt, she also has over 7 years of corporate experience managing teams of 100+ at a US-based Fortune 10 Company, AT&T. In 2008, she also co-founded an educational NGO, Vidya Grants, based out of New Delhi, India, supporting assessment-based scholarships for children at the high school level hoping to drive vital change in the educational ecosystem.
“One of the best ways to give back and sustain our communities for lasting success is to invest in educating and empowering our youth. The Milaan Foundation is the ideal driving force for social change and opportunity, delivering real impact and potential for so many young ladies in underserved communities.”
"The passion of the founder members and the promise of the future that the vision of Milaan encompasses is what drew me to the organization and keeps me glued there".
Fluent in eight languages, Swagata Sen Pillai has over 20 years of dynamic work experience as a development sector professional. She has worked for Pratham as head of the design team and consultant on Communication and content development. A well known exponent of Bharat Natyam, she is the founder and owner of the Kinkini Dhavani Institute of Performing Arts. She is also a Partner at Svarchhaya Communications and erstwhile faculty at distance learning center of IMT Ghaziabad.
Shefali is always on the lookout to pick up quirky skills ranging from 'how to grow cabbage' to 'how to play the bagpipe'. She did her Master’s in Media Studies from the University of Amsterdam and is passionate in creating communication design that is impactful and engaging. Shefali loves being on the field and interacting with communities, especially children and girls- from whom she derives much of her inspiration and drive. She is a trained classical dancer, loves to write travel pieces, and do photography. The quickest way to grab her attention is by mentioning the following words: ‘puppies’, 'chocolate cake', and ‘redistribution of wealth’
“I slept and I dreamed that life is all joy. I woke and I saw that life is all service. I served and I saw that service is joy." Pragya from a young age knew she had to break the patriarchal mindsets and empower girls and women to stand up. Her experience drew her to study Master's in Social Work from Delhi School of Social Work and then LLB to work in the development sector. With over 4 years of experience, Pragya has been relentlessly working to nurture girls and young women. She often pours her heart in writing, poetry, and reading. Pragya is on a mission to work for women’s rights to achieve gender equality.
Saudamini is the silent one, an avid listener and an observer. She likes to create listening spaces for any and everyone around her. Her life mantra is 'Leap and the net will appear'. Her interest lies in spirituality, exploring historical places and collecting souvenirs, especially handicrafts.
Tripti is fondly called as ‘Triptea’ for her obvious love for chai! She draws her energy from Girl Icons and brings with her wise thoughts and wide smiles. For the last two years, Tripti has been working in the field of community development and advocacy. She has been following her dream to equip and empower vulnerable sections of society. Tripti lives by the philosophy of ‘Listen, observe and serve’ which helps her in fostering girl leaders and equitable communities. In her free time, Tripti likes to sketch and doodle to bring out her creative juices.
Dhiren is your person for ‘chai pe charcha’ who loves conversations and shaking as many new hands, He helps the team achieve Milaan's vision through strategic advice and streamlined management. A poet by heart Dhiren often reflects with his writing his love for life, he loves to break boundaries and explore the world. He is the yin to our yang.
Neeti is passionate about children and has an appetite for diversification. You will see her flexing her management muscle and keeping the fun in line. She is a voracious reader and grooves while she sings for herself in her alone time. She can be seen goofing around with her son and daughter!
Priya fell in love with Milaan’s work with girls and decided to bring a decade of her experience working in different sectors. She likes making everything as efficient, effective, and equitable as possible and shares the same enthusiasm with the team. Priya is also a caring mother and loves spending time with her 2 year old daughter. In her spare time she likes exploring historical places and digging into the former times to learn more about the monuments.
Ranjana believes in lifelong learning and her goal is to be a successful woman. An open minded person who enjoys every moment to the fullest, Ranjana shares the same philosophy with Girl Icons and works closely with them to achieve their dreams. She enjoys cooking, dancing, spending time with her children, and is always up to dabble in something she has never done before.
Javed comes with over a decade of experience and draws his motivation and energy from working and interacting with the youth. A passionate writer and an avid reader, Javed is known for his friendly, approachable and thoughtful nature. He sometimes likes to think like an activist and often relishes Sufi and folk music. He is your go-to guy for pensive conversations.
Devender is the kiddo of the Milaan family. He is the creative mind with the ability to transform boring ideas to interesting ones. He believes in the transformative power of illustration and design. He is the happy-go-lucky guy, obsessed with his bike! You may call him Mohit.
Our very own heart throb Rajat when not engrossed in HR and organizational policies can be seen glued to reading about gadgets and staying up to date. This tech geek is also a cinema lover and spends his spare time absorbed watching sci-fi thriller and horror movies, quite unlike his personality.
Literature lover Vineeta enjoys poetry and fancies listening to original compositions. She adores heartfelt conversations with Girl Icons and making their experience even more awesome. Before coming to Milaan she has spent a decade working at grassroots empowering girls and women.
Rahul spends his days working along with the team. He likes the simpler things in life and manages to make the best of whatever situation he’s thrown into. Raised in the city of nawabs, Rahul is a party animal who loves spending time with friends, ,music and movies.
Donors and Partners
Girl Icon Community Partners
Testimonials
I find Milan’s approach of driving fundamental social change through the Girl Icon program as innovative and with the potential of lasting impact and am therefore excited to contribute to the scaling up.
Shantanu, based in Gurgaon, is the CEO of Social Finance India (SFI), a catalytic impact investment intermediary for designing funding and programs for improved social outcomes at scale in India. Prior to that Shantanu spent three decades in corporations like Genpact, GE, Unilever and PwC (in reverse chronological order) in global business and functional leadership roles. Shantanu decided to move from the corporate sector to the social sector in early 2019 and mentored multiple organizations focused on education, gender equality, rural entrepreneurship before taking on the SFI role.
