Team

| | | | | |

TRUSTEE

Ramesh Ramanathan
Co-founder, Jana Group

Ramesh Ramanathan is a social entrepreneur who works on urban issues in India. Prior to his social initiatives, Ramesh held leadership positions with Citibank in New York and London, in the bank’s capital markets business. Ramesh has an MS in Physics from BITS Pilani, an MBA from Yale University and a CFA from AIMR. In […]

Swati Ramanathan
Co-founder, Jana Group

Swati Ramanathan is a Co-founder of Janaagraha, as well as the Founder of Jana Urban Space. Both institutions are founded with the aspiration for positive transformation in India’s cities and towns. A passionate believer that all change begins locally in neighbourhoods where people live, Janaagraha’s grassroots community work was strengthened multi-fold with the early adoption […]

Unni Rajagopal, FCA
Trustee, Janaagraha

Unni Rajagopal has been associated with the organisation since inception. A rank holder in Chartered Accountancy examinations, Unni entered practice subsequent to a stint in the industry as Finance Controller of a reputed company. He is one of the founding partners of Singhvi Dev & Unni LLP – Chartered Accountants. He is a member of […]

Dr Vivek Mansingh
Trustee, Janaagraha

Dr Vivek Mansingh is a global leader, entrepreneur, author, technology visionary, innovator and mentor, currently dedicated to the pursuit of ‘Mentoring A Million.’ He frequently speaks at national and international forums on the topics of mentoring, global leadership, success, innovation, excellence, entrepreneurship, and various technologies. Currently a General Partner at YourNest Venture Capital Fund, Dr […]

GOVERNING BOARD

Ramesh Ramanathan
Co-founder, Jana Group

Ramesh Ramanathan is a social entrepreneur who works on urban issues in India. Prior to his social initiatives, Ramesh held leadership positions with Citibank in New York and London, in the bank’s capital markets business. Ramesh has an MS in Physics from BITS Pilani, an MBA from Yale University and a CFA from AIMR. In […]

Swati Ramanathan
Co-founder, Jana Group

Swati Ramanathan is a Co-founder of Janaagraha, as well as the Founder of Jana Urban Space. Both institutions are founded with the aspiration for positive transformation in India’s cities and towns. A passionate believer that all change begins locally in neighbourhoods where people live, Janaagraha’s grassroots community work was strengthened multi-fold with the early adoption […]

Dr Vivek Mansingh
Trustee, Janaagraha

Dr Vivek Mansingh is a global leader, entrepreneur, author, technology visionary, innovator and mentor, currently dedicated to the pursuit of ‘Mentoring A Million.’ He frequently speaks at national and international forums on the topics of mentoring, global leadership, success, innovation, excellence, entrepreneurship, and various technologies. Currently a General Partner at YourNest Venture Capital Fund, Dr […]

vidya
Vidya Shah
Advisory Board Member

Vidya Shah’s name has been synonymous with the field of Finance and has a career spanning over 20 years to mark her merit. She serves as one of the board members of Janaagraha where she offers her valuable understanding of grants and management to better the organisation’s operating system. Vidya earned an MBA from IIM-Ahmedabad […]

Jeb Brugmann
Advisory Board Member

Mr Jeb Brugmann, a veteran with a 35-year career in local sustainability, social equity, and justice, is the Founding Principal at Resilient Cities Catalyst. In the 1980s, Mr Brugmann led the influential Sanctuary Cities movement and went on to found ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. He later co-founded The Next Practice Ltd., a consultancy […]

SM Vijayanand, IAS (Retd.)
Advisory Board Member

A 1981-batch IAS officer, Mr SM Vijayanand has been the Chairperson of the 6th State Finance Commission of Kerala and Chief Secretary of Kerala. During his 11 years as Secretary, Local Self-Government, Government of Kerala, Mr Vijayanand pioneered the People’s Plan movement. He also conceptualised and operationalised ‘Kudumbashree’, the women’s self-help group movement in Kerala. […]

LEADERSHIP

Srikanth Viswanathan
Chief Executive Officer

As Chief Executive Officer, Srikanth steers the strategy of Janaagraha while also overseeing its operations.  He is an associate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and has previously worked with Standard Chartered Bank and KPMG. 

sapna
Sapna Karim
Chief Operating Officer

Sapna has been a part of Janaagraha right from its inception in 2001. She has worked on various citizen campaigns as well as on technology-related interventions with the government. She also anchored the HR and volunteer management functions of the organisation for ten years. 

Anand Iyer
Chief Policy and Insights Officer

Anand is an architect by qualification and has studied Critical Theory. Over the last 22 years he has worked across: State & Central Govt. in Urban Development; Private sector & Consulting in Land, Infrastructure and Building; Academics and Professional Practice in Architecture & Design. Anand joins JCCD from JUST, where he has been Director-Projects for […]

Amit Gupta
Head - Branding and Communications

Amit Gupta joined Janaagraha in March 2024 as Head of Branding and Communications in Bengaluru. He has over 18 years of work experience in the field of branding and communication. He was earlier working with Graphical House Ltd. in Glasgow, Scotland, where he served as the Director of Brand Strategy & Communication. His academic credentials […]

katie
Katie Pyle
Head - Research and MEL

Katie joined Janaagraha in May 2014 and currently serves as the Head of the Research & Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) team. The team supports Janaagraha’s programs aimed at improving urban governance in India and possesses deep research expertise in urban Indian contexts. Their work encompasses monitoring and evaluating internal programs, thought leadership (including publications), […]

Krishnan S
Head - Strategy

Krishnan joined Janaagraha in September 2023 as the Head of Strategy in Bengaluru. He brings a decade of experience in public education reform, along with a brief stint in corporate banking prior to that. For over eight years, he was a key member of the leadership team at the Central Square Foundation, where he collaborated […]

Namita Aggarwal
Head - Municipal Revenues

Namita Aggarwal joined Janaagraha in 2018 and currently serves as the Head of the Municipal Revenues vertical. She oversees work on municipal borrowings and municipal own-source revenues. In her role, Namita works closely with senior leadership in the union government, constitutional bodies, and market regulators, as well as with multilateral institutions and several state governments, […]

Prabhat Kumar
Head - Public Finance Management

Prabhat Kumar joined Janaagraha in March 2020 and serves as the Head of the Public Finance Management (PFM) vertical at Janaagraha. In his role, Prabhat leads the advocacy, program design, and implementation efforts focused on improving inter-governmental transfers, financial planning, efficiency, and accountability in municipal spending. He works closely with union, state, and urban local […]

Prarthana Ramesh
Head - Environment City-Systems

Prarthana Ramesh joined Janaagraha in August 2013 and is the Head of the Environment City-Systems vertical. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Mount Carmel College and a Postgraduate Diploma in Environmental Law (PGDEL) from the National Law School of India University. She has held various positions at Janaagraha over the past decade, including heading the […]

Sajith Sukumaran
Director - State Programmes

Sajith Sukumaran joined Janaagraha in April 2024 as Director – State Programmes. He leads our efforts in Assam and Uttar Pradesh, and is based out of Guwahati, Assam. Sajith comes with close to thirty years of experience across livelihoods, cooperatives, rural and urban local governments, and water and sanitation. Prior to joining us, he served […]

Santosh Nargund
Head - Participatory Governance

Santosh Nargund joined Janaagraha in February 2022 and is currently the Head – Participatory Governance. With over two decades of experience in the civic space, he has led various advocacy and citizen campaigns aimed at promoting good governance through transparency, accountability, and citizen participation. He has effectively utilised tools such as the Right to Information […]

shivkumar
Shivkumar Shadananan
Menon

Head - Civic Learning

Shivkumar Shadananan Menon joined Janaagraha in December 2014 and is the Head of the Civic Learning Program. He is sharply focused on mainstreaming 21st-century skills and active citizenship values in children and youth nationwide. He believes that Janaagraha’s mission to improve the quality of life in our cities and towns can only be sustainably achieved […]

Shoumik Guha
Head - Development

Shoumik Guha joined Janaagraha in 2021 and is the Head of the Development team. Shoumik leads Fundraising and plays a pivotal role in shaping and executing the fundraising and development strategy at Janaagraha. He is responsible for driving the organisation’s overall fundraising efforts to support its mission and long-term sustainability. Before this role, Shoumik spearheaded […]

Sudheendra Bajpai
Head – State Program (Uttar Pradesh)

Sudheendra joined Janaagraha in May 2024 as Head – State Program (Uttar Pradesh). Prior to joining Janaagraha, he was with Ernst & Young as Director in the Strategy and Transaction Practice. Sudheendra is a management graduate from the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad. He comes with 20+ years of experience in transport infrastructure development […]

V R Vachana
Head - Municipal Law and Policy

Vachana joined Janaagraha in 2015 and currently serves as the Head of the Municipal Law and Policy vertical, with a particular focus on policy research and advocacy around decentralised urban governance. In her role, she leads the development and creation of India’s flagship report on urban governance, titled the ‘Annual Survey of India’s City-Systems (ASICS)’, […]