MOHAN Foundation - Changemakers

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  Mrs. Lalitha Raghuram
  Country Director

  Country Director Lalitha Raghuram is a compassionate, enthusiastic and a high-integrity individual and as the Country Director of MOHAN Foundation, she is committed towards achieving organizational objectives through optimal leverage of human & technological resources.
  She has a rich, broad-based expertise in health care management arising out of 27 years of experience with leading eye care and not-for-profit organizations around the world. She was an Administrator of L.V. Prasad Eye Institute for seven years (1986-93), following which she became the Executive Director of Eye Bank Association of India, where she served for 9 years (1993-2002). Having been trained internationally in USA, Prague and UK, she started MOHAN Foundation in Hyderabad in 2002.
  In the year 2004 Lalitha’spassionate commitment to her profession transcended deep personal tragedy. In a tragic incident, her young 19 year old son had a fatal road accident and was declared brain dead. Walking the talk, Lalitha and her husband took the heart-breaking but inspiring decision to donate their son’s organs. For this brave and noble action, they were presented the CNN IBN Real Heroes Award.They received a trophy and a cash award of INR 5 Lakhs, which they have donated to MOHAN Foundationto further the cause of organ donation.
  Most recently, Lalitha has been inducted as an “Ashoka Fellow”. Ashoka Fellows are social entrepreneurs who have made a difference in the society through their innovative work. She has also received the “Rotary Vocational Excellence Award” and "Woman in Transplantation Hero Award" among several other awards.
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  Dr. Sumana Navin
  Course Director

  Course Director Dr. Sumana Navin has been associated with MOHAN Foundation since 1998. In her present role, as Course Director, she travels across India training transplant coordinators and educating healthcare professionals about organ donation and transplantation. She has been instrumental in framing the curriculum and developing the course content (including E-learning) for the Transplant Coordinators' Training Programme. She has been involved in the training of over 1000 transplant coordinators from 2009 to 2015.
  She did her M.B.B.S from Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad after which she completed her Post Graduate Diploma in Hospital Administration. She has been the editor of the Indian Transplant Newsletter since 1998 – a publication from MOHAN Foundation that focuses on the organ donation and transplantation programme in India and abroad.
  In 2014, she was part of the MOHAN Foundation team that was invited by the Society of Organ Transplantation, Bangladesh to conduct the first-ever transplant coordinators’ training programme in Dhaka. Her paper on 'Impact of Trained Transplant Coordinators on the Deceased Donation Transplantation Programme in India' was conferred the Best Abstract Award at the Congress of the Asian Society of Transplantation that was held in August 2015 in Singapore. She was invited to be an observer by the NHS Blood and Transplant, UK at the Deceased Donation Course for Intensive Care Medicine trainees held in Nottingham in February 2016.
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  Pallavi Kumar
  Executive Director

  Executive Director -(Delhi-NCR) Pallavi has been in the development sector for over 20 years, working for a variety of organizations and causes. She started the Delhi-NCR office of MOHAN Foundation in the year 2011.
  She brings to the sector her sensitivity and skills in relationship building & strategic communication. Her experiences raising funds for causes large and small has helped her understand how crucial fundraising skills are for an organization to be sustainable. Her expertise lies in fundraising from individuals and she won the award for the 3rd Highest Pledge Raising IPledger at the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon in 2013.
  Her work with Tamil Nadu Kidney Research Foundation in Chennai helped her understand the plight of patients living with end stage organ failure requiring a transplant for survival on one hand and the acute shortage of organs in our country on the other. Armed with this understanding, and her deep passion for social causes, Pallavi is taking forward the important work of the Foundation in the North.
  Prior to this, Pallavi was heading the South Asian Fund Raising Group (SAFRG). She was also with Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), spearheading the individual donor giving solutions, before which she worked with NAZ Foundation for almost 5 years and is still associated with it.
  At MOHAN Foundation, she has launched unique program called “Angels of Change” in which selected student volunteers from schools and colleges are taken through a customized training module to enable them to undertake awareness initiatives on organ donation amongst various audiences. She made a poster presentation on the same in the 13th Congress of ISODP (International Society for Organ Donation & Procurement) in Seoul, Korea, which was very well received.
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  Sudhir Dewan
  Hon.Director – North

  Hon. Director – North Sudhir Dewan has been associated with MOHAN Foundation since 2010, working to promote deceased organ donation in Chandigarh, Panchkula & Mohali, extending to other cities of Punjab, Haryana & Himachal Pradesh.
  Sudhir is an M.B.A. with 40 years of experience in Pharmaceutical & Hospital Marketing. He was the Chief Executive Officer of a multinational organization before taking on the work of the Foundation. Sudhir brings with him excellent communication skills and expertise in team building and administration.
  Sudhir himself underwent a liver transplant in 2008. After experiencing firsthand the lack of awareness regarding organ donation and the frantic & traumatic search for an organ, he decided while in ICU itself, to devote the rest of his years to the cause of organ donation.
  Sudhir, starting from scratch in Chandigarh, has conducted innumerable awareness sessions and has helped in the coordination of over 50 Organ Donations in the city. His major achievement has been the involvement with Command Hospital, Chandimandir which has contributed majorly in Organ Donation scenario in the Armed Forces.
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  Dr. Ravi Wankhede
  Honorary Director

  Honorary Director and Centre Head Dr. Ravi Wankhede is a former Indian Air Force doctor, having put in eight years of service to the Nation, before settling down in his native town Nagpur.
  Ravi has been associated with MOHAN Foundation for over 6 years following his voluntary kidney donation to a friend in 2009. In Nagpur, few hospitals have carrying out live kidney transplants since a fairly long time, however, deceased organ donation hadn’t really picked up for many reasons. One of the reason was that the transplant coordinators working in hospitals were not aware and not trained for the purpose. Ravi organized Transplant Coordinators training by MOHAN Foundation in Feb 2012. In less than two months, the first successful deceased organ donation took place. Since then many more deceased donations have taken place.
  Ravi’s act of donating kidney to a friend at the age of 60 attracted a lot of media attention after which the Government of Maharashtra nominated him as an expert member of the Zonal Transplant Co-ordination Centre (ZTCC) - Nagpur. This has led him to initiate mass awareness campaigns in and around Nagpur. Ravi has worked with the Academy of Medical Sciences, Indian Medical Associations, Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine, Central India Kidney Foundation, Rotary Clubs, etc. for conducting awareness sessions and seminars on organ donation.
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  Bhavna Jagwani
  Convenor, MFJCF

  Convenor, MFJCF In the year 2014 Bhavna took the initiative to start the very challenging task of setting up the deceased organ donation and transplant program in Rajasthan. An NGO was set upwith the partnership of MOHAN Foundation and Jaipur Citizen Forum called MFJCF.
  Bhavna has always been a crusader for various causes in Jaipur. During her 3rd pregnancy, Bhavna lost her vision due to a drug reaction. Miraculously the vision returned after a month. However the experience changed her. Believing that there is a purpose in everything, Bhavna founded the Eye Bank Society of Rajasthan (EBSR) along with Late Shri M. L. Mehta in 2002. The primary objective of EBSR was cornea collection. Since its inception, more than 4000 people have got vision as a result of efforts by the EBSR.
  MFJCF is working closely with the Rajasthan governmentto set protocols& guidelines, enable training of the medical staff and to create awareness on organ donation. The MFJCF staff sensitively counsels families of brain dead persons in SMS government hospital to encourage them to donate their loved ones organs to save the lives of other people needing organs. A start, even if modest, has been made in deceased organ donation in Rajasthan, both in public and private hospitals and 12 multi organ donations have taken place since MFJCF was formed generating 38 organs.
  MFJCF was also instrumental in setting up the RNOS (Rajasthan Network of Organ Sharing). This online secure registry is to enablea fair and equitable distribution of organs to recipients waiting for organ transplantation from various hospitals in the state of Rajasthan.
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  Sujatha
  Manager, MIS

  Manager - Information Systems (MIS) Sujatha S is the Manager - Information Systems (MIS) with MOHAN Foundation. Being a post graduate in Social Work, she started her journey with the Foundation in 2010 as a Transplant Coordinator. She was deputed to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH), Chennai where she was involved in counselling the families of brain stem dead patients and facilitating the organ retrieval process. A few years later she was promoted as Manager - Information Systems that involves managing the reporting system within the organization, collating the activities of different centres, data mining and analysis, and reporting to the funding organization(s). Her experience at the RGGGH also allows her to contribute to the Transplant Coordinators’ Training Programme as faculty for grief counselling and deceased donor coordination. She is also involved in developing and supporting the one year E-learning programme for Transplant Coordinators.
  She is the recipient of best paper presentation award for her paper on “Impact of Transplant Coordinators’ Training Programme” at the 5th Annual Transplant Coordinators’ Workshop held in 2012. Her poster on “Macro opportunities; Micro utilization” won the best poster award at the 7th Annual Transplant coordinators’ Workshop held in 2014. Her abstract entitled "Deceased organ donation in a public hospital - A model programme" was accepted for oral communication at the International Society for Organ Donation and Procurement (ISODP) 2015 conference.
  Sujatha S has previously worked with cancer and HIV/AIDS patients and her interest in palliative care continues.
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  Govindsamy
  Accounts

  Accounts & Finance Manager Govindsamy comes in with a rich experience of more than two decades in accounts and financial management with not-for-profit organizations of National and International repute. He has been associated with MOHAN Foundation for the last five years. Govindswamy is methodical and brings in high levels of transparency and integrity to his work in the Foundation. He is recognized for his acumen in finance and project management in the NGO sector.
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  Dr.Hemal Kanvinde
  Q.A Officer

  Quality Assurance Officer Hemal joined MOHAN Foundation with a rich experience in managing developmental and action research projects. She has previously worked in the fields of biodiversity, sustainable livelihoods, gender studies and management of coastal ecosystems.
  She has brought to the organisation her skills in guiding young counsellors and designing research projects. She has developed a database of information needed to run a National Helpline on Organ Donation and has trained counsellors to deliver information concisely and clearly.
  Hemal has worked at M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Centre for Action Research on Environment Science and Society (CARESS), National Biodiversity Authority and Food and Agriculture Organsiation (FAO).
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  Dr. Muneet Sahi
  Programme Manager

  Programme Manager Muneet is a medical professional with a rich and varied experience in public education; counseling and mass media diffusion related to cancer detection, AIDS, child safety and career guidance is currently part of the MOHAN nucleus in Northern Zone (Delhi).
  She brings to the organisation her understanding of people and her effective speaking skills. Meticulous to the core, she takes care of all the important documentation in the office. She unravels for her myriad audience the deep and emotive issues involved in the decision to donate one's organs. By virtue of her mature approach and years of experience in public life as a doctor she has proved herself invaluable in dealing with distressed kin of potential donors during her day to day work. She is also a passionate trainer.
  She was awarded the Best Transplant Coordinator award in the year 2013 at the Transplant Coordinators’ Workshop held in Hyderabad.
  Prior to this she was working at various Indian Navy stations as a health coordinator and liaisoned for camps and welfare activities for the kith and kin of the defence personnel. She has also had a long innings as a private practitioner running an independent dispensary.
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  Dr. Pallavi Rekhi
  Programme Officer

  Programme Officer

  Pallavi pursued her graduation in Dentistry from Indraprastha Dental College & Hospital, Ghaziabad. She switched to Public Health and completed her post-graduation from Amity University, Noida, and won the “Baljit Shastri Award- for Best Human Values”.
  While pursuing her post-graduation, she conducted research studies in various public health dimensions that made her realize her interest in working for the society. Thereafter, she joined MOHAN Foundation in the capacity of a Programme Officer in June, 2018. She brings to the organization her managerial skills and team spirit.
  She hopes to learn as much as she can and be able to have a positive impact on the society.

  
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  Dr. Bhanu Chandra
  Operations Manager

  Operations Manager Bhanu Chandra is a qualified physiotherapist and has aMaster’sdegree in Hospital Administration.
  Bhanu has a wide experience in grief counselling convincing more than 150 families to donate organs of their loved ones. He was awarded Best Transplant Coordinator Award in 2015 during the 8th National Annual Transplant Coordinators Workshop.
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  Jaya Jairam
  Project Manager

  Project Manager Armed with an engineering degree and a Post graduate in Finance, Jaya had been working in the corporate sector for the past 18 years and very recently decided to quit the corporate world to join the social development sector, working for the cause of Organ donation with MOHAN Foundation.
  In the year 2010, at a very young age, Jaya underwent a kidney transplant. Her mother was the donor. The experience helped her understand the trauma of those waiting for an organ and the dilemma of taking an organ from a loved one. Since then she decided to undertake the challenging task of promoting deceased organ donation and encouraging more and more people to sign up for donating organs once they die.
  Jaya started the MF Mumbai office recently and has been passionately furthering the cause since then. She dreams of an India where the waiting list of people hoping to receive organs is virtually non-existent and where it is not so hard for people to get second chances at living lives with their loved ones.
  She hopes to enable support groups where first hand experiences and information could be exchanged, thereby helping people to cope better with the agonies and anxieties associated with organ failure.
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  Dr. Bhanu Prakash
  Tx. Coordinator

  Transplant Coordinator

  BhanuPrakash is qualified physiotherapist and has aMaster’s degree in Hospital Administration.
  He has made his mark as an effective counsellor, and is considered one of the best transplant coordinators in Hyderabad convincing many families in their hour of grief to take the heroic decision to donate their loved one’s organs for the benefit of others.

  
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  Krishnan
  Consultant

  Consultant

  Krishnan completed his B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Bombay and his MMS in Finance from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Bombay. He is associated with MOHAN FOUNDATION since 2008 and is presently involved in public education on Organ Donation and Transplantation. In 1997 he underwent a kidney transplant at Apollo Chennai, where the donor was his elder sister. Post-transplant he relocated to Chennai from Mumbai and went on to become the Managing Director of a consultancy company. He is now an adviser in two startups and a consultant to MOHAN Foundation, in charge of Bangalore operations. He assists Dr. Sunil Shroff in his pet project on medical drones.
  Apart from his other interests, he wants to dispel the myths and misgivings surrounding Organ Donation and Transplant.

  
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  Usha
  PSG

  Patient Support Group

  Usha Balasubramanian is an Economics graduate who was extremely passionate on pursuing her dream to become a doctor. However, destiny had other plans and she spent a good part of her life playing the roles of a dedicated mother, supportive spouse and committed daughter- in-law. Although she was presented with the opportunity to be a part of the teaching community, she did not take up this offer as she did not want to compromise on the home front.
  In 2011 her husband was diagnosed with ESRD and this cruel twist of fate changed her life completely. To try and brave this storm, she did an in depth study of the disease, its various challenges and its daunting pitfalls. She lost her husband to the same in the year 2018. Her experience as her husband’s caregiver motivated her to offer her services to Mohan Foundation. It is rather ironic that in the face of this irreparable loss, Usha’s dreams are finally seeing the light of day. But then, better late than never.

  
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  Kavitha Aneesh
  Marketing Coordinator

  Marketing Coordinator, Trivandrum Kavitha Aneesh, Marketing Coordinator (Trivandrum) has a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Sri Ramachandra University (Chennai) and a Master’s degree both in Business Administration from Madras University (Chennai) and in Psychology from Mother Teresa Women’s’ University (Chennai).
  Kavitha started her carrier as a nurse in Apollo Hospitals. She soon moved to teaching in Rajalakshmi College of Nursing, Chennai. She has trained more than 200 students in the four years. Understanding the importance of organ donation, she joined MOHAN Foundation in 2012.
  As a Transplant Coordinator, deputed at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital Chennai, Kavitha was responsible for initiating a one to one sensitization programme for nurses. This improved the eye donation rate in the hospital. This multilingual coordinator attends the MOHAN Foundation helpline calls in all languages. She has contributed in conducted in many awareness classes and Workshops.
  In 2015, Kavitha shifted to Trivandrum and continues her work as a counselor for the helpline and as a public speaker for awareness on organ donation in Kerala.
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  Sunitha
  Tx. Coordinator

  Transplant Coordinator Sunitha has been working as a grief counsellor cum transplant coordinator in the challenging environment of Government General Hospital in Chennai since 2013. She gave a jump start to the eye donation rates in the Government Hospital through her one to one interactions with the staff nurses. From 2015 she has been actively working in the program on “Sensitizing the Police on their role in Deceased Organ Donation”.
  Armed with a master’s degree in Social Work from Madras University, she has had experience in the fields of child welfare and community development.
  A state chess player, Sunitha is extremely professional in her work. She is hardworking, dedicated and straightforward,and takes full responsibility of any assignment given to her. A thorough team person she is able to garner the support of her peers and friends for the cause of organ donation.
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  Bulu Behera
  Tx. Coordinator

  Transplant Coordinator Bulu Behera has been working with MOHAN Foundation since 2013. Bulu is a social work graduate from National Institute of Social Work and Social Science (NISWASS) Phulbani, Orissa. He has a Master Degree in MSW (Master of Social Work) from Matru Sewa Sangh, Institute of Social Work Nagpur (Maharashtra).
  He was associated with an NGO called ‘People Awareness & Hilly Area Development (PAHAD)’ for tribal people under livelihood mission after completing his graduation. He has also done a one month internship in Mumbai in center for Study of Society and Secularism (CSSS) for women empowerment.
  He has undergone Transplant Coordinator’s training from MOHAN Foundation and is now working as a Transplant Coordinator. He is also simultaneously pursuing Master of Labor study (MLS) at Regional Labour Institute.
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  Ann Alex
  Programme Associate

  Programme Associate Moved by a deep sense of empathy for people from all strata of society, Ann pursued her Bachelors and Master’s degree in Social Work from Stella Maris College, Chennai. As part of her coursework, she spent time working with women, children and counselling families. She spent a month in the tribal villages of Wayanad understanding the families and communities.
  While pursuing her Master’s degree, she was selected to represent her college at Cobourg, Germany to participate in a conference and workshop on “Social Work Peace Building – Social Work and Human Rights Practices in Times of Conflicts”. She was also exposed to a plethora of opportunities to further explore her niche, where she worked with juvenile offenders, burn victims and trauma patients before interning with St. John’s Medical Hospital. As the Medical Social Worker, she was collaborating with personnel from a broad spectrum of specialties and was instrumental in family counselling.
  Given her familiarity with the medical profession, she moved to MOHAN Foundation in the capacity of Programme Associate in 2016. She coordinates the training of transplant coordinators in various states and is on the faculty of the Transplant Coordinators’ Training Programme. She is involved in public advocacy campaigns on organ donation with a focus on social media initiatives. She is also on the editorial team of MOHAN Foundation’s monthly E-newsletter.
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  Venkatesh.S
  Tx. Coordinator

  Transplant Coordinator Mr. S.Venkatesh is a social work Post graduate with a Master Degree in Social Work in Jamal Mohammed College, Trichy. He has worked in National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis Center (ICMR), Reach Organization (NGO) and Global Health City Hospital.
  In 2016, Venkatesh joined MOHAN Foundation and received extensive training as a transplant coordinator. He works at the Government Rajaji Hospital, Madurai. He is engaged in creating awareness on organ donation among the public and counseling families of “brain dead”patients to take the brave decision of organ donation.
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  Siva Shankar
  Helpline Executive

  Helpline Executive Siva Shankar completed his Bachelors of Commerce from Asan Memorial College of Arts and Science, Pallikarnai and went on to pursue his MBA in Logistics and Marketing from Versatile Business School. He gained experience while interning at Fyncea Lines & Logistics and Shiksha.com.
  He joined MOHAN Foundation as a Helpline Executive in March 2017. He also contributes towards public awareness and is also a main leads the volunteer program, Angels of Change. ?An earnest learner, this newest entrant to the Chennai office gets his leg pulled many times, yet has made friends with everyone in no time.
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  Sathya Moorthi
        Driver        

  Driver cum Office Assistant SathyaMoorthi is employed as a driver cum office assistant in MOHAN foundation for the past 5 years. An active person who renders help to all the staff of the office, he actively involves himself during the awareness programs, helps the staff in arranging as well as manning the stalls and in other activities. In case of a donation, Sathyaeven involves himself in giving the samples and files to the other hospitals and also guides patients and relatives. ‘Sathyaanna’, as he is fondly called, is indispensable during meetings and conferences.
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  Ganesh Kumar
  Office Manager

  Office Manager Ganesh comes in with a rich experience of more than four decades in office management and book keeping. He manages the MOHAN Foundation Hyderabad office.
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  Manikandan
  Office Assistant

  Office Assistant Manikandan is the Chennai office’s Man Friday. He joined MOHAN Foundation in 2013 in the capacity of Office Assistant. Manikandan is the first to come to the office and the last one to leave. He runs all the errands with a smile on his face. He has also begun assisting in manning organ donation information stalls. This diehard fan of South Indian actor Ajith is a qualified welder by ITI and loves to repair all electronic items.