Transforming gender and social norms through community engagement, media and education systems.

Abirami Jotheeswaran

Abirami Jotheeswaran is a Dalit women’s rights activist and lawyer from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. She has been a member of the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) since 2005. She played a key role in advocating for the amendment of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, leading to its 2015 update, which mandates quicker trials to prevent atrocities against Dalits and Adivasis. Currently, she is the General Secretary of the All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch (AIDMAM-NCDHR), focusing on empowering young Dalit women to fight caste and gender-based violence. Under her leadership, AIDMAM released the "Dalit Women Rise for Justice" report in 2021, pushing for stronger enforcement of laws protecting Dalit women. She also advocates…

Parmesh Shahani

Parmesh Shahani is the Head of Godrej DEI Lab. A passionate advocate for LGBTQ inclusion in corporate India, Parmesh guides the country's leading companies on inclusion. A prolific writer on the subject, his first book, Gay Bombay: Globalisation, Love and (Be)Longing in Contemporary India, (2008), offered rich insights into the LGBTQ movement in India. His second book, Queeristan: LGBTQ Inclusion in the Indian Workplace, was released in August 2020. Parmesh holds an MS in Comparative Media Studies from MIT. He is a TED Senior Fellow, a Yale World Fellow, and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. He is a member of the FICCI task force on diversity and inclusion and a board member of KHOJ International Artists' Association.

Ratnaboli Ray

Ratnaboli Ray learnt early that people with mental illnesses were treated differently. This inspired her journey as a mental health advocate. She studied Clinical Psychology and trained in Human Rights and Health at Harvard School of Public Health and Hygiene. In 1999, she started Anjali to advocate for the inclusion of mental illness within the mainstream health paradigm of India and speaks up for marginalised populations and their right to professional, inclusive care. She received an Ashoka Fellowship for the pathbreaking initiative. Today the work spans social inclusion, capacity-building and livelihoods programmes in 4 government mental hospitals among other programmes. A trainer on gender, sexuality, disability and mental health issues, Ratnaboli has been an invitee member in the drafting of…

Santosh Desai

Santosh Desai is well-known as the "brand guru" who connects culture and marketing. A dynamic speaker, he simplifies complex ideas using everyday examples and enjoys engaging with diverse audiences. An alumni of the prestigious IIM-Ahmedabad, Santosh was the CEO of Future Brands and President of McCann-Erickson, where he spent 21 years building iconic brands for Indian and multinational companies. He has lectured at national and international universities and addressed global management boards. Santosh has served on the boards of ING Vysya Bank and Oxfam India. He presently serves on the boards of multiple organizations, including Think 9 Consumer Technologies and D.B. Corp. He is also a member of the Governing Councils of Mudra Institute of Communication, Ahmedabad, and Praxis Business…

Sashwati Banerjee

Sashwati Banerjee has over 30 years of experience in social development, creating organizations, brands, and award-winning programs. She wears many hats. As Founder-Director of Humanitus Learning Services, she launched Top Parent, a free mobile solution that equips low-income parents to prepare their children for school and for life. As Director at Dalberg Media Asia, she expands the presence of the communications consulting organization across Asia. She is also Co-Lead of Programs at Point of View, a nonprofit that amplifies women’s voices. As Founding Managing Director of Sesame Workshop India, Sashwati led the organization for 15 years, impacting millions through its flagship project, Galli Galli Sim Sim, the Indian adaptation of Sesame Street. Sashwati has spearheaded global projects and award-winning campaigns…

Nayana Chowdhury

With more than 25 years of experience in working in the social section, Nayana is a strong believer in the power of the collective. She vouches for the power of collective action in ensuring that it is the most marginalised who lead, both with their stories and in bringing together others in the community. She has been associated with Breakthrough since 2010, initially as a donor, and then formally in 2018 as the Director - Programmes. With Nayana, Breakthrough’s work in Haryana and UP evolved further, pivoting towards deeper engagement in communities to keep rising against gender-based violence and discrimination.

Priyanka Kher

Renu Golwalkar

Dr Renu Golwalkar brings over two decades of global leadership experience across Asia and Africa, working at the intersection of gender equality, youth participation, social inclusion, and systems change. She has held senior leadership roles with leading international and Indian organisations and large multi-country donor-funded programmes, where she led strategy, programme design, capacity strengthening, and impact measurement at scale. With deep technical expertise in gender-transformative programming, organisational change, safeguarding, Do No Harm, and inclusive leadership, Renu is known for translating feminist and inclusion frameworks into practical, measurable action. She is equally passionate about mentorship, coaching, and building resilient teams and institutions.

Satya Prakash

Sunita Menon

Sunita has over 24 years of experience spearheading world-class programs & campaigns by aligning partners' vision, feminist leadership, creative ideas and strategies for impact-oriented work to end violence against women and girls, and promote active citizenship. She has conducted capacity-building programs globally and published more than 80 guides and toolkits.

Lakshmi Lingam

Dr. Lakshmi Lingam is a distinguished social scientist and a prominent figure in gender studies, serving as a Professor at the School of Media and Cultural Studies at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. As Deputy Director at TISS Hyderabad from 2011 to 2016, she established key academic programs, recruited faculty, and fostered connections with various governmental, non-governmental, and civil society organizations. A recognized scholar, Dr. Lingam has been on the International Visitors Leadership program of the USIA and has received numerous prestigious fellowships  including the Fulbright New Century Scholar in 2004-05, Nehru-Fulbright Fellow in 2015, and Indo-Shastri Visiting Scholar at the University of Montreal in 2011. She was also a visiting fellow in the Gender, Sexuality, and Law program…

Samik Roy

Samik Roy is the Chief Operating Officer of RS Software and has over 31 years of experience across international markets and technology-driven organisations. Having held leadership roles at Microsoft, Oracle and Indian enterprises, Samik’s stewardship is grounded in a deep value system built around integrity, equality and impact. He believes leadership must go beyond commercial outcomes and empower people, elevate organisations and positively shape society. He is a passionate advocate of inclusive leadership, focused execution and purpose-driven innovation. Samik's alignment with Breakthrough reflects this ethos. As a member of the Advisory Council, Samik offers strategic insight and business stewardship to help scale Breakthrough’s mission of ending violence and discrimination against women and girls. His ability to connect organisational scale with…