Smita
Sequeira

Championing systemic change for mental health, gender equity, and community well-being.

Smita is a development management professional with over 26 years of experience in mental health, violence prevention, and social development. She holds a Master’s in Social Work (Health & Mental Health) from TISS and an MBA in Social Development Management. Her work spans community engagement, patient rights, advocacy, and large-scale programs in child rights and public health.

Her career has included hospitals, crisis helplines, schools, and grassroots initiatives, all driven by a commitment to evidence-based, systemic change. An internationally certified life skills coach, she has also taught at TISS and K.J. Somaiya College of Physiotherapy, mentoring future professionals.

At ABF, she leads the Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) function, embedding impact and continuous learning into the foundation’s work. Passionate about safe, inclusive spaces, Smita focuses on how digital technologies affect mental health, resilience, and access to support—especially for vulnerable and gendered communities.

Bishakha
Hazarika

Bishakha is an extremely driven and curious individual. She feels strongly in the potential of the social sector to bring lasting, positive change in the society and is especially passionate about accessible healthcare.

She is currently pursuing her qualifications in sociology and works in the Grants and Programs Management team at the Foundation, looking after grants and partnerships. She finds her purpose and calling in the social impact sector and the possibilities of contributing to the lives of others.

Her journey is shaped by a commitment to continuous learning, empathy and innovation in addressing complex social challenges and leveraging technology to create impact.

Swarupa
Redij

Swarupa, a trained lawyer and a development professional, has worked across rural India to design programs that advance gender equity through education and livelihood opportunities.

She began her journey in the social impact space by leading program strategy and operations at one of India’s largest education nonprofits, before transitioning to grantmaking to support grassroots innovations. Her work is grounded in a deep belief in the power of community-led change and a commitment to centering the voices of women and girls in development.

Swarupa is continually inspired by India’s changemakers and is passionate about building ecosystems that enable them to thrive.

Shubhi
Dwivedi

Shubhi Dwivedi is a lawyer with a PG Diploma in Child Rights and over 17 years of experience in social justice, education, and youth development. She began her career advocating for women's rights and human rights, later moving into the education sector to work with underserved children and lead youth leadership programs.

As a Development Professional and Youth Social Entrepreneur, Shubhi specializes in designing and facilitating participatory learning experiences that drive mindset and behavior change. She has worked with diverse groups—including adolescents, teachers, civil society, police, and corporate staff—on issues related to gender, interfaith understanding, and youth empowerment.

She currently serves as Senior Manager – Special Programs at the Ananya Birla Foundation.

Mehdia
Rizvi

Mehdia is a passionate development professional with expertise in child safeguarding and adolescent empowerment. Working at the intersection of rights, care, and justice, she brings transformative energy to grassroots efforts and system strengthening. Her work spans policy advocacy, innovative programming, and collaboration with governments and organizations. With a deep commitment to equity, she has led impactful initiatives to work with vulnerable communities, guided by one core belief: everyone has the right to shape their own story. Inspired by a vision of freedom and limitless possibility, Mehdia champions agency, integrity, and transformation in all she does.

Siddhant
Khurana

Siddhant, a development management professional, co-founded a social enterprise focused on reducing mental health inequity in India.

His leadership led to successful initiatives recognised globally during the COVID-19 pandemic, earning him a place among the '50 Top Global Mental Health Leaders' by WMHC. He continues to support state governments in designing and implementing mental health programs for women and children. He has a deep interest in seeding systemic change through thoughtful and strategic collaborations.

Manya
Anand

Manya, has a Master's in Clinical Psychology. Driven by her passion for mental health and social work, she is eager to learn and adapt. She navigates new frontiers in the field of research and program design with deep enthusiasm. As part of the ABF team, Manya focuses her energy on impactful research, combining innovation with a commitment to realising social and collective well-being. Embracing challenges, she envisions a future where her work prioritizes mental health for all.

VP, Marketing &
communications

Ayesha
Khandelwal Shah

Ayesha is the echo of the foundation, she lives, breathes the ethos and has been part of our core team since the inception of the foundation in 2020.

A graduate from Imperial College of London with a degree in Biology and Management, Ayesha heads the Marketing and Communications of ABF handling everything from partnerships to outreach to our socials.

An unstoppable force full of passion and love, she hopes to empower and revise the narration on social issues around mental health.

VP, Operations
 

AKSHITA
SHAH

Akshita (a.k.a. Lola) has been the rock of ABF, a star at keeping everything together here and running day to day operations smoothly.

She has been Ananya’s manager since 2016 and is an absolute powerhouse of energy and focus.

Corporate
Strategist

Shruti
Upadhyaya

Shruti is a certified Strategy Management professional from IIM (Kozhikode), with a graduate degree in Economics (Hon.) and MBA in Marketing.

She comes with a professional experience of more than 12 years in business consulting, research, strategy support and business development consulting.

Shruti's unwavering dedication to creating profound social impact has fueled her involvement in transformative initiatives for the past four years.