Who We Are?
Core Team
Dr Rinku Verma; India
Dr Rinku is a Development Professional having 12 years of in-depth knowledge and experience in program management, monitoring and evaluation. He is alumni of Master of Development Management from Asian Institute of Management, Philippines. He is a detail-oriented and methodical professional successful in managing government relations, teams, day to day monitoring and outcomes. He has closely worked on issues of WASH, menstrual hygiene management, reproductive rights, maternal & child health and Family planning. His creative and consistent approach to collaborating, learning, and leading helped him achieve the most challenging projects. Rinku is accountable for designing and imparting innovative capacity development programs and behaviour change communication campaigns that produce sustainable outcomes. He has contributed to various evidence-based policy decisions at Dr Rinku has attributes of seeing the bigger picture, communicating, and influencing, delivering at pace.
Interest – Project Management, Capacity Building & Training, Monitoring Stakeholder Management, Public Health
Jigme Sherpa; Nepal
Jigme’s entrepreneurial mindset made him to establish an IT Startup when studying for a Bachelor's Degree. He took up the challenge to teach in a rural community working as Volunteer Teacher for two years. He is Alumani of Teach For Nepal. He was associated as a Principal in British Grammar School Rupandehi. He believes that change in education system can happen through effective leadership. Currently He is working as a consultant for a digital marketing company and an NGO.
Interest – Leadership and Management, Recruitment and Training, Emotional Intelligence
Dr Ratna; India
Dr. Ratna Verma is a Development Specialist, and researcher having more than 19+ years’ experience of in managing development Programmes, high-quality research, evaluation, training, and capacity-building programmes with a focus on SDGs- Gender, Social Inclusion, Child Rights and education, Women Empowerment & Governance, Health & Nutrition, Rural Livelihood, Agriculture Value chain, and Food & Nutrition Security. Ratna possesses thorough experience of working with multidisciplinary teams & communities in India and South Asia. As a lead evaluator, she has conducted several evaluations & assessments for the projects supported by the Government Ministry, UNDP, World Bank, WHO, NHSRC, UNICEF, UNFPA, Room to Read, Aga Khan Foundation, Child Fund Alliance etc. She is a research fellow and alumni of Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands and The Japan Foundation Asia Centre She has published significant policy documents, reports, articles and books based on her research and evaluations.
Interest – Proposal Development, Research, Gender, Livelihood and Child Rights
Aura Leah Reyes; Philippines
Leah is a Development Management professional. Her main focus as a Financial Inclusion convener is on designing intervention strategies at the community level for the attainment of program outcomes; As a management consultant for non-profits and social enterprises, she is strengthening organizational capacities through coaching leadership and change management; And now as the Head of People and Talent for Smarter Good, she leads in developing sustainable objectives through business model innovation, and collaborating with and convening stakeholders in forming strategic plans to advocate policy, finance the strategy, and scale development initiatives. Her previous career in corporate retail spanned 21 years until she decided to pivot to the social sector to pursue her mission.
Interest – Innovation and Business, Marketing, Social Impact, Program Management, Organization Development
Dr Shivam - Public Health
Dr Shivam Anand Singh is a dedicated Public Health Professional with a Master of Public Health from the prestigious Christian Medical College, Vellore. In his role as Public Health Advisor at READ Foundation, he provides strategic guidance for the planning, implementation, and evaluation of community health programs.
With experience as a Training Manager and Divisional Program Officer, Dr Shivam has led public health education, capacity-building initiatives, and grassroots interventions across diverse populations. He has a strong background in adolescent and child health, disease prevention, and community engagement.
Dr Shivam brings a practical, field-based perspective to his advisory role, with key strengths in behavior change communication, stakeholder coordination, and program monitoring. He is committed to advancing sustainable, evidence-based public health solutions that make a measurable impact at the community level.
Interest – Public Health Strategy, Program Implementation, Capacity Building, Community Health, Monitoring & Evaluation, Health Systems Strengthening