People

Governing Board

The Board of YUVA does not comprise any staff member. YUVA follows the practices of good governance and does not provide any honorarium or remuneration to its Governing Board members.

President

Archana Shrivatsava

Archana Shrivastava has worked in the development sector for over 25 years. She works with senior managers and officials through sensitivity training and has been accredited by the Indian Society for Applied Behavioural Sciences (ISABS) and serves as Dean, Social Development at the ISABS.

Secretary

Mani Mistry Elavia

Mani Mistry Elavia has over 40 years’ experience as a Child Empowerment Facilitator, designing and leading training sessions and workshops with children and care-givers.

Treasurer

Dr. Helen Joseph

Dr. Helen Joseph has dedicated her career to social work and education, teaching at the College of Social Work, Nirmala Niketan (1983–2013) and serving as Chairperson of YUVA Urban Initiatives. She consults for Creative Handicrafts on domestic violence, founded SALOKHA for social integration, and has contributed to UGC’s Capacity Building of Women Managers.

Chief Functionary

Kavita Krishnamoorthy

Kavitha Krishnamoorthy began as a volunteer with YUVA and went on to make invaluable contributions to YUVA’s work over the decades, including leading YUVA’s urban programmes. She has led many initiatives with MAYA and has developed and implemented many projects of her own. She is currently based in Bengaluru, where she has initiated an organisation, Kilikili, which works on inclusive play.

Member

Rajendra Joshi

Rajendra Joshi founded and serves as Managing Trustee of SAATH. A pioneer of the Integrated Slum Development Program, he has written and published many papers on issues around urban development and slum development. He has received numerous awards including the Schwab Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award for 2009 and the Nagrikta Puraskar in 2004.

Member

Shikha Shukla Chhabra

Shikha Shukla Chhabra is a gender and social inclusion expert. With two decades of experience in social development, she has led research, evaluations, policy advocacy, and knowledge management across sectors like water, sanitation, faecal sludge management, power, gender, and human rights. She has also conducted social safeguard assessments for power sector projects in India.

She has worked with international organisations, think tanks, NGOs, and consulting firms, bringing expertise in both quantitative and qualitative research to drive impactful change.

Member

Dilip Hiraman Bhadarge

Dilip Bhadarge is the Chief Financial Officer at Save The Children India with over 20 years of experience in senior management roles. A specialist in NGO governance, legal compliance, and financial management, he holds a Master’s in Financial Management. Dilip held the title of Director Systems at YUVA from July 1995 to October 2014.

Ex-Officio Member of the Governing Board

Roshni Nuggehalli

Roshni Nuggehalli is the Executive Director of YUVA. She has worked on issues of urban poverty, migration, informal economy and gender justice. Roshni has also worked with the child rights movement, facilitating children’s research and advocacy towards claiming their rights.

Minar Pimple – Founder

Minar Pimple is the Founder of Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action.

During his own youth, Minar foresaw the role of the youth in participatory planning processes of the city. This drove him to form YUVA, a youth-led social change organisation, in 1984. Minar went on to lead the organisation through its formative and growing years, when it took the form of a voluntary organisation that promotes human rights and sustainable development in India’s urban and rural poor. He served as YUVA’s CEO from 1984 to 2004.

Subsequently, Minar was the Regional Director of the United Nations Millennium Campaign where he led the operations in Asia-Pacific, Executive Director of People’s Movement for Human Rights Learning (PDHRE) and Senior Director, Global Operations, at Amnesty International.

Our Teams in Action

YUVA offers an accepting, inclusive space for individuals, helping them explore multiple ways in which they can further the organisation’s objectives. Transparent reporting and accounting systems are followed, to build trust in the process and help employees contribute better. Everyone is a leader here, charting their concrete path of growth with the support of their team members and others. YUVA’s strength has always been its diverse staff profile, and our policies are committed to protecting and upholding the rights of every gender identity.

The staff engage with each other freely across forums. Regular staff meetings help them engage with one another at a programmatic and organisational level. Half-yearly and annual reviews bring the people together, to share experiences, reflect on performance, and plan the way forward.