Our Team
Founders
Madhu Krishnan
Co-Founder, President
Class Lead
Madhu Krishnan
Madhu Krishnan is the co-founder and President of Inclusive World. She holds a Masters degree in Computer Applications and has worked in the high tech industry for over 18 years. At Inclusive World, Madhu heads strategy and planning and forges partnerships with local organizations. She also teaches Scratch Programming. Madhu enjoys spending time outdoors, hiking and running with her dog Jazzy and tending to her vegetable garden. Madhu believes that every human is born with innate potential, when tapped, helps them lead productive and content lives. Madhu founded Inclusive World to provide a place for individuals with different abilities to discover and grow their abilities and interests and set them on a path to lead happy lives.
Deepa Lakshminarayan
Co-Founder,
Advisory Board Member
Deepa Lakshminarayan
Deepa Lakshminarayan is a program manager in Silicon Valley. With a deep passion to make a difference to her community, she actively engages and spearheads local community events. Deepa felt the need to help youth who were not seen for their abilities, but always noticed for their disabilities. Along with the co-founders of Inclusive World, it has been her endeavor to create an environment where the potential of our differently abled young folks is nurtured. With the help of neurotypical teens and youth acting as their peer buddies, she has strived to create a safe environment for growth and friendships for our members. The peer group environment has opened up avenues for learning, acceptance, friendships and inclusion for all stakeholders, resulting in win-win outcomes at both ends.
Swapna Iyer
Co-Founder
Swapna Iyer
Swapna Iyer is an AI engineer, currently at Intel. She holds a masters degree in Electrical Engineering and coaches in Algorithms and programming with Interview Kickstart. She has found her calling in building software systems that change the world for the better. To bring the world of Computer Science to the differently abled youth and to foster in them creativity, self-confidence and everyday happiness of being able to make valuable contributions to the society they live in – is the reason why, Swapna helped setup Inclusive World. She remains a steadfast supporter and cherishes the time with all the members and families who receives the support of Inclusive World.
Leadership
Jaya Rupanagunta
Strategy Advisor
Jaya Rupanagunta
In her role as a Strategy Advisor, Jaya Rupanagunta supports the leadership team by undertaking strategic initiatives that help us inch closer towards our mission and tracks our progress in making that success a reality. Jaya has more than 20 years of experience in Banking and Financial Services as well as the non-profit sector in leadership roles across areas such as product management, business strategy and operations, FP&A and impact research & analytics. She appreciates different genres of music and dance. In her spare time, she tinkers in DIY arts & crafts and culinary experiments, loves the outdoors and cuddles with her kids and her dog Frodo.
Srividya Balaji
Secretary
Srividya Balaji, Secretary
Srividya has plenty of volunteering experience, having served at hospitals for the homeless, and run fundraisers and campaigns. She learnt early on in life from her parents, who lived a life of service (both of whom are doctors at government hospitals), that the greatest gift one can give is the gift of time. Srividya was drawn by Inclusive World’s mission along with the sincerity and commitment of the founders & volunteers. Srividya is currently the Global Head of Professional Services and Solution Architecture at Wrike. She loves outdoor activities like running & hiking, and also enjoys cooking, music, and dance.
Janaki Venkatasubramanian
Treasurer and MS Excel Class Lead
Janaki Venkatasubramanian, Treasurer and MS Excel Class Lead
Janaki is the financial backbone of Inclusive World. In her role as Treasurer, Janaki critically appraises the organization’s financial standing, policies and procedures, process controls, drives budgeting and reporting as well as our fundraising work. In addition, Janaki is a Class Lead for the intermediate MS Excel Classes. Her goal is to teach and enable students to fall in love with numbers and be able to organize data while learning the tools and techniques of MS Excel. Janaki comes with a decade long experience with the Financial Planning and Analysis group at Siemens where she is Head of Performance Controlling. Janaki has previously volunteered at temples and schools but inspired by the passion and vision of the founders of IW, she joined IW as her first formal volunteer work, where she is part of the Leadership team. When she is not crunching numbers, Janaki loves to travel, cook and to enjoy time with the family and her dear Nella (her dog).
Gowri Kuthanur
Board Member
Gowri Kuthanur, Board Member
Gowri leads Inclusive World’s efforts towards adopting Person Centered Thinking and in the development and implementation of building One-page profiles for all our members and volunteers. Gowri believes that person centered approaches and asset-based teaching have the power to unlock our members’ potential by focusing on their interest, abilities and talents. She is passionate about education and believes access to free flowing knowledge can change and empower all. After spending 15 years as a Software and Systems Engineer in the SF bay area, Gowri has been engrossed in the education field for the last eight years as a learning Coach/Instructional Aide for her own daughter, a differently abled youth at Inclusive World. Gowri keeps her passion for learning strong by continuing education through Coursera courses. She enjoys listening to music, reading, cooking and hiking with her family and friends.
Rohini Panchapakesan
Executive Director
Rohini Panchapakesan, Executive Director
As Executive Director, Rohini is responsible for planning, organization, and the direction of the organization’s operations and programs, towards Inclusive World’s strategic goals. She brings a wide range of management knowledge and experience from managing and leading a software development team and involvement with Chinmaya mission as a parent as well as a volunteer teacher to teach spirituality to elementary school kids. Her relentless pursuit of bringing the organization together in its journey makes Rohini a core asset on the Leadership team. Rohini loves to listen to music and go out on hikes with friends and family.
Geetha Gopalakrishnan
Co-Head, Arts & Crafts Small Business
Geetha Gopalakrishnan - Co-Head, Arts Crafts Small Business
Geetha Gopalakrishnan has been involved with Inclusive World since 2013 and currently she is the co-head of Arts & Crafts Small Business alongside Maria Hassonjee. She enjoys her time in class interacting with members and volunteers and feels ever so proud in seeing them grow over the years. As a Core team member, Geetha is also involved in many different aspects of the organization. Geetha has been a Bay area resident for the last twenty years and currently works as an IT Manager in a tech company. Committed to giving back to her community and believing in the power and spirit of volunteering, Geetha volunteers her time for few other non-profit organizations, besides Inclusive World. She enjoys running, cooking and yoga in her spare time and is an avid Marathoner.
Vidya Bharat
Advisory Board Member
Vidya Bharat - Advisory Board Member
Vidya has been a long-time patron and well-wisher and has been advising IW with various technology products since 2017. Vidya holds a Master’s in Computer Science and has been Head of Engineering in various technology companies. She also completed her PhD. in clinical psychology in 2019 and has switched careers and currently works as a clinical psychologist at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Vidya co-founded Cognimint along with a group of high school youth in 2020 to develop mobile applications for helping individuals in improving cognitive skills. Vidya likes singing karaoke songs with her family of three boys and friends over the weekend as well as going out for walks.
Gemma Godoy
Gemma Godoy
Hi, My name is Gemma and I’ll be working as Chief People Officer. I’m so honored and excited to be part of Inclusive World!
About myself, I’m from Mexico where I lived most of my life, and around seven years ago I migrated to Singapore; for the past two years I have the luck to call California my home, where I share my adventures with my kids: Jose (7) and Isabel (4) and my husband Fernando.
I studied Business Administration and a Master Degree in Business Administration and Organizational Development, knowledge that helped me to build my career in HR for more than 10 years in companies like Unilever and GM. In recent years I have been working in people empowerment and development, with the support of two coaching certifications centered in career and life development, accompanying people from Asia, Latin America and North America through their personal and professional journeys.
My hobbies are reading, baking and playing with my kids, exploring new places with my husband & friends, and visiting my family in Mexico as much as possible, and if any of these are accompanied by a good cup of coffee it’s even better!
Aarthi Ramaswamy
Aarthi Ramaswamy
During my break, I volunteered with different non-profit organizations, which brought me fulfillment. I have a passion for traveling, hiking, and playing chess in my free time. Meeting new people and learning new things brings me joy.
Life is an adventure, and I’m eager to continue embracing it. I’m excited to be part of “Inclusive world” and look forward to getting to know and working with all of you.
Core Team
Sangeetha Ram
Class Lead, MS Excel Level 1
Sangeetha Ram - Class Lead, MS Excel Level 1
Sangeetha Ram is the Class Lead for the basic Excel class. With an education background in Computer Science, Sangeetha works as a Travel Agent. In her free time she enjoys cooking, reading and hiking. She was intrigued by the organization’s work after seeing the greeting cards made by Inclusive World’s members and wanted to be part of the Inclusive World team. In the process of getting to know and supporting the organization, she learned how to tailor our programs to fit individual member needs and took on the pivotal role of leading the Basic Excel class.
Geetha Kannan
Class Lead, Arts & Crafts Small Business
Geetha Kannan - Class Lead, Arts and Crafts Small Business Program
Geetha Kannan is a class lead for Arts and Crafts Small Business program. Her background is in Physics and Computer Science. Geeta currently works as a Behavior Therapist which she feels helps her understand how to approach certain situations better. In her spare time, Geetha likes to read, do gardening and baking. Her journey began way back in 2012 as a volunteer in the Arts and Crafts Small Business Program.
Rucha Desai
Class Lead, Arts & Crafts Small Business
Rucha Desai, Class Lead, Arts and Crafts Small Business Program
Rucha Desai is a class lead for Arts and Crafts Small Business Program. Rucha holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering and a Master’s degree in Engineering (Software) from SJSU. She worked for 6 years at Sun Microsystems. In her free time, Rucha enjoys traveling with her family, cooking and reading. Rucha was introduced to Inclusive World through her daughters who volunteered with the organization for over five years. Enjoying watching our students and volunteers collaborate to create beautiful artwork, Rucha decided to take on a lead role to support our journey.
Shobana Narasimhan
Conversation Skills Program Co-Lead
Shobana Narasimhan, Conversation Skills Program Co-Lead
Nithya Nagarajan
Excel Basic Class Lead
Nithya Nagarajan, Excel Basic Class Lead
Nithya Nagarajan is joining us as a class lead for Excel Basic. Inspired by her daughter who volunteered with IW for the last 2 years, Nithya was moved by the dedication, enthusiasm, perseverance and empathy of our staff and volunteers. From a Finance and Accounting background she is a natural with number crunching and analysis, and has worked on Excel for a long time. Her hobbies include hiking and reading children’s story books.
Chandrika Hariharan
Python Class Co-Lead
Chandrika Hariharan, Python Class Co-Lead
Chandrika Hariharan, is volunteering with IW with the noble intent to give back to the community and set an example for her child. She will co-lead the Python class. Currently a Software quality assurance professional Chandrikal was a homemaker for 15 years actively volunteering in schools and scout events. She is an avid gardener and loves crochet, beading, and DIY crafts.
Madhu Krishnamurthy
Small Business Class Co-Lead
Madhu Krishnamurthy
Madhu Krishnamurthy
Debbani Kundu Naskar
Website Development Class Lead-Instructor
Debbani Kundu Naskar, Website Development Class Lead-Instructor
Debbani Kundu Naskar teaches our Website Development class. She chose to be a part of IW as volunteering and assisting others brings her immense satisfaction. She takes joy in witnessing students’ excitement when they successfully accomplish tasks and is humbled to make a positive impact on their lives.
Debbani is a versatile technology leader, presently working at Slack, with a strong passion for leadership and mentorship. In her leisure time, she cherishes moments with her husband and two children. Debbani also finds enjoyment in activities such as dancing, spending time with friends, and hiking.
Welcome Debbani!
Harshitha Venkatesh
Outreach Coordinator
Harshitha Venkatesh, Outreach Coordinator
Harshitha Venkatesh is our Outreach Coordinator. She started as a IW volunteer in 2012, driven by a desire to make a positive community impact. She’s held various roles within IW, including as a buddy volunteer, lead instructor, and summer intern.
Professionally, she is a Neuroscience Research Coordinator at Stanford, where she investigates cognitive, emotional, and social development, as well as brain mechanisms in typically developing children compared to children with math learning disabilities. She is also a skilled dancer. She says, “Through dance, I have learned countless skills of discipline, communication, creativity, and confidence that have helped me succeed.”! Welcome Harshitha!
Sateesh Vandavasi
Software Testing Lead-Instructor
Sateesh Vandavasi, Software Testing Lead Instructor
We welcome Sateesh Vandavasi, who is the Lead Instructor for SW Testing class. His motivation for volunteering is rooted in his love for teaching children. In the past Sateesh has taught visually impaired children at Samarthanam in Bangalore. He was also an active volunteer with RAFT, Debate clubs, AYSO, SHFB, and Krishna temple. He is known for his passion and kindness, always willing to mentor others in pursuing their aspirations. Sateesh works at Cisco as a DevOps Manager and enjoys BollyX Fitness dancing and is a constant learner.
Vrinda Bangari
Excel Intermediate Co-Lead
Vrinda Bangari, Excel Intermediate Co-Lead
Professionally, she works in the tech industry. She also volunteers as a teacher for middle school children at Chinmaya Mission, emphasizing her commitment to education. Vrinda also likes spending quality time outdoors with her family and enjoys activities like hiking and birding.
Welcome to Inclusive World Vrinda!
Sudha Rajagopalan
Lead, Software Testing
Sudha Rajagopalan (Lead, Software Testing)
Sudha Rajagopalan is driven by her passion for teaching and dedication to helping differently-abled children at IW. With two decades of experience in the tech industry, she is an active community organizer and also hosts Tamizh Suvai Radio.
Shanthi Venkatesh
Co-Lead, Scratch and Robotics
Shanthi Venkatesh (Co-Lead, Scratch and Robotics)
Vibha Subramaniam
Co-Lead, Small Business Program
Vibha Subramaniam (Co-lead, Small business program)
Vibha Subramaniam is eager to share her passion for mandala art, and aims to foster inclusivity and witness the transformative power of art. She has a Tech career at Cisco Systems and also enjoys listening to music, cooking and gardening.