About Team
Founder
Dr. Komal Ganotra
Komal Ganotra is a thought leader, academician, practitioner, and facilitator in the areas of gender transformation, child protection, and safeguarding, with significant contributions to both programming and policy in these domains. She has held leadership roles in prominent organizations such as CHILDLINE India Foundation, CRY – Child Rights and You, and Reach to Teach.
Komal has played a pivotal role in advocating for child protection laws, making formal representations to Parliamentary Standing Committees and Finance Ministers to influence policies and budget allocations. She has also been a key member of national committees drafting child labor regulations and standards. As a leader and active contributor, she has shaped and contextualized safeguarding frameworks in India, working with notable institutions like the Founder Safeguarding Collaborative, Oak Foundation, Nutrition International, and Orbis International. Driven by her strong belief in the agency of children, Komal has developed an extensive body of work focused on socio-emotional learning, adolescent leadership, and life skills development.
Co-Founder
Sumit Kumar
With over 17 years of experience, Mr. Kumar has led strategic initiatives for corporations, government bodies, and international development agencies, specializing in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability. His expertise covers child protection, education, healthcare, skill development, gender, governance, and community programs across diverse regions. An alumni of IIT Kanpur, He is Master’s in Climate Finance and Sustainability and an expert of Climate Change, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Carbon Accounting efforts. He is also recipient of Wipro Fellowship for Organizational Design and Development where he has helped organizations in OD journey.
Sumit considers strengthening spaces wherever children moves with safeguarding systems and processes. He aims to contribute a robust program design, effective implementation, measure impact, helping organizations scale their programs and attract long-term investments for growth and success.
Dr. Gunjan Arora
Counsellor AND Trainer
Dr. Gunjan Arora is a professional counsellor, coach and trainer. Having done her doctoral studies in psychological counselling, she has worked extensively with people of all ages across years in schools, colleges, family and business set ups in Asia Pacific, Middle East and African region. Dr. Gunjan has significant professional focus on parenting, parent counselling and teacher education thus enabling pertinent and timely intervention for the mental wellbeing and development of children and adolescents.
Her work includes published psychometric instruments for adolescent assessment. Her expertise lies in developing programs and resources for empowering adolescents to meet emerging life challenges. Dr. Gunjan is also a Partner – Director at Add Value Consulting
Mahima Chauhan
Content and Documentation Lead
With over 18 years of dedicated work experience, she is a development sector professional specializing in monitoring and evaluation, impact assessment, and project management. Her career has been marked by a commitment to advancing Child Rights, encompassing areas such as protection, education, early childhood care, community development, health specifically in HIV/AIDS. She has effectively managed numerous projects addressing the needs of marginalized children, including tribal communities, victims of abuse, and children in alternative care.
Her expertise spans a wide range of skills, including proficiency in both quantitative and qualitative analysis, survey design, and knowledge management. She has collaborated with several prominent international and national NGOs and government agencies, including UNICEF, Save the Children, HPPI, NCPCR, DCPCR, and State AIDS Control Societies.
Samiksha
Content and Documentation Lead
With a Master’s degree in Human Development and Childhood Studies from Delhi University, she brings nearly 6 years of dedicated experience in the development and sports sector. Her professional journey includes working with esteemed organizations like Project KHEL, Childline India Foundation, and the Sports Authority of India. She has managed Childline services in Delhi, overseeing operations across seven districts to ensure child protection and welfare. During her tenure at the Sports Authority of India, she actively contributed to the formulation and execution of various training programs for different cadres, including Directors, Deputy Directors, Assistant Directors, and Coaches.
Her interdisciplinary background allows her to approach challenges with a holistic perspective.
Ms. Anuradha Mukherjee
Advisor Safeguarding
Anuradha is a social development consultant with more than 25 years of experience working with civil society organisations focusing on gender based violence, child protection, grant management and safeguarding. Anuradha’s portfolio of clients include Oak Foundation, Human Dignity Foundation, Global Fund for Children, Porticus, British Asian Trust, Laudes Foundation, UBS Optimus Foundation, GCPS Consulting among others. Anuradha is also the Senior Regional Advisor (South Asia) at the Funders Safeguarding Collaborative.
Mr. Shaiju Varghese
Advisor Case Management
Shaiju is a development professional with over 18 years of experience in strategic leadership across rural and urban settings. He has managed residential services for children in difficult circumstances at Don Bosco and served as the Head of CHILDLINE India Foundation’s Northern Region. He has worked extensively with the Panchayati Raj Institution, Child rights, child protection inclusive of Trafficking, Bonded Labour, Commercial Sexual Exploitation, and advocacy with the state governments. Shaiju has been instrumental in case management, rescuing children from labor, trafficking and abuse, providing survivor support, and ensuring legal follow-ups. He collaborates closely with state stakeholders at various levels and manages a vast network of partners while overseeing grant management and capacity building.