Board of Directors
Sakhi’s Board of Directors helps to drive the organization’s strategic programming, growth, and mission fulfillment. Our board actively assists in Sakhi’s development through regular meetings, project-based support, brainstorming, and sharing resources. The current board members enhance Sakhi’s work by bringing forward a diversity of professional and life experiences. Each of Sakhi’s board members serves 1-year terms which are renewable up to 6 years.
Santushi Kuruppu, Board Chair, brings to Sakhi, a deep dedication to social justice and human rights through community engagement and philanthropy. A Sakhi volunteer since 2006 Santushi has been an active advocate of Sakhi’s work through involvement in all aspects of the organization including stepping into the role of volunteer coordinator for two years. Santushi has a strong background in management and governance with over ten years of experience. She headed the publishing department at Dominion Bond Rating Service (DBRS) in Toronto, was the co-Director of Tinggal Interactive (a web communications company in Sri Lanka), and was the Regional Editor for wcities. In addition, Santushi initiated, negotiated, designed and implemented a comprehensive communications plan for UNICEF New England. Santushi completed her BA in Political Science at Bard College and received her Master’s of Science in International Public Relations from Boston University. Contact our Board Chair at: santushi.kuruppu@sakhi.org
Subadra Panchanadeswaran, Board Secretary, brings a deep commitment and zeal for gender and human rights that complements in Sakhi’s work and vision to end violence against women. A volunteer since 2006, Subadra helped to strengthen the impact of direct services work by working with staff to examine the intersections of violence and its impact on women’s and children’s health.
Subadra is a professionally trained social worker with many years of international experience of working with survivors of partner violence. She received her Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Maryland and completed her post-doctoral training at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the Adelphi University School of Social Work where her research focuses on gender-based violence, HIV/AIDS, and substance use. As an extension of her involvement with the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault, Subadra serves as the Research Consultant on an action-research project on the experiences of immigrant women in NYC funded by the Manhattan Borough President.
Neeta Rastogi Singh, Board Treasurer, brings a strong commitment and passion for both the South Asian community and women’s rights. She joined Sakhi as a volunteer in 2009 when she completed the training program. Her first exposure to Sakhi was at the University of Pennsylvania where she co-founded a support group for South Asian women students in order to bring awareness to the South Asian community about abuse and to provide support to survivors in the University community. Sakhi was an inspiration to the group.
Neeta has spent the bulk of her career in the investment industry at Goldman Sachs, General Atlantic Partners and MSD Capital. She has a Bachelor of Science in Economics and a Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Harvard University. Inspired by her work with Sakhi, she is very excited to continue her work on the Board of Directors and hopes to bring to bear her finance and operational background in her responsibilities.
Samhita Mukhopadhyay brings to Sakhi her passion for communicating around the issues that are impacting our lives and raising awareness around violence against women. Her work focuses on changing the way the media represents violence against women and the way South Asians are painted in the media. Samhita is the Executive Editor of Feministing.com and author of the book “Outdated: How Dating is Ruining your Love Life.” She has spent the last 7 years writing and speaking on race and media.
Juhu Thukral joins the Sakhi as a seasoned advocate for the rights of low-income and immigrant women, and is excited to focus on strengthening human rights programs related to these issues. Her work has focused on sexual health and rights, gender-based violence, economic security, and criminal justice.
Juhu is the Director of Law and Advocacy for The Opportunity Agenda. Prior to this, she was the founder and Director of the Sex Workers Project at the Urban Justice Center in New York City. Juhu envisioned and developed the SWP’s legal and programmatic initiatives around sex work and human rights, trafficking in persons, and economic security. She also raised the funding for the project and managed its partnerships with a diverse array of collaborating organizations. Additionally, she is a founding Steering Committee member of the NY Anti-Trafficking Network. Juhu has spoken extensively on these issues and authored articles that have appeared in American Sexuality Magazine, Feministing.com, Research for Sex Work, and SIECUS Report. She has served as an expert source for a wide range of media outlets, including the Washington Post, Boston Globe, New York Times, Women’s eNews, NPR, Democracy Now, Good Morning America, NY1, Village Voice, AlterNet and numerous other venues.
Rupal Gadhia brings passion and dedication for ending violence against women and empowering women to reach their full potential. She began volunteering with Sakhi on strategic and marketing projects in 2010. Rupal has spent most of her career in marketing and strategy roles at Booz & Company, Sara Lee, and Campbell Soup. She is currently the Director of Strategy and Research at The Brand Union, a WPP company. Rupal has her MBA from Harvard Business School and her Bachelors of Science in Industrial Engineering from Kettering University.
Namita Luthra joins Sakhi as an experienced civil rights lawyer working on women’s rights. For 6 years, she was a staff attorney at the ACLU Women’s Rights Project. There, she worked on a wide range of litigation, advocacy, and public education efforts to advance the rights of women and girls, including authoring a book called The Rights of Women and reports on criminal justice matters as well as successfully litigating gender discrimination jury trials in federal court. Prior to joining the Women’s Rights Project, Ms. Luthra was a staff attorney at the Office of the Appellate Defender. Before that, she was the Karpatkin Fellow at the ACLU National Legal Department in 1996. Ms. Luthra received her B.A. from Bryn Mawr College and her J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh, School of Law.
