Dr. Satyanarayana Ramanaik is a social scientist with over 20 years of impactful work in public health and developmental issues in India. His extensive engagement with marginalized communities spans a range of critical areas, including HIV/AIDS, Gender-based Violence (GBV), Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), Migration, Child Marriage, School Dropout, and Adolescent Health. He has been a pivotal force behind large-scale public health interventions and collaborative research initiatives in partnership with esteemed donors and academic institutions such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, WHO, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), University of Manitoba, the Government of Karnataka, and the Government of India.
A distinguished qualitative researcher, Dr. Ramanaik has contributed significantly to the field. His work has led to the publication of over 40 peer-reviewed articles in prestigious national and international journals. He holds a Ph.D. in Social Work, a testament to his scholarly commitment. His research journey was enriched by a fellowship from the HIV Research Trust, UK, which supported his doctoral research. His academic pursuit also led him to be a part of CIHR International Infectious Disease and Global Health Training Program (IID&GHTP), offered by the University of Manitoba, Canada.
Presently, as Thematic Lead for Adolescent Health at KHPT, Dr. Ramanaik spearheads efforts in Gender Based Violence, nutrition, menstrual hygiene, and mental health for adolescent girls in rural India. His exceptional journey blends academic excellence, ground breaking research, and dedicated community engagement, establishing him as a driving force in the realm of public health and social advancement.
R. Maithreyi is the Strategic Lead of the Adolescent Thematic at KHPT. Her work spans research and interventions, and draws upon the areas of childhood studies, gender, and the sociology of education. Maithreyi has a PhD from the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), and also has over 10 years of experience as practising child psychologist. She has several international conferences and publications to her credit, including two books – one on ‘Educating Youth: Psychosocial Regulation through Skilling’ (Sage Ltd), and a co-edited book titled ‘Modernity, Schooling, and Childhood in India: Trajectories of Exclusion’(Routledge Ltd).
Navnita Jadhav is a Public Health Professional with over seven years of experience. Her source of inspiration is her Dadi (Grandma), who worked for women and their reproductive health. That inspiration drove her to pursue Nursing and choose Public Health to serve the community.
She has worked in different areas of Public Health such as Maternal and Child Health, Adolescent Health, Immunization and currently in Tuberculosis. She has previously worked in KHPT as Project Implementation Lead for Private Sector Engagement-NTEP through Medical Colleges.
She began her journey as Research Coordinator for an Early Childhood Development Project sponsored by Grand Challenges Canada under the Saving Brains Inititative at Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences (DMIMS). These projects exposed her to the vulnerabilities of community in our civilized world. She dove into Child Health, Maternal Health and Mental Health in those three years. She also conducted qualitative research sponsored by Bournemouth University on “Lifestyle and Wellbeing of Nepali Immigrants”. During her research career, she was awarded the“Women Deliver Young Leaders Award”.
She has worked with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Immunization as a Project Officer- Operations to implement the Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN) and CoWIN Application in Mumbai and Haryana.
She also holds a Masters degree in Data Analytics.
Sunil Babu Mekale is a development professional with 15 years’ experience, specifically in Public Health, Nutrition, HIV, Migration, Child Rights, research, gender, and adolescent issues. He has previously worked with the prominent organizations in India, including Plan International, UN Women, PHFI, CRY, India HIV/AIDS Alliance, and SPYM, in nine states.
He holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), a Master’s in Population Sciences and Health Policy from the International Institute of Population Sciences (IIPS), and has passed the National Eligibility Test. He is working on a Ph.D. thesis on the topic of Women in Sex Trade: Exclusion, Identity and Migration. He has written four research papers published in international journals. In 2015, he was awarded scholarship and represented the Government of India as a young researcher and was part of the Indian delegation at London School of Economics, and was at Oxford University as an Indian Research Scholar.
Traveling and writing poetry are his hobbies. He authored a book in Marathi titled ‘Chatura’ in 2017.
Apurva, currently works as an M & E officer in the Adolescent Health thematic of KHPT. She has pursued her Master’s in Economics from University of Hyderabad and has over five years of working experience as a researcher in Economics. She enjoys reading non-fiction books and engages with social concerns largely through a structural framework.
Prakash Marpady is a social researcher and development practitioner with more than 15 years of experience in teaching, research and project management. He has largely worked with HIV/AIDS, Tribal Welfare, Adolescent Health and CSR initiatives. A strong believer in a people-centric approach, and deeply anticipate change at the structural level for an inclusive society. He has experience in using participatory methods for program planning, monitoring and evaluation.
He obtained his Master’s in Social Work, M.Phil in Development Studies and Ph.D in Social Work from Mangalore University. He was the recipient of a Junior Research Fellowship from UGC, New Delhi. He has published research articles on social exclusion, women empowerment, human rights and tribal health. He is interested in reading emancipatory literature and authored a book on ‘Community Organisation and Social Action in Social Work’.