ITfC Team

Anand Desai has rich and varied experience in Corporate and Development sectors. He worked in the field of Information Technology for 25+ years and has rich experience in solution architecture, program delivery and implementation of IT Solutions to solve complex business problems. He has been working in the development sector since 2000. He has always been passionate about improving the quality of education. At IT for Change, Anand’s work focuses on meaningful appropriation of digital technologies for social change – specifically in education sector. He is responsible for the stakeholder management and program management for the teacher education programs. Anand also manages the HR function at IT for Change.

Outside of work, he loves reading, traveling, and listening to music – mainly old songs.

Anita Gurumurthy is a founding member and Executive Director of IT for Change where she leads research and advocacy on data and AI governance, platform regulation, and feminist frameworks on digital justice. She serves as an expert on various bodies – including as co-chair of the T20’s digital transformation working group on platform governance and has been part of the High Level Committee of the NetMundial+10 under Brazil’s leadership , the UN Secretary-General’s 10-Member Group on Technology Facilitation, and the Paris Peace Forum’s working group on algorithmic governance. Anita is also a Board member of global justice organizations such as the ETC Group, and University centers such as the Tech & Policy Lab at the University of Western Australia, and International Development and Social Change program of Loughborough University. Anita contributes regularly to academic and media spaces.

Anupama holds charge of overall operations of IT for Change’s integrated approach to women's empowerment and education project, Prakriye. She is responsible for strategic planning, project implementation, team management, operations and monitoring of the field unit in Mysore.

Anupama holds a PhD from Barathiar University, Coimbatore in Community Nutrition and has more than 20 years of experience in programme and project management. In the past, she has worked in areas like microfinance, water and sanitation, nutrition, livelihood, gender issues, women empowerment, HIV/AIDS etc. in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

She is a nature lover, and likes gardening and traveling.

Anusha Hegde is Project Associate at IT for Change. She has a Master's degree in Development from Azim Premji University, and has previously worked in the IT sector for more than three years before moving to the social sector. Her areas of interests include gender-based rights, queer politics and rights of sexual minorities, community engagement and urban sustainability. She takes care of training modules and has a flair for creative designing. She is one of our in-house producers and editors of broadcast quality audio. She is the point person for many of our networking needs and holds the ball when it comes to outreach with a variety of stakeholders.

When not working, she spends time immersing herself in science and fantasy fiction, ruminating on life-lessons from Calvin and Hobbes, and training for running marathons.

Anusha is involved in the design and implementation of student and teacher education programs at IT for Change. Her interest areas include the content, curriculum, and pedagogy of mathematics and science. Her keenness to work in the social sector drove her to pursue an MA in Education at Azim Premji University after a three-year stint in the corporate sector. She holds a bachelor's degree in engineering from Visveshwaraya Technological University.

She has trained in Carnatic music for over a decade and also has a penchant for singing other genres of music. She enjoys photography, food, and watching movies and TV shows.

Aparna’s work focuses on positively affecting gender-based risks faced by adolescent girls from marginalized communities, helping them build a positive self-image, and steering them towards a safe and secure adulthood. Her work encompasses offline and online safety issues of adolescent girls. In her work she designs empowering educational processes and uses many digital content formats. She has been in development sector since 2001 and is passionate about the intersections of gender dynamics with empowerment of adolescents, young adults and women.
She keeps a conscious eye on following pop culture to stay in sync with the changing interests of young people so that she can shape subversive discourse based on these. She is a fun person with penchant for humour!

Arjun is responsible for providing technical support and training for teachers and teacher educators on integrating ICT in educational programs. He has about 10 years of teaching experience in Polytechnic and Pre-University colleges at Udupi. Apart from his subject Computers, he has trained NDA/CA/CS aspirants in General Knowledge and Current affairs subject. He has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from NMAM Institute of technology, Nitte, and is pursuing a master's degree in information security.

He has written 400+ articles in various Kannada front-line newspapers and journals that include articles related to social, humorous, students’ talent, stories etc. In his spare time, he likes to read and explore new places, and video edit historical documentaries.

Asha’s work at IT for change helps implement the projects related to Education. She is involved in providing academic and technical support to Teachers. She is responsible for creating educational resources in Science. She is responsible for Working in programs relating to ICT's in education, with teachers and teacher educators.

Her belief that Equipping Teachers is the key to bringing positive transformation within the school system, motivated her to work in Teacher education sector for a period of 7 years in different projects relating to capacity enrichment of teachers in science content and pedagogy. She is keen to undertake research studies in teacher education carefully examining the current problems and issues.

Chandani Begum has over five years of experience in the social sector. Her areas of interest include gender-based rights, education, youth and women's rights, community engagement, and slum area's sustainability. She has concerns about working towards creating positive change and a more equitable society within the Muslim community, and believes it is essential to address these issues to foster inclusive, gender equality, and social progress. Chandani has a Master's degree in Development from Azim Premji University.

Chandra provides technology leadership and support for projects at IT for Change. Previously, he has worked in the corporate sector implementing technology solutions for global enterprises, specializing in user-centric software design. He holds a Master's degree from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. His interests outside of work include studying ancient writing systems, historical linguistics and cartography.

Chinmayi is a seasoned communications professional with a multidisciplinary approach to her work. She has a deep-rooted passion for community engagement, having worked alongside rural women, adolescent girls, and tribal communities among others. This hands-on experience in the field shaped her understanding of social change and storytelling. An educator and a trained filmmaker with extensive experience in community media and short documentaries, she combines her visual storytelling skills with a strong foundation in design. Chinmayi is an alumnus of the National Institute of Design. She’s a birdwatcher, loves being outdoors and is a serious film buff.

Deepak has worked in multiple tech startups, and is driven by passion for building technology with a societal focus. He has also been a founder at a recruitment startup in Bengaluru. Prior to his stints at startups, Deepak interned at a leading Ed-tech platform where he played a pivotal role in the Marketing and Product Reach team. Deepak actively keeps up with technology trends, especially in AI, blockchain, and quantum computing and his passion lies in leveraging technology to make a meaningful impact on society. Deepak has a Bachelor's degree in Computer Applications, and when not working, channels his creativity into scriptwriting for movies and songs.

Eshani is a lawyer by training and a Research Associate at IT for Change. As a policy researcher, her work has been focussed on critical analyses of government technologies in India, particularly in their early stages of development. This includes examining models of data ownership, community governance frameworks and privacy-related harms. She has also worked on themes of platform governance, Big Tech regulation and e-commerce policies in India.

Girija works on IT for Change's education-related projects. She contributes to the Mathematics classes for the Teachers' Communities of Learning program. She also teaches subject specific tools to teacher educators along with supporting other projects under the education team.

She completed her Master’s degree in Computer Application from CMR Institute of Technology, affiliated to Vishvesvaraya Technology of University (VTU), Belgaum. She also holds a Bachelor's degree in Education from Vijaya Teachers College, affiliated to Bangalore Central University, Bangalore. She has taught programming languages at the Pre-University College of Education before this.

Gurumurthy Kasinathan is one of the founders of IT for Change. He has 34 years of experience in the development and corporate sectors. His experience also includes stints in the Government and in Academia. Guru leads projects in the area of education, including in research, demonstration projects, systemic teacher education reform and policy advocacy. His areas of expertise include ICT integration in school education, teacher education, Educational Leadership and Free and Open Digital Technologies. He was earlier with Azim Premji Foundation, where he was deputed to work in the ‘Policy Planning Unit’ in the Karnataka education department. He has been a visiting faculty at TISS Mumbai and Hyderabad for their 'Education Leadership and Management' and "ICT and Education" courses. Prior that, he was with i-flex solutions (now Oracle Financial Software Services) and A.F.Ferguson Management Consultancy Services.

Hari is a multidisciplinary visual artist passionate about storytelling and social justice. He blends skills in filmmaking, film editing, graphic design, photography, and illustration to craft compelling narratives that amplify marginalized voices. His collaborative work with Indigenous communities and grassroots organizations has deepened his understanding of cultural preservation, human rights, and advocacy.

A practicing filmmaker and media advocate, Hari’s projects include documenting lived experiences, with one of his documentaries shortlisted for the PSBT Doc Commune grant. He holds an MA in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, and a BA in sociology.

Beyond work, he enjoys watching Taiwan new-wave cinema, filming mundane life, and reading about culture and art.

Harish is responsible for coordinating technology training and system administration. He coordinates conducting workshops for NGOs, educational institutions and government officials on Free and Open Source Software platforms and tools, supports workshops on integrating ICT in education, and provides tech support for teachers' trainings as part of the organisation’s education-related work. He has completed his Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering, affiliated to VTU.

His non-working hours are dedicated to family and friends. He is a certified International Karate Player and has done some short Kannada movies. Other areas of interests include football, cricket, cooking, dancing, music, development of applications and networking.

Harisha has a Diploma in Rural Development and has completed his Bachelor's degree from KSOU. He primarily takes care of the Namma Mahithi Kendras (community telecentres) of IT for Change. He also contributes to community media strategy and is a core player in field implementation of projects.

He is keenly interested in providing support to the underprivileged in the areas of health and education. He works as volunteer with some local associations.

Karthik is a technology enthusiast who is responsible for the design and implementation of adolescent girls' empowerment programme at ITfC. His interests in gender, education, social justice and technology brought him to the development sector. He holds M.Tech degree in Electronics and M.A in Kannada literature, which have come together in his work as translator of educational resources. A free and open source enthusiast, he's contributed to various localisation projects in Kannada like Signal App, Moodle. He is one of our in-house producers and editors of broadcast quality programmes.
He's a cinephile interested in literature from around the world & part-time poet.

Mustafa leads the program team at IT for Change. His role is to bridge finance and management to facilitate smooth operations in the organization. He has over 20 years of experience in core accounting, financial analysis, statutory matters, costing analysis, and process management. As well as working with large platforms, he has experience in different industries. He has completed a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Karnataka University and completed 3 years of CA articleship.

He enjoys playing badminton and chess, and he is also interested in science and technology.

Mangala is part of community media team of Prakriye where she plays a key role in audio and video editing, film-making, script writing and screening. She has worked with IT for Change for over a decade.

Prior to this, Mangala worked in the media industry for two years. She has a Bachelor's degree and a diploma in Journalism (Creative Media).

Her hobbies include reading, writing and watching the news.

Marzia is a teacher and teacher-educator who has worked in private and government schools and NGOs over the course of her career in the education sector. Her passion for education took shape while pursuing a Diploma in Elementary Education and then an MA in Education from Azim Premji University. Her areas of specialization and interest lie in curriculum and pedagogy of languages and social studies, multilingual education, peace studies, teacher professional development, research, and advocacy on the intersections between education and technology and its ability to empower or disempower different sections of society.

When she is not at work, she spends time with friends and family (including an indie dog named Tara). She also likes riding motorcycles, playing basketball, reading and travel.

Meghana is a B.Com graduate from Bengaluru University. She has also completed her CA Articleship during which she handled a diverse range of clients including educational institutions, construction companies, retail/wholesale businesses, and non-profit organizations. She has experience in accounting, Auditing, Taxation and Financial Reporting. Adaptability, management and leadership qualities, problem-solving skills characterize her attitude. Traveling, singing, and listening to music are some of her favorite things.

Merrin’s research interests broadly lie at the intersection of law, technology and society. Her research works so far are primarily focused on intermediary liability, social media accountability, and privacy and autonomy implications of algorithms. At ITfC, she works on online gender-based violence and social media regulation from a feminist perspective. She graduated in law from NUALS, Kochi and thereafter pursued LLM in Law and Development at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru. Previously, she has interned with organizations like the Centre for Internet and Society, Software Freedom Law Centre and Project 39A.

In her spare time, Merrin enjoys reading fiction, watching movies, and taking a nice long walk.

Nancy A Rebello is a teacher by profession, having worked in 3 private schools in Bangalore as an English Teacher. Apart from being a Commerce and Education graduate, she is a trained mental health practitioner. She is passionate about education and enjoys engaging with students in the classroom. She likes to pickup on local languages and accents where ever she goes and wants to travel across the world to experience different landscapes, cultures, traditions and food. She is a dog lover and in her free time she likes to watch thriller movies and web series, dance, play board and card games, likes to cook new dishes, make crafts and listen to trendy songs.

Nandini's work largely focuses on research and policy advocacy in the domains of digital rights and development, and the political economy of women’s rights in the information society She is part of the organisation’s advocacy efforts around the 2030 development agenda on issues of ‘data for development’ and digital technologies and gender justice. She also provides strategic support to IT for Change’s field centre, Prakriye. This includes training programmes for women’s rights groups on adopting digital tools in their field practice, and critical ‘education for empowerment’ for rural adolescent girls. She has a Master's in Urban and Rural Community Development from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

Read Curriculum Vitae here.

Natasha contributes to work on platform economies at IT for Change. Previously an academic, with a PhD in Social Science from Syracuse University, Natasha's long standing interests lie at the confluence of food, gender, the care economy, science and technology, the environment, and climate change. She also has a particular interest in ethnography-based pedagogy and enquiry. Prior to joining IT for Change, Natasha has held positions at the Office of the Commissioners for the Right to Food, as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Nanyang Technological University, and as faculty at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. She has also contributed in an advisory and consultancy capacity for non-profit and academic-led projects on food and social security.

Niranjana works with the adolescent girls’ education programme (Hosa Hejje Hosa Dishe) in Bengaluru, and supports the women’s education and empowerment programme (Prakriye) in Mysuru. Her professional interests lie at the intersection of multimedia, languages, education and community engagement. Previously, she has worked in editorial roles, and also dabbled with design. She has an MA in Comparative Literature from The English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Hyderabad, and a BA Honours in Communication Studies from Mount Carmel College, Bengaluru. Outside of work, Niranjana loves to sing, read, write and watch films.

Nithin has extensive experience in graphic design, video editing and VFX, and has worked for several TV channels and film production houses. He also has experience managing IT systems and networks at a large higher education institution in Karnataka. He brings together his diverse experience to contribute towards ed-tech projects at IT for Change. He has keen interest in computer networking, servers and Cloud infrastructure. In his spare time, he likes to paint and write stories.

Prasanna is the Office Administration Assistant at IT for Change. He is in charge of all work related to office maintenance, providing administrative support to directors and staff - mainly the admin and accounts officers.

Before joining IT for Change, he worked at Prakash Motors and Primus Kabsons.

Prasanna is a social media fan and an excellent cricket, volleyball and chess player.

Punith has completed his Bachelors in Arts (Kannada) from Mandya Autonomous College. The zeal to teach led him further to a Bachelors degree in Education from Sri Sarvajna College in Bengaluru where he has equipped himself with the knowledge and skills to excel in the field of education. He graduated as the best outgoing student-teacher from the institution.

Punith has a vibrant personality with interests in acting and poetry. His involvement in notable theaters around Karnataka showcases his passion for the performing arts. Additionally, his ability to write poems, whether based on personalities or nature, adds another dimension to his creative pursuits.

Rakesh is responsible for technology support for the organisation's field project implementation, system administration, and coordination of the technical support team. He designs and supports educational institutions, non-profit organizations, and others to use and implement different Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) platforms and tools for their work. Among his services are designing and conducting workshops for teachers and teacher educators about integrating ICT into education. He specializes in configuring and providing customized Ubuntu GNU/Linux distributions to educational institutions, teachers, and teacher educators.

Outside of work, he enjoys exploring FOSS tools, playing cricket, and listening to music.

Reha contributes to work related to teacher professional development, curriculum design, and project management. During her graduation, she started an NGO aimed at improving the lives of underprivileged children - with education and health being the major focus areas. She was also part of the project Shape Colombia where she helped develop a curriculum for and teach English as a Foreign Language in public schools in Colombia and Peru.
To better understand the design and implementation of alternate ways of supplementing government school education, Reha went on to pursue MA in Education from Azim Premji University.
Reha is also passionate about theatre and has acted in several independent productions and performances at several theatre festivals across India.

Renuka works as the Kalaburgi district coordinator for the adolescent girls' education program at IT for Change. She is very interested in participating in social service activities, with particular focus on education for girl children. She loves working with children and has previously worked with a non-profit in the area of child welfare. She has completed her Masters degree in Social Work from Karnataka University, Dharwad and has won recognition for her social service activities. She is interested in singing & playing the harmonium.

Rudraksh's academic and professional pursuits lie at the confluence of technology, human rights, political economy, and post-colonial studies. His professional background includes advising clients on complex issues surrounding data protection, artificial intelligence, internet governance, cloud computing, and cybersecurity. During law school, he engaged in technology, law, and media-related work through internships at think tanks, law firms, litigation chambers, and through his academic work. As a fellow at the Institute for Internet & the Just Society, he conducted research on digital constitutionalism. In his free time, he enjoys writing about cinema and culture, and keeping up with the latest ideas through podcasts.

Sadaf oversees responsibilities in communications, internal knowledge management, and editorial functions. Specializing in impact-oriented feminist communication, she leads tech policy outreach and community building for the organization. She also provides support in the design, content, and editorial processes for the online magazine Bot Populi.

She holds a Master’s degree and an MPhil degree in Sociology from Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi. Her work has been published by Aleph Book Company, Himal South Asian, Scroll, and among others.

Outside of work, she likes going on walks aimlessly and taking pictures of trees.

Sadhana has a background in law, and holds a master’s degree in international law and development from Leiden University. At IT for Change, she researches the digital economy, with a focus on labour and worker well-being, algorithmic management, the political economy of data, Big Tech regulation, and digital trade. On these issues, she works closely with global and regional coalitions, and engages with national, regional and multilateral policy consultations. She takes a keen interest in the multilateral governance of the digital economy, and in exploring how community and people-led alternatives can help build a just and inclusive digital economy, while challenging the corporate capture of digital spaces.

As part of the Prakriye project, Shabharisha's primary role is to provide technical support at the community-run telecenters. He also provides technical training to intermediaries at our information centers. He is passionate about free software and involved in capacity-building workshops. He also contributes to film-making including editing and camera work.

He has trained in hardware and networking from Jetking. He has completed his Bachelor's degree from the Karnataka State Open University (KSOU).

He likes to explore mapping on OpenStreetMap and gaming.

Salma contributes to the language education programs at IT for Change. After completing her B.Ed and Ph.D in Urdu, she gained experience first as a high school teacher and then as an Urdu resource person and teacher-educator at Azim Premji Foundation. Salma is a lifelong learner who aspires to have a positive impact on the lives of teachers and students. She believes in going beyond subject knowledge to inculcate values and contribute to the holistic development of young minds. Her areas of interest include reading, writing and exploring Urdu literature. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and spending time with family.

Sherina Poyyail has worked at the intersection of research, communications, and journalism for over seven years, with a focus on gender, tech, and health. She has worked as a correspondent for Re:Set, YourStory, and Yahoo!, and her work appears in Arre and FirstPost, amongst others. Her most recent research stints were at the Centre for Internet & Society and Johns Hopkins University. Sherina holds a degree in Media Studies from Symbiosis University and a master’s degree in public policy from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai.

In her spare time, she is an avid consumer of caffeine, trashy reality television, and crime documentaries.

Shivangi Narayan is a sociologist/anthropologist of technology. She has a career spanning a decade where she looked at the implications of algorithmic governance, especially in the context of the Police, and its impact on the marginalised. Her book, "Predictive Policing and the Construction of the Criminal - An Ethnographic Study of Delhi Police" was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2023. She has an MPhil and PhD in Sociology from Centre for Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. At IT For Change, she is interested to look at the wider areas of AI and data governance and of the digital, both at the national and global level.

Prior to being a researcher, Shivangi was a tech policy journalist in Delhi and an electronics and communications engineer. She is interested in music and wants to become a trained Hindustani Classical Singer one day.

Shreeja is involved in community media production at IT for Change. As one of the core trainers of Prakriye, she plays a key role in building gender awareness among adolescent girls and boys, women and line department officials. She is also responsible for implementation of the project and facilitation of community meetings.

Shreeja has a Master’s degree in Women's Studies from the University of Mysore and a diploma in early childhood education.

Her creativity is channelled towards designing eco-friendly handicrafts. She is also an expert in making the best out of waste.

Shreyas is a budding facilitator, enthusiastic photographer and our in-house audio editor who has a very keen interest in sound design. He takes care of school-related brass tacks and is part of the resource preparation for various endeavours. He has conducted workshops on the free and open source editing software Audacity with various audiences from and around the state. He is an avid learner of new technologies. He spends his free time learning about new automobiles and listening to music from all over the world.

Sindhu's areas of interest include gender, climate change, food and advancements in technology. Prior to joining IT for Change she has worked at the Karnataka State Rural Livelihood Promotion Society (KSRLPS) and in the Good Business Lab (GBL). At present she is working on Women in Gig Platforms at IT for Change. Sindhu has a Masters degree in Public Policy and Governance from Azim Premji University.

Somashekhara contributes towards community media production and field implementation of the Prakriye project. He is also involved in capacity building of various stakeholders and mentoring the infomediaries of telecenters. He has completed his Bachelor’s degree in Education.

Somashekhara has written many newspaper articles and clips about gender, governance and education. He is keenly interested in politics.

Sowjanya brings with her an experience of over half a decade and expertise in multiple areas of Finance. She has worked in key areas of Accounting, Auditing, Financial Reporting and such, spanning a wide variety of industries. Sowjanya holds a Master's Degree in Finance from Visvesvaraya Technological University, and has also completed CA - Inter (IPCC).

Her favorite pastimes include reading, pencil sketching and poetry.

Susan Sreemala supports communications, internal knowledge management and editorial work. She also works on outreach for Bot Populi. Susan holds a Masters degree in Law, Politics, and Society from Ambedkar University, Delhi and a Bachelors degree from St. Stephen's College, Delhi in Political Science and Economics. She has previously been a part of the communications team at Actionaid Association (India) and worked as a researcher at the Sarai Programme, CSDS. She has an interest in the intersections of law, media, and technology. Outside of work, she enjoys being a bother to her sleeping cat and consuming all kinds of media.

Tamilarasi maintains the cleanliness and positive vibe of our office premises. She has two children, Stephen and Sudha-Mary.

Tilak is an expert videographer, and provides administrative assistance to the Prakriye team, alongside taking care of logistics. He is also our official driver in Mysore.

He is involved in farming and loves to go on long drives.

Uma works in the Administration department in the organization. Uma is responsible for the administrative support for the employees and Directors. Uma has completed her Bachelor's in Science from Tumkur University.

Her other areas of interests include music and reading books.

Valli makes fabulous lunches for the team and keeps our tummies happy. She has two children – Prithviraj and Pramod.

Viraj supports the research teams on project monitoring, tracking, and documentation. Their goal includes developing robust feminist frameworks of digital justice, and assisting in the implementation of these frameworks through policy and advocacy work. They have a background in sociocultural anthropology, having completed their undergraduate degree in the same from Reed College. They were previously a period fellow with Uninhibited, implementing sexual and reproductive health programming among adolescent girls and women in the tribal belt of Dewas, MP. In their free time, they enjoy reading and working on their latest craft project. They can often be found petting street cats.

Vivek's work at IT for Change is focused on Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) activities. He is an NISM certified Social Impact Assessor who also holds a master’s degree in Social Work from St. Joseph's College, Bengaluru. With five years of experience in the social sector, he has worked in areas such as policy research, state-level implementation, social impact assessment, and CSR consulting. He is particularly interested in the monitoring and evaluation of social sector programs to ensure their sustainability for the future.
He mostly takes a break from work by watching comedies or thrillers with people close to him.

Yogesh is responsible for the design, development and maintenance of the cloud infrastructure. He is a keen Free and Open Source enthusiast and supports the expanding use of FOSS at IT for Change. He is an expert in various FOSS tools, including those that can be used for educational projects. He collaborates with online communities to improve the FOSS applications that are used in the organization across projects.

He is an avid contributor to the localization of most commonly used FOSS applications to Kannada. He also actively contributes to open collaborative projects like OpenStreetMap and Wikipedia. He has completed his Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the Government Engineering College in Hassan, affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), Belgaum.