Erinda Shah is the Founder and the Managing Director of MHFA India. She has completed her MASW and carries 18 years of experience in development field. She has been part of the national reform in decentralization and deinstitutionalization of mental health system in Albania, a WHO and Government of Albania initiative. For almost a decade, she has been engaged with various organization in India like UNICEF, ActionAid, The Banyan which has enriched her understanding on social issues in the country. She enjoys working on human rights, especially children.
Kaushik A. Palicha is the Co-founder and Director of MHFA India. He is a third-generation businessman and is on the management board of Ram Charan – a group with diverse interests in Distribution, Manufacturing, Food, Logistics Research. Kaushik actively contributes to social matters, through A.K. Palicha Foundation which focuses on education, the fight against hunger, and health to mention a few, reaching the most marginalized people of our society.
Dr. Alphonsa George is a clinically trained Psychiatric Social Worker and holds a PhD in Psychiatric Social Work from NIMHANS, Bengaluru. Her professional expertise lies in working with people having mental health problems, couples and families, homeless & destitute children and sexual & gender minorities. Having an extensive research experience through her academic pursuance, she brings in a lot of strength to the program with her fine research & training skills and willingness to embrace new ventures in the field of mental health.
Uma Suresh is a clinically trained Psychiatric Social Worker with over 20 years’ experience in the field of Mental Health. She has completed M.S.W. from M.S.University, Baroda and M.Phil in Psychiatric Social Work from NIMHANS, Bengaluru. She brings in a rich experience of work in community development, research as well as counseling & therapy with children & adults with mental health problems. She enjoys working with young people & has worked as a School Counselor for over a decade in a leading city school. Counseling, Training & working in the space of public mental health interest her greatly.
Dhatchayini A. is an Admin and Accounts Executive at MHFA India. She has completed MBA- Financial management at Madras University. She has been working previously with Bosch Limited (Manufacturing industry) in Chennai. Though mental health is a new stream of knowledge for her, the interest and enthusiasm she possesses in learning new things and her efficiency in working along with the team is appreciable.
Dr. Thirumaal is a homeopathic physician from Chennai. He has also completed his master’s in public health from University of Sheffield and has been working in various domains of public health since 2011. He has worked in international and national organisations like UNICEF, IIT Madras, and National Health Mission in the past. He currently works as Program Officer at MHFA India. His areas of interest in public health are mental health, health technology assessment and non-communicable diseases.
Prashanth Sridhar comes with his long 14 years’ experience for different brands in India. His enthusiasm for conquering new areas of expertise made him embrace MHFA India and contribute towards changing the reality of mental health in the country. He has in-depth experience in Brand Management, Brand Marketing & Servicing. Prashanth has completed his PG from Singapore Institute of Commerce. He is involved in social causes like child protection and safety, and he is passionate about art and culture.