About Us - Project Deep

About Us

At Project DEEP, we are shaped by freedom of thought, respect for every voice, and a shared commitment to truth. We value hope as a practice, equality as a principle, and teamwork as a way of being. Together, we create spaces where people can contribute fully, learn openly, and grow collectively. Our work is strengthened by a supportive ecosystem of people and institutions who walk alongside us, enabling deeper collaboration and shared purpose. These shared ways of working guide how we build relationships and move forward together.

Advisors

Amit Garg

Founder, Impact Lens

Miriam Laker-Oketta

Country Director, Innovations for Poverty Action

Saugato Dutta

Co-founder and Principal, Venn Advisors

Shailja Mehta

CEO, Tata Consultancy Foundation

Varun Aggarwal

Founder, Change Engine

Mentors

Nachiket Mor

Visiting Scientist, Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health (Former Board Member, Reserve Bank of India)

Nidhi Tandon

Social and Behavioral Statistician, University of Pennsylvania

Samir Shah

Executive Vice Chair & Co-founder, Dvara Holdings

Champions

Anand Bang

Advisor to the Chief Minister, Maharashtra

Nikunj Jhaveri

Chairman and Founder of Systems Plus Group

Soumitra Pathare

Director, Center for Mental Health Law & Policy

Sarath Davala

President, Basic Income Earth Network

Tanvi Bikhchandani

Co-founder, Tamarind Chutney

Founders

Muzamil Baig

Muzamil Baig

Muzamil leads fundraising, growth, and strategy in the organization. He has been in the social sector for the past four years, primarily working in the education space. He set up self designed spaces within vulnerable communities both locally and internationally, and scaled the program with a State government. Previously, he has completed his PGDM in Human Resource Management and has worked as a Learning and Development Professional in the private sector.

Pankhuri Shah

Pankhuri Shah

Pankhuri leads programs and research, across design and execution. She transitioned to the impact sector, after completing her international CFA and spending almost a decade in research and private sector consulting. In her early role at Dasra, she provided capacity building to NGOs and played a leading role in building the collaborative on labour rights.

Team

Anjali Anand

Community Work

Anjali Anand

Community Work

Anjali is a dedicated Development Professional with 9 years of experience working at the intersection of people, organizations, and systems to drive inclusive and sustainable change. She specializes in program and partnership management, with a core focus on gender-transformative approaches, human-centric design, and youth leadership. Throughout her career, Anjali has successfully led large-scale initiatives, including designing pilot cash transfer programs for GiveDirectly and managing youth leadership portfolios for USAID-funded projects.

Harsha Kavi

Knowledge Creation

Harsha Kavi

Knowledge Creation

Harsha operates as the Founders’ office, bringing his breadth of understanding across public policy and government advisory to the team. His experience spans public sector consulting, research, and program support. He has worked with organizations such as the National Institute of Urban Management (NIUM), the University of Bath, and NITI Aayog, contributing to projects across urban governance, social protection, financial frameworks for local bodies, and digital public services. He holds a Master of Public Policy from the Kautilya School of Public Policy, where he specialized in Governance and Society, and a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science from KL University.

Khushali Mehta

Marketing

Khushali Mehta

Marketing

Khushali drives Project DEEP’s design and branding, with experience as a Graphic Designer, Video Editor and a Photographer. Khushali's first engagement with Project DEEP was in Krishnapur. Her experience on ground, creating the video, drew her to the cause and built her curiosity about this space. And she loves that the model is universal, leaving no one out and can cater to almost any need people have. Hearing the stories from people directly drives her.

Meghana Mohan

Knowledge Creation

Meghana Mohan

Knowledge Creation

Meghana is Project DEEP’s resident statistics expert. Her work with research and data is foundational for the Knowledge Creation vertical. She comes with a background in economics and education, specializing in program evaluation, quantitative analysis, and data-driven insights to support equitable outcomes. Meghana holds a Master’s in Economics and Education from Columbia University, and brings experience in both research and applied policy work across nonprofits and academic institutions in the U.S.

Neelam Yadav

Policy Engagement

Neelam Yadav

Policy Engagement

Neelam Yadav supports our Policy Engagement in Maharashtra. She comes with an academic background in economic policy analysis, quantitative research, and data-driven insights. She has worked with institutions such as the Centre for Economic Studies and Policy at the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC) in Bangalore, and the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), contributing to research on international trade, development, and public policy.Neelam holds an MSc in Economics from the Symbiosis School of Economics and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from KET’s V.G. Vaze College of Arts, Science & Commerce.

Priyanka Parle

Knowledge Creation

Priyanka Parle

Knowledge Creation

Priyanka leads Project DEEP’s Knowledge Creation, with over five years of experience working at the intersection of policy research and action with nonprofits, governments and multilateral entities in India. She has also worked as a State Consultant with UNICEF's Social Policy and Social Protection team. She has previously led several projects with State governments in India involving social policies and public finances.

Ravi Ankush

Policy Engagement

Ravi Ankush

Policy Engagement

Ravi Ankush drives our Policy Engagement in Maharashtra, working on engagement and research. He is a development professional with experience spanning research, impact communication, program management, and stakeholder engagement across the social sector. Ravi has worked with institutions such as the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) and PRADAN, where he contributed to research design, evidence communication, and integrated rural development initiatives, including natural resource management and livelihood programs. He holds an MA in Development Studies from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Symbiosis School of Economics.

Shivangi Singh

Policy Engagement

Shivangi Singh

Policy Engagement

Shivangi Singh builds programs and engages in deep research for the Policy Engagement vertical with her experience of comprehensive community development, strategic execution and impact assessments. She also works across community programs, managing execution and evaluation. She is a public policy professional with over four years of experience across the development (Samaaj), government (Sarkaar), and corporate (Bazaar) sectors. She has worked with the American India Foundation, Ernst & Young, and grassroots organizations, contributing to research, grants, and program development & management. A graduate of the Indian School of Public Policy, she brings strong expertise in policy analysis, stakeholder engagement, and program design.

Swathi Murali

Policy Engagement

Swathi Murali

Policy Engagement

Swathi Murali leads Project DEEP’s Policy Engagement strategy and expansion, and brings extensive experience across financial inclusion, MSME development, and capacity-building initiatives. She has worked in leadership and consulting roles with organizations such as Haqdarshak, SELCO Foundation, Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME), LEAD at Krea University, Haqdarshak, and SEEDS, contributing to strategy design, enterprise support programs, and operations management. Her work spans ecosystem development for micro-entrepreneurs, strengthening MSME capabilities, and driving skilling and incubation initiatives across diverse communities. She brings over a decade of cross-sectoral experience in program management, stakeholder engagement, and entrepreneurship ecosystem strengthening, informed by her work across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.

Yatin Diwakar

Community Work

Yatin Diwakar

Community Work

Dr Yatin Diwakar brings 13 years of experience of working with and evaluating grassroots development agencies, to drive rigorous evaluation across community programs and policy engagement. He is a development professional and evaluator, who has worked on developing capacities within organisations for effective feedback systems for achieving impact. He closely works with professional networks of evaluators in India and at the Asia Pacific level. Before his doctoral studies, Dr. Diwakar served as a Prime Minister’s Rural Development Fellow, working closely with district administration in left-wing extremism-affected tribal district in Chhattisgarh to implement and evaluate flagship government programs. He has also contributed to technology-driven development solutions, managing projects that provided consultancy services to NGOs and government agencies.