Vision

For over two decades, Durba has been working with grassroots, national and international organizations in areas of education, social entrepreneurship, gender and sexuality and performing arts. She has also worked with a range of MNCs, specifically in the area of behavior-change. As a trained classical dancer and actor with international experience, she is passionate about building linkages of the world of arts with all of Mittika’s work for human development and social development.

Besides Mittika, Durba has co-founded and serves on the boards of Action for Excellence in Children and Women Foundation, Association of Commonwealth Scholars and Fellows and Commutiny-The Youth Collective. She is also a Commonwealth Professional Fellow.

Kavita brought her corporate sector experience and Management skills to the social sector in 2000 when she joined Pravah. In the course of her journey in the social sector, she contributed in strengthening youth development and participation in India through incubating and leading several national and international level programmes in areas of lifeskills and citizenship, teachers’ training and action learning. She then continued to work on issues of youth, gender and sexuality as a consultant to educational institutions as well as organizations in the public and social sectors in areas of training and project management until co-founding Mittika.

Detailing processes and structures and implementing them with precision is what drives Kavita. As a certified trainer, she has about 1000 days of experience in design and facilitation of workshops with a diverse range of people and organizations. She is also a certified ‘Science of Happiness’ trainer and coach.

Jaya has years of experience in applied theatre, youth work, ecoliteracy and peace education. She received the UNESCO Aschberg bursary to study Theater of the Oppressed with Augusto Boal, and is a WISCOMP Scholar of Peace Fellow.

As a theatre activist, Jaya has worked with communities across India and has developed several art- based public campaigns besides creating over 12 stage plays and 500 street plays. In the course of her career, she has also led the incubation process of Nehru Learning Centre for Children and Youth, convened the Performing and Fine Arts section of the National Framework for Teacher Training, and has acted as the CEO of the youth organization Pravah besides co-founding and serving on the board of several groups/ organizations including KLODB, Delhi By Foot and Jamghat.

Zubair has over ten years of experience in youth work and applied arts. With powerful theater skills, Zubair has been using the medium to engage with young people as well as with diverse government institutions, social sector organizations, educational institutions and private companies to develop and coordinate theatre based social campaigns and a range of training/learning programmes.

A founder member of Khoj Foundation, Zubair is also passionate about facilitating creative processes for diverse groups to explore history and heritage of the city of Delhi and using bike rides to campaign for different causes.

With a background in Medicine, Alka serves as Deputy Director at Blue Bells Group of Schools, Gurgaon, and also as a soft skills trainer and parenting coach. She has been working in the Health and Wellness Sector and educational institutions across the spectrum of organizational structures, and for the past 10 years, she has also been designing and facilitating workshops with various organizations, students, teachers, parents and doctors on Soft skills, Parenting, Gender sensitivity, Substance abuse, Bullying, Child safety etc. Alka has also acted as a Resource Person with notable organizations such as CBSE, Times of India NIE, Macmillan Publishers, Expressions India.

Gita has worked in the field of finance with various organizations in the private and the social sector for over ten years. A Bachelors in Commerce and a Diploma holder in Information System and Management, Gita’s passion lies in developing strong processes and systems that make accountability a culture within an organization.

Gita’s other passion is classical dance, and she has been awarded a Sangeet Visharad in Odissi.

When not managing accounts or dancing, Gita channels her energies to be a hands-on mother, and to recreate traditional Indian dishes in uncomplicated ways.

Aruna has over 20 years of experience as a cook and a cleaning help, and has worked in many places. At Mittika, she invests her spirit and energy to ensuring that everybody has a clean workspace and adequate nourishment to work.