Our Team

ASPIRE governance committee

Leading executives from the Veddis Foundation, the anonymous donor, and J-PAL provide strategic guidance and mentorship to ASPIRE.

Iqbal Dhaliwal

Iqbal Dhaliwal
Global Executive Director
J-PAL

Tithee Mukhopadhyay

Tithee Mukhopadhyay
Deputy Executive Director
J-PAL South Asia

Vikrant Bhargava, Trustee, Veddis

Vikrant Bhargava
Trustee
Veddis

Murugan Vasudevan, Chief Executive Officer, Veddis

Murugan Vasudevan
Chief Executive Officer
Veddis

ASPIRE management team

Our staff consists of policy and research experts who forge and maintain relationships with our partners, use rigorous research methods to measure progress, and disseminate our learnings to a wider audience.

Headshot of Viji Iyer

Vijayalakshmi Iyer
Unit Director - ASPIRE
J-PAL South Asia

Headshot of Sharanya Chandran

Sharanya Chandran
Director - Policy and Communications
J-PAL South Asia

Headshot of Saurabh Bhajibhakare

Saurabh Bhajibhakre
Director - Research
J-PAL South Asia

A middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair and a moustache is smiling warmly. He is wearing glasses and a grey checkered shirt, standing in front of a textured wall with peeling pastel green and beige paint.

Ruben Menon
Director - Finance and Operations
J-PAL South Asia

ASPIRE execution team

Headshot of Viji Iyer

Vijayalakshmi Iyer
Unit Director - ASPIRE
J-PAL South Asia

Alternate Headshot of Parikrama Chowdhry

Parikrama Chowdhry
Lead - Scale-ups
J-PAL South Asia

Headshot of Arushi Bedi

Arushi Bedi
Senior Policy Manager
J-PAL South Asia

Headshot of Anshuman

Anshuman Mruthunjaya
Senior Policy Manager
J-PAL South Asia

Vatsala M Sharma

Vatsala Misra Sharma
Policy Manager
J-PAL South Asia

Headshot of Trisha Pande

Trisha Pande
Policy Manager
J-PAL South Asia

Photo of Charul Dhingra, J-PAL South Asia

Charul Dhingra
Policy Manager
J-PAL South Asia

Photo of Medhavi Hassija, J-PAL South Asia

Medhavi Hassija
Policy Manager
J-PAL South Asia

Headshot of Rijul Grover

Rijul Grover
Policy Manager
J-PAL South Asia

Headshot of Dilshad

Dilshad Ahmad
Policy Manager
J-PAL South Asia

Headshot of Aravind Nair

Aravind Nair
Senior Policy Associate
J-PAL South Asia

Neha Jacob

Neha Susan Jacob
Senior Policy Associate
J-PAL South Asia

Sushant Pawar

Sushant Pawar
Senior Policy Associate
J-PAL South Asia

Headshot of Sachit Manoj Deshmukh

Sachit Deshmukh
Policy Associate
J-PAL South Asia

Sanjana Chettri Headshot

Sanjana Chettri
ASPIRE Fellow

Nidhi Arun_Headshot

Nidhi Arun 
ASPIRE Fellow

Dakshta Ahlawat

Dakshta Ahlawat
Communications Manager
J-PAL South Asia

ASPIRE support team

Headshot of Saptarishi Dutta

Saptarishi Dutta
Senior Communications Manager
J-PAL South Asia

Headshot of Getsie Immanuel

Getsie Immanuel
Senior Research Manager
J-PAL South Asia

Mayank Bhushan headshot at South Asia office

Mayank Bhushan
Research and Policy Manager
J-PAL South Asia

Headshot of Mantasha Husain

Mantasha Husain
Senior Research Manager
J-PAL South Asia

Sharvari Ravishankar headshot South Asia

Sharvari Ravishankar
Research Manager
J-PAL South Asia

Headshot of Murali Malikarjunan

Murali Mallikarjunan
Lead - State Partnerships (South India)
J-PAL South Asia

Headshot of Rajesh Tamadapally

Rajesh Tamadapally
Senior Policy Manager
J-PAL South Asia

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