Our Team
From its inception many individuals have joined hands with Manch to sustain its activities. Members of the Board of Trustees, team members who work in the field as well as counsellors have changed over the course of 40+ years of the existence of Manch. Mentioning all the names is not possible. Ms. Vidya Bal, Prof. Satyaranjan Sathe, Dr. Neelam Gorhe, Ms. Sadhana Dadhich, amongst others, were instrumental in the conceiving and nurturing vision of Manch in its formative years.
Vidyatai, as Ms Vidya Bal was known far and wide, was the first Chair of Board of Trustees of Manch. She worked consistently for women’s cause through Manch and other initiatives. She was a journalist by profession and was the editor of Stree magazine for many years. Later she started magazine ‘Milun Saryajani’ which is committed to the cause of gender equality. Until her death in January 2020 she continued to take active interest in Manch activities, and participated in meetings and programmes of Manch.
Team Members
Present Team of Nari Samata Manch
Dr. Vineeta Bal – Chair of the Board of Trustees 
Vineeta is a trained medical doctor with an MD in microbiology. She has worked as a scientist specialising in immunology until her retirement. Currently she is affiliated with IISER, Pune. Since 2017 she has been associated with Manch. 1983 onwards she was associated with autonomous women’s groups in Mumbai and Delhi. Women and health, women in science, science and society have been her areas of interest. She was a member of the Prime Minister’s task force for Women in Science under the Ministry of Science and Technology. She believes in pursuing feminist approaches to technology.
Ms. Neeta Shah – Secretary
Neeta has a masters degree in science, bachelors in education and an advanced diploma in French. For 35 years she taught in colleges and retired as a principal from Vijay Vallabh School. From very early days she is associated with Manch and was Chair of Board of Trustees too. She is very active in many progressive organisations such as Marathi Vidnyan Parishad, Sakhi Mandal, Aksharsparsha etc. besides earlier association with Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samitee.
Ms. Alka Potnis – Treasurer
Alka is a trained commerce graduate. She is associated with Manch since 1999. Initially her association was as an employee to look after accounts and administration but she grew into a Manch member with long association. Even after stepping down from formal responsibility of maintaining accounts she continues to provide inputs in financial decisions of Manch as its treasurer, in addition to engaging in other work and projects of Manch. In spare time Alka likes to read and is interested in classical music.
M
s. Sadhana Dadhich – Member
Sadhana is the immediate past Chair of Board of Trustees of Manch. She also is one of the founding members of Manch. As a trained physiotherapist, she worked in military hospitals. In the early days of Manch she provided counselling, and has been associated with many of the funded projects of Manch such as Samajdar Jodidar, work with Katkari community etc.. She conducted many gender sensitising workshops, among them some for grampanchayat members. Gender and environment is her area of interest and is currently also associated with Adivasi Sahaj Shikshan Parivar in Palghar district.
Ms. Shubhangi Deshpande – Member
Shubhangi has done her MA in English and Marathi literature and has been as insurance professional for many years until her retirement as a Divisional Manager. From 1986 she has been associated with Manch. Her social work since 80s onwards variously involved working with Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti, Prajit (a positive mental health group), Milun Saryajani etc. At present she is Treasurer of Aksharsparsh, a library with a difference, in Pune. She uses her professional experience to provide benefits of the government insurance schemes for socially underprivileged sectors.
Ms. Sunita Bhagwat – Member
Sunita is a graduate in mathematics and postgraduate in English. She was a topper in her MSW course. After doing various jobs for a few years she decided to associate herself with progressive social organisations. Thus began her association with Milun Saryajani as one of its local representatives. She has also been an executive committee member of Aksharsparsh, a library with a difference. Sunita engages with many projects run by Manch, and is a popular teacher during Manch’s outreach activities.
Ms. Preeti Karmarkar – Managing Trustee
A Social Scientist and Gender expert, Preeti is associated with Manch since 1998. She has worked in the areas of grassroot mobilization, project and policy development and management, investigative research with national and international exposure. She provides training/consultation for implementation of PoSH Act, works as an external member for many organizations and as a member of Local Committee for Pune district. Earlier she has worked at Women’s Studies Centre (University of Pune), YASHADA and BAIF Development Research Foundation. Currently she is pursuing her doctoral degree with reference to PoSH Act and challenges for the inclusion of the unorganised sector.
Mr. Jagdish Kasbe
Jagdish has been associated with Manch for over 12 years. He has done his masters in social work and has worked on different projects undertaken by Manch such as Samajdar jodidar (working towards sensitisation of the partner) in Bhor tehsil, gender sensitisation in adivasi areas of Maval and Mulshi tehsils. He has a lot of experience of working with communities and especially men with respect to gender sensitisation. He efficiently coordinates activities at the school and community level.
Ms. Sayali Oak-Deshpande
Sayali has a bachelor’s degree in human development and masters in counselling psychology. She is passionate about helping children and teenagers, especially those from underprivileged communities in urban areas, slums, and villages. She has successfully developed and implemented educational and counselling programmes for Pune Municipal Corporation and Zilla Parishad schools, collaborated with teachers and parents, and guided teenagers through various challenges. In a multi-centre project titled ‘Surviving Violence: Everyday Resilience and Gender Justice in Rural-Urban India’ coordinated by Queen Mary University UK, of which Manch was a partner, she contributed significantly as a research interviewer and field coordinator.
Ms. Punam Jungare – Counsellor
Punam has Masters in Clinical Psychology and is a professional certified therapist specialising in mental health and well-being. She also holds dual MBA, Finance-HR. From 2018 she has been working as a family counsellor at Manch’s ‘Speak Out and Counselling Centre’. She offers compassionate sessions addressing challenges in relationships, sexual abuse, child sexual abuse and domestic violence. In her multifaceted role as a psychosocial support expert, she focuses on capacity building and community support. As a resource person, Punam has conducted various workshops on behalf of Manch.
Ms. Kshitija Gosavi
Kshitija holds a Masters in Commerce and has more than thirty years of experience of working in the accounts and administrative work for NGOs, with a particular focus on maintaining project accounts. She has been overseeing the accounts and administration responsibilities at Manch for the past 5 years and has effectively streamlined various processes to align with evolving government notifications and requirements. Previously she worked with the organizations such as Swach, CEE, SNDT and WWF- India.
Ms. Pallavi Dhavale
Pallavi has recently completed a master’s degree in social work. She joined Manch in 2013. Before joining she had worked in the education sector with children. She helps the team in day-to-day functioning and provides support for administration of Manch. With qualification in social work she is now actively participating in the project activities of Manch planned for children. These involve training local women for their interaction with children in Maval and Mulshi tehsils, beyond administrative activities.