Our team

Varsha Venugopal

Co-Founder

Varsha leads various activities across Suvita, including strategy, partnerships, communication and fundraising.

Varsha has more than 15 years' experience of setting up and running development projects and programmes in global institutions including the World Bank and the Open Society Foundation. She has a Master’s degree in Development Management from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor’s in Urban Planning from the School of Planning and Architecture in India.

Fiona Conlon

Co-Founder

Fiona leads various activities across Suvita, including strategy and programme design and improvement.

Fiona holds a double first-class degree from the University of Cambridge in Natural Sciences and Management. She worked at the World Health Organization in Geneva, organising a conference on non-communicable diseases. Fiona also worked on the planning, implementation and evaluation of health interventions in Dar es Salaam, with the student-led charity Cambridge Development Initiative.

Shweta Saxena

Head of Technology

Shweta works as Head of Technology to design and develop new ways to leverage technology solutions to deliver Suvita’s programmes and expand our reach and thus impact.

Shweta holds a Master's degree in Computer Applications from Banasthali Vidyapith and a Bachelor’s in Physics from Delhi University. She has 16 years of corporate experience in software engineering, solution design, project & team management. Shweta previously worked as VP, Technology Manager with Deutsche Bank and also in roles with IBM India and HCL Tech. Shweta also founded Adopt A Family which works to support families in Pune who lost income during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Michael Kinzer

Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Specialist

Michael manages Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning for Suvita. Working with the rest of Suvita's team, he helps Suvita to monitor our implementation, improve programmes, and evaluate the impact of our work.

Michael brings MEL experience from three NGOs across the USA and India - on issues ranging across gun violence in American cities, international human rights, and the livelihoods of goat farmers in Uttar Pradesh. Michael has also worked on projects with UNICEF South Asia, IDinsight, and Johns Hopkins University. He has a Masters in Public Health in Biostatistics & Epi from Johns Hopkins University, a Masters in Economic Development from Columbia University, and a Bachelors in International Studies from American University. Michael lives in Pune and is constantly looking for the best biryani when he's not working on his Hindi.

Mario Pinto

Head of Finance, Legal & People Operations

Mario works to strengthen Suvita's internal systems to enable greater organisational impact. Mario works across functions including HR, legal, regulatory compliance, finance, accounting, donor reporting, infrastructure, and equipment.

Mario has 14 years' experience in the corporate sector, working across functions including profitability & pricing, programme management & operations, product management, and scientific research. He holds a Master’s degree in Computational Science from the Indian Institute of Science, and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the College of Engineering, Pune (COEP).

Edward Lewis

Finance and Legal Operations Associate

Edward works to maintain and develop Suvita's legal and financial operations as it continues to scale.

Edward holds a Masters degree in Physics from the University of Birmingham and previously worked on process improvement within semiconductor manufacturing. He is passionate about health and development and aspires to maximise his impact in this space.

Zhen Paintal

People Operations Manager

Zhen plays a role in establishing processes, policies, and systems to support Suvita's continuous growth.

As an alum of Terra.do, she brings a foundation in environmental consciousness but also demonstrates a keen interest in the social impact space. Recognizing the interconnectedness of environmental and social issues, Zhen's approach reflects an understanding that effective altruism goes beyond individual efforts—it's about creating systemic change.

Sumit Swami

Programme Manager, Maharashtra

Sumit manages the implementation and scaling-up of our programmes in Maharashtra. He also helps us identify new stakeholders, and co-ordinate and nurture strong relationships with local government officials at the Maharashtra Public Health Department and State Family Welfare Bureau.

Sumit holds a Master’s degree in economics from Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics. He previously worked on managing research activities, designing questionnaires, managing field teams, monitoring surveys and writing research reports. He is passionate about working in health, education and rural livelihood sectors.

Deepak Bansal

Programme Coordinator

Deepak manages our data entry team, ensuring accuracy and efficiency of data flow processes so that caregivers have a smooth experience of enrollment for SMS reminders. He also manages the survey team as they implement our immunisation ambassadors pilot.

Deepak has previously worked as a data officer, a surveyor and a field supervisor in various organisations including J-PAL, IDinsight and on a project for the University of Chicago. His experience spans both the education and health sectors.

Rounak Kumar

Programme Manager, Bihar

Rounak manages the delivery and scaling up of our SMS reminders and ambassadors programming in Bihar, as well as leading our partnership with the Bihar state government and various other stakeholders.

Rounak has 7 years of experience working for holistic rural development. He has worked in various themes including Community Mobilisation, Women Empowerment, Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM), Governance and Health & Nutrition. He has worked in PRADAN in Bihar and Jharkhand leading various projects for improving the lives of rural people. He has a Master’s degree in Development from Azim Premji University and Bachelor’s in Metallurgical & Material Engineering from Jadavpur University. He is very passionate about working on health and aspires the vision of ‘Health for All’.

Dharmendra Padalkar

Soni

Data Officer