Dr. Dalbir Singh  |  Honourable Chairperson, Global Coalition Against TB (GCAT) and Policymakers Forum for Mental Health

Dr. Dalbir Singh is a passionate public health leader, renowned for his
strategic advocacy and impact-driven initiatives. He is the Founder
President of the Global Coalition Against TB, supported by over four
dozen parliamentarians and experts and President, Policymakers’ Forum
for Mental Health. He is Co-founder of the Global TB Caucus. Has been
Senior Advisor, India Health Fund (Tata Trusts) and heads Public Health
Program Development for Forum of Federations, Canada. Dr. Singh has
led many delegations/interactions at global fora, including European
Union, United Nations (2018 & 2023), Harvard, Cambridge, and Carleton Universities. He has multiple publications across diverse areas of Public Health & Governance.

Smt. Vandana Chavan  |  Honourable Former Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, Nationalist Congress Party

Vandana Chavan is an Indian politician, lawyer, and environmental advocate known for her long-standing contribution to public service. A senior leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), she represented Maharashtra in the Rajya Sabha from 2012 to 2024. Prior to her national role, she served as the Mayor of
Pune from 1997 to 1998, during which she also held key positions including Vice-Chairperson of the All India Council of Mayors and Chairperson of the Maharashtra State Mayor, President and Councillors Organisation. As Mayor, Mrs. Chavan championed sustainable urban development and played a pivotal role in integrating the concept of the Bio-Diversity Park (BDP) into the development plan of fringe villages, an initiative that became an important environmental safeguard for Pune’s fringe areas.
An accomplished author, she has co-written Law of Cruelty, Abetment of Suicide and Dowry Death (1993) in English, and has published Marathi works such as Green India–Clean India and Swapna Udyachi–Sundar Jagachi, a reference book on climate change.

Shri. Siddharth Shirole  |  Honourable Member of Legislative Assembly, Shivajinagar, Pune, Bharatiya Janata Party

Shri Siddharth Shirole is an Indian politician from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly representing the Shivajinagar constituency in Pune. He has previously served as a Councillor in the Pune Municipal Corporation for Ward 14 (Deccan Gymkhana–Model Colony)
and held key roles such as Director of the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited and National Finance Head of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. Mr. Shirole is also the author of the self-help book Today Is My Favourite Day: Unleashing the Power of Optimism, published by Wisdom Tree. He represented India in the prestigious International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) of the U.S. Department of State, joining an esteemed group of Indian alumni that includes former Presidents Pratibha Patil and K. R.
Narayanan, and former Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Indira Gandhi, and Morarji Desai.

Shri. Anish Gawande  |  Honourable National Spokesperson,Nationalist Congress Party

Shri Anish Gawande currently serves as the National Spokesperson of the Nationalist Congress Party – where he shapes public messaging and contributes to national-level political communication. Mr. Gawande is a Rhodes Scholar, writer, and curator whose work spans culture, technology, and public
policy with a strong focus on gender and sexuality in South Asia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University and master’s degrees in Intellectual History and Public Policy from the University ofOxford. In 2019, he was named one of GQ’s Most Influential Young Indians. His translations of Marathi poetry appear in The World That Belongs to Us
(HarperCollins, 2020). He has worked on political campaigns and policy strategy during multiple parliamentary elections, bringing deep experience in electoral communications and governance. He is also the founder of Pink List India, the country’s first archive tracking
political support for LGBTQ+ rights, and the Director of the Dara Shikoh Fellowship, an interdisciplinary arts residency in Kashmir.

Dr. Lakshmi Vijayakumar |  Founder, SNEHA, Member, WHO International Network for Suicide Research and Prevention (IASP)

​Dr. Lakshmi Vijayakumar is the Founder of SNEHA Foundation Trust, a 35-year- old pioneering organisation in India dedicated to suicide prevention. providing crisis support through its volunteer-driven hotline and email services. Its model, inspired by the Samaritans in the UK, has been instrumental in shaping compassionate, community-based suicide prevention in India. A consultant psychiatrist based in Chennai, Dr. Vijayakumar heads the
Department of Psychiatry at Voluntary Health Services, a multispecialty hospital committed to accessible mental healthcare. She is also an Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne, reflecting her significant contributions to global mental health scholarship and training. On the international stage, Dr. Vijayakumar is a member of the World HealthOrganisation’s International Network for Suicide Research and Prevention,
where she collaborates on advancing research, policy, and best practices. Her work stands at the forefront of suicide prevention, mental health advocacy, and compassionate care.

Dr. Sukriti Chauhan |  Moderator ,CEO, ETI Services

Dr. Sukriti Chauhan, an INLAKS Scholar, is a trained lawyer with a Master’s in International Development Law and Human Rights from Warwick University, UK. With nearly a decade of experience in public health and human rights advocacy, she has worked with India’s highest offices, including the Honourable President and Prime Minister. She began her career at PATH India, focusing on HIV/AIDS, sexual and reproductive health, cervical cancer prevention, and maternal and child health. As Director at Global Health Strategies, she led major national initiatives, including the Tuberculosis Control and Prevention Project and the $50 million Grand Challenges in Global Health funding pool. She has worked closely with Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist at WHO, on mental health in India,
and has led multi-state programmes on adolescent health, nutrition, and child protection. Sukriti has supported ICMR in establishing a Communications Unit and has advanced rights-based family planning strategies across six states. She recently earned her PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University on the legal andsocial impact of HIV/AIDS on abandoned housewives in Kolkata and Delhi.

Raj Mariwala |  Director of Mariwala Health Initiative

Raj Mariwala is the Director of Mariwala Health Initiative, an advocacy, capacity building, and grant making organisation that focuses on accessible mental health for marginalised communities.  Currently, Raj is on the advisory council of Misfyt, a trans-youth led organisation and Being, an international youth mental health initiative.  Apart from this, they are a practising canine and feline behaviourist.

Dr. Irina Ungureanu  |  Somatic therapist and Educator

Somatic therapist and educator specializing in complex trauma, suicidal distress and mood disorders. Co-creator of the Suicide Attention Training, grounded in Gabor Maté’s Compassionate Inquiry. Irina brings a trauma-informed, body-based approach to suicide care, supporting both individuals in crisis and professionals working at the frontlines of mental health.

Dr. Alok Sarin | Clinical Psychiatrist

Alok Sarin, a practicing Clinical Psychiatrist in New Delhi, is interested in medicine, psychiatry, ethics, society, history and literature. He has been in active clinical practice since 1985 and is currently an Honorary Consultant to the Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research, New Delhi. He is today, one of the most senior and highly regarded clinicians in the country.

He is also someone who has effectively been bridging the gaps between practice, academia and mental health activism and has been at the forefront of debates on ethics and equity in practice.

He has been actively engaged with various Non-Governmental Organisations across the country.

Dr. Shekhar Seshadri   |  Child Psychiatrist and Former Senior Professor at NIMHANS

Child psychiatrist with over 40 years of experience and Former Senior Professor at NIMHANS. Dr. Seshadri focuses on trauma, gender and life skills, bringing creative approaches—like theatre and play—to mental health care. He has advised national programs supporting children in vulnerable circumstances across India and South Asia.

Dr. Hvovi Bhagwagar |  Clinical Psychologist and Psychotherapist

Hvovi Bhagwagar is a Clinical Psychologist and Psychotherapist with over 25 years of experience in trauma recovery and mental health care. She is the founder of Manashni, a trauma-informed practice in Mumbai, and holds a PhD in Social Sciences from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

Her work focuses on complex trauma, dissociative disorders, and personality and mood conditions, using EMDR, parts work, and attachment-based approaches. She also trains and supervises mental health professionals across India, and serves on the faculty of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD). She is a Founding Board Member of the Mental Health Support Foundation, which promotes inclusive, community-based mental health care.

Her academic contributions include research on secondary traumatic stress among Indian psychotherapists, and her work has been featured in peer-reviewed journals, national conferences, and mainstream media.

Dr. Adithy  | Counseling Psychologist

​Adithy, PhD, is a Counseling Psychologist in Pune, India, involved in education, prevention, intervention, and postvention work in the field of mental health. She has contributed particularly to empowering mental health workers in suicide prevention and survivor support, psychosocial support after disasters, addressing pandemic crisis and trauma healing. She is a fellow, faculty and board member of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD).

Dr. Harini Rawal |  Mindfulness & Presence Oriented Counselor

Harini is an associate counselor at the Just Being Center for Mindfulness and Presence. With extensive experience in individual and group therapy, she also supervises and teaches in the Mindfulness-Based Counseling Program and Presence Oriented Psychotherapy Program. She regularly facilitates Grief Circles and was instrumental in a long-term grief support program during COVID and also supports individuals and institutions dealing with suicide loss.

Harini holds a Master's degree in Social Work and a Doctoral Degree in Education from ‘University of Twente, Netherlands’. Harini also works in the area of strengthening leadership in education and child development.

Sandy Dias Andrade | Mindfulness & Presence Oriented Psychotherapist

Sandy is an internationally certified MBCT teacher and specializes in Mindfulness and Presence Oriented processes and its applications in the field of therapy, education, organizations, suicide prevention and intervention. She also specializes in somatic-based work especially with attachment or developmental trauma in adults.

She has been closely associated with Connecting Trust in various roles as volunteer, mentor, trainer and co-managing trustee over 20 years. She initiated its helpline in 2008 and designed and co-developed it’s extensive Mindfulness-Based Active Listening training for volunteers. She has also supported other suicide prevention organizations in the country and provides trainings in holding listening and grief circles. She also supports educational institutions and organizations in postvention (when there has been a loss due to suicide).

She is a guest and visiting faculty at various institutions including TISS and FLAME University, St. Mira's College, SP College and Pune University. She runs two long-term programs in Presence Oriented Psychotherapy for mental health professionals and Mindfulness Based Counseling (Listening with Embodied Presence) at the Just Being Center for Mindfulness and Presence where she is the founder-director.

Dr. Aruna Jha |  Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin

Dr Aruna Jha is an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater in the Social Work department. Prior to this position, she worked for 6 years at the Veterans Administration of which three were as suicide prevention coordinator. Dr. Jha has been active in suicide prevention for 30 years and is a Master Trainer for QPR. She is fluent in several languages and has lived and worked in India, Germany and Sweden prior to migrating to the US in 1984. This rich international experience informs Jha’s approach to suicide prevention training highlighting the impact of cultural values, social factors and mental illness on suicidal ideation and behavior. Her research focuses on acculturation and life transitions as risk factors for suicide in communities of color, with a particular focus on suicide in youth. Dr. Jha has a Ph.D. in Social Work and graduate degrees in Child Development, Mental Health Counseling and Social Work. She is a practicing clinician and regularly presents workshops on suicide prevention and surviving suicide loss and bereavement in clinicians.

Nairuti Trivedi | Clinical Psychologist

Nairuti Trivedi is a trained Clinical Psychologist with a post graduation in Clinical Psychology. She has fourteen years of experience in the field of Mental Health. She has worked with young adults and adults from diverse backgrounds across different contexts, including the University, Cancer Centre, Transplant Units, Miniversity for children, and Multispecialty Hospital. She has also worked with Non-Governmental Organisations as a Volunteer-Teacher. Her work area is focused on bringing new approaches and fresh perspectives to the idea of emotional health and wellness such as mindfulness and body work. Her work is grounded in psychodynamic-relational therapy, attachment theory and Internal Family Systems, using the presence of a therapist as a significant tool.
A core part of her work involves building resources with clients to support their physiology, alongside working together with them on better ways of coping with difficult situations. She strongly believes that 'anyone who reaches out is simply another human being and not a cluster of signs and symptoms; what sits on the table between the two is care and human connection.

Anil Ukarande | Founder & President - Yutak Charitable Trust

Anil Ukarande is the founder and president of YUTAK Charitable Trust (Pune) which works on LGBTIQ issues. Anil a dedicated and award-winning LGBTIQ community leader, uses Yutak’s platform for advocacy, community health, and driving inclusive policy formation and implementation. Under the aegis of the Trust Anil has done path-breaking work on empowerment and employment of the Transgender community in Maharashtra.

Vaidehi Warhade 

Vaidehi identifies as a Transwoman. On realizing her gender identity as female, she had to reluctantly give up her education (she was pursuing her BTech.). She moved to Pune in 2019 and is currently working in Pune Municipal Corporation in the Security Department. 

Varsha Ramesh | Volunteer, Connecting Trust

Varsha has been a volunteer with Connecting Trust, Pune, for over two years, where she also mentors new volunteers. With a Postgraduate Diploma in Mahayana Buddhist Psychology and Ethics, she approaches mental health with a deep curiosity about the human mind and experience, learning through mindfulness, empathy, and meaningful connection.

Viren Rajput | Founder, Samtol

Viren Rajput is a member of the Prajit Self Help Group, Pune, and serves as a Volunteer and Advisory Board Member at Connecting Trust, Pune. He is also the Founder of Samtol Bipolar Mood Disorder Support Group, Pune — a support group for bipolar patients and caregivers that provides a safe space for sharing, listening, learning, and supporting each other.

Dr. Harish Shetty   |  Psychiatrist

Dr. Harish Shetty is a psychiatrist with over 35 years of experience in teaching, practicing, and promoting mental health across India. He has worked extensively in community mental health, disaster relief, and suicide prevention, conducting nationwide workshops and training programs for schools, NGOs, and the judiciary. A faculty member and columnist, he is known for his advocacy through media and his petitions advancing educational and mental health reforms. He currently serves as President of My Home India and as a Governing Board Member of the National Testing Agency.

Sachin Chitambaran |  President - Befrienders Initiative

​Sachin Chitambaran is the President of Befrienders Initiative, a leading organization for 14 emotional support and suicide prevention helplines in India, and Co-founder of Ankahee Suicide Prevention Helpline. He also founded and serves as Director of Training at The Connect Hut, and previously served as the Assistant Director of Training and Development at The Samaritans Mumbai (India, 1968). With over 15 years of experience, Sachin is an expert in active listening, emotional support, and suicide prevention. He is also a certified Suicide Prevention Gatekeeping Instructor by the QPR Institute, Washington, USA.

Dr. Teena Augustine Joseph   |  Mental Health Professional

Dr. Teena Augustine Joseph is a mental health professional with over 15 years of experience in therapy, training and supervision. A certified QPR trainer and EMDR practitioner, she has led large-scale training initiatives, helpline operations and program design in suicide prevention and psychological first aid. She is the founder of Being Balanced Consultancy Ventures and consults widely across academic, corporate and clinical settings.

Lorraine David   |  Volunteer, Connecting Trust

Lorraine has a track record of proven academic excellence having stood 10th in The University of Poona for her Bachelors in Psychology. She is a Gold Medallist from The University of Poona with a Masters in Industrial Psychology. She also stood First in a Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling. She has done an internship with Dr. Vasudeo Paralikar, a practising psychiatrist. She has also shadowed Colonel Subranshu Nath, a practising Army psychiatrist, from 2011 - 2013, in his clinics. Professionally, she began her career with the Times of India in the Newspaper in Education project in schools, as both an Administrator of the Project and as a facilitator in classroom sessions. Post her Masters, she has worked in the field of Corporate Human Resource Training and Development for over 14 years, alongside her husband Michael who is a Management Educator and Coach. Since 2016, she has worked on the Suicide Prevention Helpline of Connecting Trust. From 2017 she introduced the Peer Educator Programme of Connecting Trust to St Anne’s School, Pune and for over five years became an integral part of the PEP landscape in this school. During her tenure in this school, in collaboration with Nidhi Gandhi, (another Professional in Connecting Trust,) she conducted, among other workshops, a session for the teachers of this school on ‘Understanding Underlying Mental Health Issues in Students and their Impact on Academic Performance.’

She brings an empathetic, compassionate understanding to her work with youth. Within her personal life, she works actively with young adults, supporting them through their emotional distress and she finds joy in helping them to discover their potential.

She lives in Pune. She is passionate about vocal music and is studying the piano. She enjoys cycling, gardening, amateur interior design, creative art activities, creative writing and baking.

Bindumadhav Khire | Founder- Director of Bindu Queer Rights Foundation

Bindumadhav Khire is the Founder- Director of Bindu Queer Rights Foundation. He is a LGBTIQ rights activist, legal consultant, and counsellor working closely with the police, Child Welfare Committee, and other departments. He is the director of the Annual Mooknayak Marathi LGBTIQ Literary Festival, Pune. He worked in the capacity of project director on important projects like HIV/AIDS Targeted Intervention Project, Pehchan Project. As former president of Samapathik Trust, he set up and ran a helpline on sexuality and HIV/AIDS for the organisation. He has authored many LGBTIQ booklets, English Manuals, English books, and Marathi books based on the LGBTIQ community, their issues, legal rights, inclusion, and related topics.

Dr. Bobby Zachariah | Academic Researcher and Mental Health Professional

Dr. Bobby Zachariah is an academic researcher and mental health professional with a PhD from VU Athena Institute, Amsterdam University, now actively working in the field of corporate social responsibility. Bobby brings over three decades of experience in mental health, psychology, and resilience building, drawing on both his academic background and lived experience. As a SALT (Support / Appreciate / Listen / Team) practitioner, it is the SALT practice that forms the foundation of all his work across diverse fields, inspiring his community engagement, research, and capacity-building initiatives. Known for integrating evidence-based approaches with compassionate care, Bobby facilitates dialogue and collective action to challenges that cause human suffering.

Prof. Dr. Sadhna Natu | Professor and Former Head Department of Psychology Modern College Ganeshkhind Autonomous Pune 

Academician, Researcher, Author Psychotherapist, Advisor to NGOs Corporate Sector, Former Executive Committee Member and Current Social Action Policy Committee Member of National Academy of Psychology, India, External Expert on POSH Committees,Gender Psychologist with grassroots to global experience in multi sector work for 37 years