Management & governance

Experience from classrooms, farms, institutions and communities — at one table.

SCOPE’s management team brings together practitioners from education, agriculture, rural development, clean energy, entrepreneurship, social research, financial inclusion and project management.

Chairperson

Angelina Gregory

Education and community-development professional with deep experience in teacher capacity building, school leadership and grassroots mobilisation.

Angelina Gregory has worked across early childhood education, primary education, teacher development and community engagement. She holds a Bachelor’s degree along with D.Ed. and JOC qualifications, and previously served for six years as Headmistress of a private school in Dharwad.

Across her career, she has trained more than 100 pre-school volunteers and over 2,000 government and private school teachers in Karnataka. She currently leads and manages Akshara Foundation programmes in Karnataka and works closely with Gram Panchayats and local institutions to strengthen community participation and educational outcomes.

100+ pre-school volunteers trained
2,000+ teachers trained
Education, leadership & community mobilisation

Vice-Chairman

Umesh Chinchani

Development professional and trainer with nearly three decades of experience across education, rural development, finance, marketing and ITES.

Umesh Chinchani brings nearly three decades of professional experience, including around 19 years focused on education and rural development. A Master Life Skills Trainer and Certified Lay Counsellor, he has trained more than 300,000 stakeholders including students, teachers, government officials, employees and members of community-based organisations.

His work also spans programme evaluation, documentation, translation and knowledge management. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture, a Master’s degree in Zoology and a Certificate in Environment and Ecology from Azim Premji University.

300,000+ stakeholders trained
Life skills & capacity building
Programme evaluation & knowledge management

Secretary

Banderao Patwari

Agricultural engineer and rural-development practitioner with three decades of field experience across livelihoods, water, institutions and education.

Banderao Patwari is an Agricultural Engineering graduate of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, with a Master Diploma in Development Planning from the School of Development Planning, Pune. Over a career of around 30 years he has worked with rural communities across Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh through organisations including SAMUHA, MYRADA, Youth for Action, PRERANA, Naandi Foundation, Akshara Foundation, Development Resource Centre and Vidya Poshak.

His field experience includes irrigation management, watershed development, farmer institutions, women’s self-help groups, rural horticulture, rainwater harvesting, education and institutional partnerships. His documented work includes designing and implementing 1,000 lift-irrigation schemes, mobilising 2,500 SHGs and 123 JLGs, revitalising 37 government-managed lift-irrigation schemes, supporting more than three lakh forestry and horticulture plantings and treating 4,875 hectares of watershed area with soil and water conservation measures.

30 years of rural-development experience
1,000 lift-irrigation schemes
4,875 ha watershed treatment

Treasurer

Satishchandra Gondakar

Rural-development professional with two decades of experience across education, health, sanitation, environment, livelihoods and rehabilitation.

Satishchandra Gondakar holds a Master’s degree in Rural Development from IGNOU, New Delhi, and has around 20 years of experience in the social sector. His work spans education, health and sanitation, environment, livelihoods, women’s empowerment and land acquisition and Rehabilitation & Resettlement for government-funded projects.

He has worked with state- and national-level organisations including Akshara Foundation, Vidya Poshak, ASER, ECORYS India, Praxis India and several management, social-research and infrastructure-support organisations.

20 years of social-sector experience
Rural development & R&R
Education, sanitation & livelihoods

Member

Shankar Narayan J. V.

Education and community-development leader with experience in tribal empowerment, rural institutions and foundational learning.

Shankar Narayan J. V. holds a Master’s degree in Kannada and began his career as a college lecturer before moving into the development sector. He has worked on ActionAid Karnataka-supported initiatives focused on tribal communities in the Kalyana Karnataka region.

He is the Founder of Social Initiative for Rural Empowerment (SIRE), Yadgiri, and currently serves as Head of Operations and Community Initiatives at Akshara Foundation, Bengaluru, where he provides leadership for community engagement, programme implementation and partnerships supporting foundational learning and elementary education.

Education & community development
Founder, SIRE
Grassroots institutions & partnerships

Member

Suma Chilakwad

Entrepreneur and community contributor bringing business, education, culture and governance perspectives to SCOPE.

Suma Chilakwad is an entrepreneur and the Founder Director of PowerCliq Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Dharwad. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce along with Diplomas in Fashion Designing and Computer Applications.

Alongside her entrepreneurial work, she is involved in education and cultural activities, including mentoring students in Mathematics and supporting the preservation of Indian classical arts through Bharatanatyam. As a Board Member, she contributes an entrepreneurial and governance perspective to SCOPE’s community-development mission.

Entrepreneurship & governance
Education mentoring
Culture & community service

Member

Veeresh Tadahal

Development professional working at the intersection of clean energy, sustainable livelihoods, public health and inclusive rural development.

Veeresh Tadahal is a Senior Project Manager at SELCO Foundation with more than eight years of experience in clean energy, sustainable livelihoods and public health. His work includes the design and implementation of community-driven initiatives that use sustainable energy solutions to strengthen livelihoods and rural development.

He holds an M.Sc. in Economics (Development Studies) from the Symbiosis School of Economics, Pune, and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Development Economics at the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Tiruchirappalli, with a focus on sustainable and inclusive development.

8+ years in development practice
Clean energy & livelihoods
Development economics

Member

Chandrashekarswamy M. T.

Impact and project-management leader with 23+ years of experience in livelihoods, climate resilience, financial inclusion and rural development.

Chandrashekarswamy M. T. holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Science, an MBA in Project Management and the Project Management Professional (PMP®) credential from PMI. He has more than 23 years of experience across rural development, sustainable livelihoods, climate resilience, financial inclusion and project management.

He currently serves as Associate Vice President – Impact Operations at Rang De P2P Financial Services Pvt. Ltd. Within SCOPE, he contributes to organisational development, governance, resource mobilisation and the design of community-led livelihood initiatives.

23+ years of professional experience
PMP® certified
Impact operations & financial inclusion

Work with SCOPE

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