Our ORGANIZATION

Mr. Thekkethala is an entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist with over thirty years of experience financing, operating, and scaling global technology companies through their growth and acquisition. He is currently the Managing Partner of TOLIMA LP, which invests in and advises disruptive innovation-driven technology companies in AI, cloud computing, and digital engagement. TOLIMA is the primary source of financial support for the foundation. He strongly believes that expanding access to education in rural areas can transform lives and uplift communities.

Matt Thekkethala is a writer, artist, and nonprofit consultant based in Philadelphia, PA. He developed a passion for children’s education while volunteering at Snehagram, a residential school for HIV+ adolescents in rural Tamil Nadu, an experience he distilled into a TEDx Talk in 2014. A Fulbright Scholar, he received his M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Texas at Austin and his B.A. in Political Science from Yale University.

Neil Bjorkman is the Head of Government Relations at Cognicant. He is the company's lead advocate encouraging the U.S. Government and Congress to adopt laws that will deepen the bilateral relationship and spur trade with India. In his previous role, he was credited with helping secure India’s status as a “major defense partner” of the United States. He served as the Policy Counsel for the Majority staff of the Committee on Rules in the United States House of Representatives, where he handled Chairman Pete Sessions’ India portfolio. In 2007-2008, Neil served as the Judicial Clerk to Justice Dalveer Bhandari at the Supreme Court of India, where he helped craft a landmark constitutional judgment on affirmative action in university admissions. Neil is a graduate of Saint John’s University, speaks Hindi, Malayalam and Spanish and earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Mr. Seshadri is a Product Management executive who has held senior executive positions, always working on pioneering the first release of new products, at both startups and publicly listed technology companies in the US. Kishore has been granted several patents across many areas of networking and is on the advisory boards of several startups. He is passionate about rural children’s education, flying and photography. 

 Samir Pius George is a St. Stephen's (India) Graduate and public policy professional who is passionate about solving governance problems in India. Currently, he works with The Education Alliance (TEA) in Tamil Nadu (TN) as part of a Project Management Unit (PMU) of the School Education Department to improve the delivery of public education in all government schools in TN. His areas of interest include Education and Urban Governance and he is building a specialization in Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL), a crucial aspect of creating robust and sustainable change.

Alisha D’souza is an aspiring data and analytics professional with a strong foundation in statistics and analytics. She currently works across finance and operations at Learn for Life Foundation, while also contributing to marketing, bringing a balanced mix of analytical thinking and creativity to her work.

Alisha holds a Master’s degree in Big Data Analytics from St. Joseph’s University and a Bachelor’s degree in Statistics from Bhandarkars’ Arts & Science College.