Our Team

Dr. Dhananjay Kakade, Director

Dr. Dhananjay Kakade has 18 years of professional experience at the global and the national level in the development sector. He has worked as a trainer, researcher, campaigner, organiser, manager and grant-maker, focusing on social accountability, governance, and human rights. Dr. Dhananjay has worked with civil society organisations and funding agencies to safeguard human rights and promote people’s participation in health decision-making. From 2004 to 2012, he worked with SATHI- CEHAT- Pune as a Senior Program Officer and Associate Coordinator and worked with Oxfam India as a Health Coordinator from 2013 to 2014. He has worked in the Public Health Program of the Open Society Foundations, New York, from 2015 to 2018. Before joining Open Society Foundations, he served as the Executive Director of the National Center for Advocacy Studies in India from 2014 to 2015.

Shweta Marathe, Senior Research Coordinator

Shweta Marathe is a Health Systems researcher with an academic background in hospital and healthcare management. With a decade-long experience in SATHI, she is keen to undertake action-oriented research that actively supports advocacy efforts for a better health system. She had been a KEYSTONE fellow under the Alliance for Health Policy and System Research program. Her research interests focus on the functioning of the public health system and transformations in the private healthcare sector. Her recent research work includes collaborative research projects with King’s College, London and the Accountability Work with Us Research Centre, American University. Currently, she is a fellow of the India-HPSR fellowship cohort 2022

Bhausaheb Aher, Senior Project Officer

Bhausaheb Aher is a post-graduate in social work from Karve Institute of Social Services, Pune University. He has twenty-two years of experience in the development field. For the past 10 years, as part of his work in SATHI, he has been centrally involved in district and state-level training on Health Rights and the Right to Health Care, Community action for nutrition and the social audit process of multi-sectorial services in Maharashtra. He has also written articles in the Marathi language in different newspapers and magazines on the above issues. He anchors the Media and ICT programme, preparing video documentary on various topics/themes for the organization and designing of tools, reports, posters, Sticker, Calendar, booklet and other types of training and advocacy materials for the project.

Trupti Malti, Senior Project Officer

Trupti Malti is a post-graduate in Sociology from Pune University, with twenty years of experience in the development field. She has been associated with SATHI since last twelve years, and is presently working as program in-charge for public health program. She has good managerial as well as analytical skills, which have enabled her in the execution of project activities including developing strategies, questionnaires and analysing data as per requirements of the projects. She has played a key role in training component of the projects as well as developing the resource materials. She is involved in health budget analysis and multi sectoral social audits process in Maharashtra. She has written articles on various issues related to health rights and health budgets in the local media.

Hemraj Patil, Senior Project Officer

Hemraj Patil has a degree of Masters in social work (Community development) and 13 years’ experience working in the public health sector. For the last 9 years he has been working with SATHI, on Community-based Monitoring and planning of Health Services and Decentralized Health Planning. Currently he coordinates with rural organizations in 17 districts, for public participation in health services, right to health and social audit. He has vast experience in liasoning with state level administrations, departments and officials.

Deepali Yakkundi, Senior Research Officer

Deepali Yakkundi is a Post graduate in Commerce from Pune University with a Computer Diploma from Symbiosis Institute, Pune. She currently functions as a Research officer in SATHI, and has been with SATHI for 14 years. As a data analyst, her core capacity lies in handling qualitative and quantitative data, including analysing large data sets using statistical software like SPSS, R, and big databases through MS Access and MS excel.

She has worked on large surveys of research projects and program data for the implementation of projects through program APPs developed. Recently she has worked on developing MIS for the anthropometric measurements of 32000+ children from 580 villages under two projects under Nutrition program. She has also been involved in writing various project reports, study reports, policy briefs, and newspaper articles.

Shailesh Dikhale, Senior Project Officer

Shailesh Dikhale has done his masters from the University of Pune and Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth with specialization in History and Indology respectively. He has been working with SATHI for the last 20 years. Currently, he is Programme in-charge of SATHI’s Nutrition Programme. His area of interest is Public health and Community nutrition, in which he has 14 years of experience. He has contributed as an Editor of ‘SAKAS’ Newsletter of ‘Community action for nutrition process’ and Executive Editor of ‘Mission Poshan’ newsletter of ‘Building Community action for nutrition’ process.

Shakuntala Bhalerao, Project Officer

Shakuntala has been with SATHI for 14 years. Starting with training initiatives for ASHA workers in rural and tribal areas, she engaged in various advocacy activities in collaboration with civil society organisations. Her work in SATHI helped her understand health rights and advocacy, and her experience on the ground sharpened her interventions. In addition to working for the public health system, she has also been involved in advocacy efforts for the accountability of the private sector. Currently, she coordinates the SATHI’s work on Patient rights initiative to ensure health services reach the poor patients and their health rights are protected.

Sharda Mahalle, Project Officer

Sharda Mahalle is a graduate in science. She has been associated with SATHI since last twenty years. She is centrally involved in the execution of the project activities including data entry, IEC material, Awareness material, tool development, transcription etc.

Swapnil Vyavahare, Project Associate

Swapnil Vyavhare, a post-graduate in social work from CSRD-ISWR, Pune University and has four years of experience in the health and nutrition sector. He is currently associated with the Community nutrition project. He is centrally involved in the execution of the project activities including developing strategies, coordination & monitoring of field level activities. His area of interest is nutrition-specific as well as nutrition-sensitive services.

Rupali Bawdekar – Project Associate

Rupali Bawdekar is a dietitian and public health professional with a post-graduate degree in Public Health Nutrition from Symbiosis School of Health Sciences, Pune. With a passion for improving maternal and child health, she is currently associated with the Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition project. She is centrally involved in data analysis and planning sessions focused on nutrition and health, ensuring that strategies are evidence-based and aligned with the project’s objectives. She is also involved in monitoring and coordinating field-level activities, and ideating and designing nutrition and health-related IEC-awareness materials for the project.

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