About us
Team
Shalini Datta
Founder & Director
Bachelor of Chemical Engineering, Former Fellow TeachForIndia, Ex Project Manager, Cognizant: Shalini brings with her 20+ years of diverse work experience as a Technologist turned teacher turned Social Entrepreneur. Shalini’s passion to bring about change led her to quit her corporate career and join the Teach For India Fellowship in 2010. The fellowship, exposed her to the socio-economic problems faced by the women and children of the disadvantaged communities. Hearing the mother’s stories of struggle and endurance, and their dream and hope for a better life inspired her to start Aftertaste. Shalini’s diverse skill sets has helped her fulfil multiple roles at Aftertaste from being a field worker, to product designer to managing operations and business development. She now works with the next generation of Aftertaste grooming and guiding them to be future torchbearers.She dreams of a developed India where every person can live a life of dignity and strives towards it through her work at Aftertaste.
Yash Gupta
Associate - Technology and Social Media
Yash holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Applications. He has been an inspiring presence and an excellent example to the next generation around him.
He has played an instrumental role in developing the Aftertaste website and is responsible for its maintenance. Yash’s mother is an artisan of Aftertaste. Yash actively works with Aftertaste as a photographer and social media personnel.Along with his job, He currently educates the senior children at Aftertaste with computer literacy. Yash is passionate about music and volunteers at worship choirs on Sundays.
Elisha Kakka
Designer
Elisha Kakka, a student currently pursuing Fashion Communication & Styling. Her relationship with Aftertaste started out as a way of gaining extra credits for college turned into something more special. In Elisha’s words “Working for a social cause along with people who wholeheartedly believe in it and strive to be better everyday brings me so much joy and motivates me to do better”. Designing and creating for Aftertaste has not only helped her keep in touch with her skills in said designing but also make her experiment more and learn to create better content with proper feedback and constructive criticism.
Rohit Jaiswal
Associate - Accounts and Admin
Rohit and his family came across Aftertaste 4 and half years ago when going through a challenging phase. Rohit’s mother joined Aftertaste as an artisan and educated her children. A dynamic youngster, Rohit has endured several hardships from the age of 16, when he lost his father and took to driving a share auto. He stayed on the path of education at the behest of his mother who is an artisan at Aftertaste. He went onto complete his 12th grade and is currently pursuing Final year B.Com. Along with his B.Com, he handles part of operations, accounts and order processing at Aftertaste. His continued determination and ownership is his greatest asset. Rohit motivates and guides other youth to stay on the path of education.
Board of Directors
Suddhadeep Chakraborty
Director
A pure technologist by mind and heart with a passion to use technology for good, Suddhadeep brings with him 17 years of technological expertise having worked across a spectrum of technologies, from backend development to solution architecture. He was worked with Cognizant, JPMC and CRISIL and currently runs his independent technology consulting firm. He fulfils his passion for using technology to solve all problems by training the next generation of Aftertaste in the space of technology. Suddhadeep strategises and builds the technology road map for the organisation and plays an instrumental role in implementing project management practices in the organisation.
Mr. Abhik Bhattacherji
Director
Currently holding the position of Consultant Director Marketing and Communication at Teach for India, he has worked as Start-up consultant at Teach For Bangladesh and Teach for Slovakia.Abhik is an English literature major from St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi. He has 14 years of experiences across the Corporate and Development sector. Abhik connects the dots between content, business, philanthropy, and action. As a director he constantly fuels Aftertaste’s creative journey with new art ideas and helps devise the marketing and communication strategy for the organisation.Abhik is a firm believer of the transformative power of art and sees Aftertaste as a manifestation of that belief.
Donors / Partners
Social Venture Partners India
Social Venture Partners India is a pan-India collaborative philanthropy organisation. SVP India’s vision is to provide individuals with a platform to engage with philanthropy in order to create fulfilled lifelong givers. SVP connects and engages philanthropists, helping them make the greatest impact with their contributions of money and time
Aftertaste is one of the investees of Social Ventures Partners, India. As part of the programme, Aftertaste has been receiving funding and advisory support from SVP. There are three lead partners assigned to Aftertaste who provide critical advisory support to the organisation on different aspects pertaining to growth, leadership development and capacity building.
Advisory Board
Ms. Zarine Commissariat
CSR Head- Shapoorji Pallonji Trustee Avanit Foundation
Zarine Commissariat is Head CSR of a diversified multinational corporate group. She has been closely associated with Aftertaste Foundation over the past six years, helping the Founder strategize and expand the organisation. She is also Trustee of Avanti Foundation which has in the past financially supported Aftertaste.
Zarine, engages in philanthropy through an association of like minded philanthropists called SVP. She mentors and guides NGOs and is closely engaged with one in the area of skilling mentally challenged youth.
Zarine is also a member of the Sustainability alumni of the Swedish Institute (a project initiated and managed by Sweden government).
She is a trained counsellor and works with cancer patients to enable them resume their normal life post illness
Mr. A.V Suresh
Ex-CEO Eureka Forbes Limited, Founder Trustee Avanti Foundation Patner, Social Venture Partner
AV Suresh is a Cartwright Gold Medalist in Bachelor of Mechanical engineering from University of Madras and an alumni of IIM Calcutta. He contributes his extensive experience and contacts to the social sector space and has been a champion for Aftertaste since its early years. Suresh has been instrumental in mentoring Aftertaste's Founder on systems, strategy and growth since its early years. Suresh has been an avid Rotarian, he was Club President of the Rotary Club of Deonar, Mumbai and he is actively engaged at the district level in areas of water conservation and support to differently abled. Suresh is also a partner at Social Venture Partners, a group of passionate philanthropists, where he mentors an organization engaged in working with mentally challenged towards inclusive learning and employability. He also engages with Spandan hospital for mother and differently abled children in Mumbai. He is also in the Human Activities Committee of International Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), USA, for approving applications from across the world. He is also Trustee in Tandarust Bharat Foundation focusing on providing safe drinking water.
Arundhati Deshmukh
Arundhati holds a Bachelor’s degree in Instrumentation engineering. She is a sales manager at Emersons handling project sales. An engineer by profession but a curious artist by nature. She loves to explore different art and craft forms and uses these endeavors to help people with fewer opportunities. She is a firm believer in bringing about change at the grassroots to see a meaningful difference. She brings her unique passion to Aftertaste and has played an instrumental role in our journey of skill development.