Core Team

Core Team

Ms Gauri Bhopatkar

Gauri Bhopatkar: Gauri is a lawyer by training comes from a humble background. With the passion of working with the vulnerable sections of the society to enable, to empower and to educate them, she joined the social sector in 1995. National Centre for Advocacy Studies a pioneer organisation in the arena of people-centred advocacy is where Gauri got her grit as a development professional. Her perspective, knowledge and experience as a human rights educator motivated her to study the Masters in Human Right at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies (ICS), University of London (UK) as a Chevening Scholar.  During her times in the UK, Gauri gained a global perspective from her internship with Interights and Anti Slavery. For her the professionally defining years were as a National Coordinator of the Indian Institute of Paralegal Studies, a path breaking initiative of the Ahmedabad based Centre for Social Justice. IIPLS spearheaded the task of establishing a paralegal network organisation to legitimise the role and function of paralegals in the existing legal system in India, and involved grass root groups, NGos, CBOs and mass movements in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.  Gauri was involved in the conceptualisation and implementation of action research project of UNDP on strengthening access to justice in India (Phase I), and as a part of which Gauri worked extensively with on the issue of access to justice and in particular, informal justice institutions of tribal and nomadic communities in Maharashtra. This was a joint project of NCAS and IIPLS. Year 2009 was again the year of shift, and Gauri joined as a Programme Officer for the Building Capacities for Change Programme at the International Women’s Rights Action Watch (Asia Pacific), the only international organisation working on CEDAW as a tool for social change & advocacy on women’s rights. Gauri coordinated initiatives to address the women’s realities in the area of conflict, economic & social rights, and using CEDAW in law reform and policy advocacy, and the managed IWRAW AP’ CEDAW Compliance Framework Project initiated in Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Timor Leste and Laos till she decided to return back to India.  This project was to strengthen capacities of women’s groups and NGOs to institutionalise CEDAW through legal and policy framework within national context. On her return to India, Gauri worked as independent consultant on sexual harassment at workplace, youth and gender equality, etc. She is passionate about human rights, women’s rights, access to justice, economic empowerment, and have certificate of participation in the Organisational Change Facilitation conducted by HID Forum, Bangalore. Gauri joined ECONET in October 2015, and took over the leadership role from April 2016. 

Mr Jitendra Kathale

Jitendra Kathale, holds a BA-MSW degree and has 23 years of experience in the field of social work and community development. He has been dedicated to working with tribal and other marginalized communities in Maharashtra, focusing on women empowerment, socio-economic development, and environmental sustainability. His expertise lies in promotion of livelihood activities, fostering the youths in local self-governance processes, awareness and promoting the effective implementation of crucial laws like FRA and PESA. He has worked for many organizations like INTERVEDA, Gramin Mahila Bal-Vikas Mandal etc. His work at Econet remains focused on the promotion of energy efficient practices in rural communities, organic farming and community mobilization. He also develops the training modules and extends the handholding support to the field team members. 

Mr Rahul Salvi

Mr. Rahul Salvi: Rahul has a diverse background in community development and social work. He holds a Masters in Social Work (MSW) specializing in Rural and Urban Community Development from Pune University, He also holds a Diploma in Civil Engineering. Rahul joined the Human & Institutional Development Programme of Econet in 2014. He is passionate about Youth leadership development, and that has led him to anchor Econet’s Youth Leadership Programme for NT & DNTs. He is a senior trainer and currently coordinates organisaton’s initiatives centred around capacity building on PESA and the Gram Sabha Buddy programme. Rahul has contributed and played a key role in development of resources and training modules on the Forest Rights Act and PESA in and outside of the Schedule V Area. He had served as Project Manager at Pathfinder International for two years, where he worked closely with female sex workers in the red light areas of Pune city, and advocating for their rights and welfare. Rahul is interested in technology and have learned diverse skills in development communication. He loves to use his Warli Drawing/Painting skills whenever he get the opportunity.

Ms Sunita Deshmukh

Sunita Deshmukh is a dedicated and passionate social development professional with a strong academic foundation from Nirmala Niketan, College of Social Work, Mumbai. She joined Econet as a Project Incharge of Nomad women leadership building program. She works diligently to identify and nurture leadership potential among women from the NT & DNT communities by building their perspectives, knowledge and skills. Being a consultant right now she leads the process of social audit and thematic leadership building program. Sunita’s expertise lies in social audits, research, campaigning, and developing theme-based initiatives. Known for her sensitivity, empathy, and problem-solving skills, she brings a results-oriented approach to her work. Her strong interpersonal skills, dedication to community empowerment, and ability to foster collaboration make her a highly effective for social change. Her career spans impactful roles, including her work at Lokpanchayat and Snehalaya, where she addressed critical issues such as; domestic violence, counselling for women, support for HIV/AIDS-affected individuals, community development and child development specifically on education, health and environment. 

Ms Vinda Mahajan

Adv. Vinda is working with Econet as a legal consultant since September 2017. She is working as a coordinator and mentor for the community leadership paralegal initiative. She engages with the various government departments and NGO’s in Maharashtra working on issues of access to entitlements for the NT & DNTs, women, workers rights, tribal livelihood and community development. Legal capacity building of various field stakeholders and partner organisations is Vinda’s forte. She is also working on the livelihood rights of the NT & DNT and Tribal women for providing various means of income. She has completed her LLM from University of Punewith specialization in Human Rights and is passionate about working for promotion andprotection in this field, and Environment, Wildlife Protection as well. Vinda brings in legal knowledge and strategies from her experience as a litigating lawyer. She has worked with TISS for effective implementation of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 in collaboration with the Department of Women and Child Development, Maharashtra State. She is an enthusiastic photographer & music lover. She is passionate about animal welfare and working for betterment of community animals too.

Mr Swapnil Newale

Swapnil Newale holds a dual Master’s degree in Environmental Science and Social Work and Advanced Diploma in Industrial Safety (ADIS) bringing over a decade of expertise to the realm of environmental sustainability and community development. He has secured First Rank in the University during Master of Environmental Science. Presently serving as a Program Analyst and Fund Raiser at ECONET. He worked for renowned organizations like Centre for Environment Education (CEE) and Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). He has been co-authored for a book entitled “माळढोक अभयारण्यातील पक्षी आणि इतर वन्यजीव” jointly published by forest department of Maharashtra and BNHS, Mumbai. He has worked on the different projects supported by Government, CSRs and other institutions. He has developed several education materials for school children. His key strengths include training and capacity building, networking, research and development, and engaging effectively with people of all age groups. He is deeply committed to preserving and restoring ecosystems while bolstering the resilience of grassroots communities, particularly tribes and marginalized groups. His passion lies in fostering climate change adaptation and advocating for ecosystem conservation.

Ms Kranti Dabir

Kranti Agnihotri – Dabir: After completing her Masters in Social Work in 1997, Kranti started working on issues of violence against women and women rights. Feminist counselling for women and families affected by domestic violence is an important core area of her work. While working extensively on issues of violence against women, she has work as a counsellor, trainer and consultant on Gender-based Violence, Sexual Harassment at Work place and Child Sexual Abuse. As working on these issues Kranti is associates with various government and CBOs, NGO’s in Pune city and Maharashtra like YASHADA, Pune Police and Women’s movement. She is working as a one of the core member of the ‘Maharashtra Mahila Hinsamukti Parishad’, a state level platform represents by grassroots level workers from remote rural Maharashtra as well cities, which are working on violence against women and build knowledge, movement through their work. Currently Kranti is a part of Econet team from August 2023 working as a project consultant for NT & DNT Leadership Program and Gender expert to mainstreaming gender equality at the organizational level of Econet fields and office space. 

Mr Sumeet Phadnis

Sumit is the youngest team member in ECONET. He coordinates the Constitutional Values and Social Change initiative implemented in teh Khandesh region – Dhule, Jalgaon and Nandurbar. As a young graduate with a degree of BTech in chemical engineering, Sumit chose to work with the people facing diverse challenges in their social, economic and political lives. His summer internship in Mahad (Raigad district of Maharashtra) with the Sane Guruiji Samrak Samiti opened for him the professional path he is currently on. Building self awareness amongst the children, youth and adolescent girls through creative tools and participatory game, exercises and artistic expression defines Sumit as a person and as a professional. Since past 3-5 years he has been intensely working on educating youth and school children as well as community members on the constitutional values and vigilant citizenship. Sumit is a trekker and camp organiser for those passionate about forts, lived experiences in the wild and in the nature. He joined ECONET in 2024 as a programme assistant and later in October 2024 he was given the responsibility of facilitating the constitutional value initiative ECONET has been implementing since 2023 in Dhule, Jalgaon and Nandurbar with a diverse group of young men and women from SC, ST, OBC and minorities.

Ms Diksha Athawale

Diksha Athawale is a Project Officer at Econet with a Master’s in Social Work focused on Public Health from TISS, Mumbai. Her master’s thesis explored the discrimination faced by sex workers in Kamathipura, Mumbai. Passionate about working with marginalized communities, She is especially dedicated to improving the health and well-being of NT & DNT communities through her work at Econet. She is also deeply interested in research, aiming to generate evidence-based solutions for public health issues. Diksha has written an opinion page for Maqtoob Media, where she addresses social justice and health equity challenges. She likes reading, dancing, and listening to music.

Ms Swati Bhalerao

Ms. Swati Deepak Bhalerao is working with ECONET since 2012. She is holding the post of “Administrator, Documentation officer cum Finance Assistant”. Being an administrator she engaging in maintains the daily records of ECONET staff such as maintaining the muster, keeping their leave records etc. She plays her role in the preparation of meetings, training program & other activities that happened in ECONET. Also her task is to assisting the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) during the Board meetings and its entire arrangements. Swati does the MIS for the work undertaken by the organisation. She is B. A in English with having a technical skill in computer and typewriting (Marathi & English). She is a multitasking and has a dynamic personality who likes to takes the challenges and move towards goal. Apart from this she is a calm and very gentle to all and having supportive nature who loves music. 

Ms Meghana Tattu

Meghana Tattu. Meghana works as a Finance Officer with Econet for the last 6.5 years. She has developed her niche of handling the fund management and financial accounting in a non profit. She has total working experience of more than 17 years. Over the years in Econet Meghana has grown from an accountant to a finance officer and someone attuned to legal and statutory compliances for a Public Trust.

Mr Mukesh Gaikwad

Mukesh is an administrative assistant in ECONET. He is the longest serving employee of ECONET from the current team. Apart from an administrative assistant, he also looks after the library in the organisation. Travelling and interacting with different cultures, communities, Mukesh is very passionate about.