Staff
Adam Ferguson
Fellowship SupportAdam joined the Indicorps staff in May 2009 as part of the fellowship support team. He was born and raised in James City County, Virginia and studied history and art history at James Madison University in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. Adam has worked in the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s research library assisting with the digitalization of archived materials, taught English for two years in the village of Koneurgench, Turkmenistan with the United States Peace Corps, and worked in the Alabama state government supporting various non-profit social service providers and assisting with disaster response and recovery efforts.
Adam enjoys long journeys as much as, if not more, than reaching the destination. In Turkmenistan he traveled by foot, car, bus, dump truck, plane, ferry, train, and donkey cart – regularly taking the cramped 10-hour taxi ride across the desolate, hot, and calm Garagum desert. Also, along with three others, he visited all 67 counties in Alabama in 22 hours, 8 minutes – a mark that is beatable but not yet beaten -- in a surprisingly resilient rented minivan. Adam hopes that over the course of his time with Indicorps he is able to help fellows through as many difficulties and challenges as possible to find lasting experiences and memories, and hopes they will help him do the same.
adam@indicorps.org
Dev Tayde
Deputy DirectorDev joined the Indicorps team in January 2006 and has ambidextrously juggled Project Development and Fellowship Support roles. Dev brings a decade of experience spread over low cost housing and sanitation, community development, governance, education, youth development and capacity building. His professional and volunteer stints with numerous organizations across India have enabled him to channelize his passion for service. Dev is currently also associated with UnLtd India. He has helped co-found Down To Earth and Jagruti, non-profits engaged with children and youth from humble backgrounds and rural development respectively. Dev loves his time with earthworms as they collectively dig deep to make the world greener and with young adults in workshops and on sports fields exchanging notes about making things better. During his time at the Akanksha Foundation he was voted “Most Hardworking Team Member” for two successive years. The award was scrapped in the third year!!
dev@indicorps.org
Jaidip Patel
Ahmedabad Ultimate; Fellowship SupportJaidip first joined Indicorps in the summer of 2005, after graduating with a Masters in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College London, as a summer intern on the Ahmedabad Ultimate (AU) Project. He then drilled for oil as a field engineer in Gabon and Angola for almost 4 years (with extra time to explore the world). In February 2009, Jaidip returned full-time on the staff team and as the lead on the Ultimate initiative.
Having first discovered Ultimate Frisbee in his last 2 years at Imperial College, Jaidip instantly became obsessed by this fast-paced, energetic and humbling new sport, taking part in regional and national tournaments all over the UK. His craziest excursions have included bungee-jumping (most exciting yet scariest thing ever done!), sky-diving, ice-climbing and sea kayaking.
Jaidip@indicorps.org
Lakshmi Eassey
Media and CommunicationsLakshmi Eassey joined Indicorps in August 2009 and currently serves as the Media and Communications director. She is a graduate of Pitzer College with a Bachelors in Global Communication Studies and a minor in Studio Art. During her time at Pitzer College she studied gender and language in Gaborone, Botswana as well as politics and English in Bristol, England. Lakshmi has served as a Field Organizer for the Barack Obama campaign in Lakeland, Florida, and taught English and Computer Science in Ladakh, India. For the 2008-2009 school year she received a Fulbright Fellowship to teach English in Hamburg. Most recently, she was a Program Director for the National Student Leadership Conference on Journalism & Mass Communication, a high school leadership program that prepares students for future careers in journalism. Lakshmi chose Indicorps because she would like to use convergence media as a medium for change. Finally, Lakshmi enjoys playing basketball, reading newspapers, writing articles, learning new languages and teaching art.
Lakshmi@indicorps.org
Pradyumna Gupta
Project DevelopmentAfter living in the United States for 8 years, Pradyumna Gupta returned with a PhD in material sciences and a tremendous capacity for reflection. As part of the Indicorps staff team, Pradyumna launched the IndiJournal as a framework to publish the Indicorps green papers. Pradyumna was also instrumental in launching Speak for Change as part of the local Volunteer Ahmedabad initiative (to engage college students and citizens in constructive action for their city). Pradyumna will be a core member of the fellowship support team for Aug\'09 Fellowship Class.
Born and raised in Kanpur, India, Pradyumna graduated from Banaras Hindu University (BHU), India with a Bachelor in Technology; he obtained a PhD in Material Sciences from Lehigh University, PA. While at BHU, Pradyumna co-founded Kashi Utkarsh, a social service organization to channel student\'s energy to social causes. As a Co-Founder and President of Lehigh University\'s India Club in 2005, he helped bring the Lehigh Indian community together to create unique programs like ShantiChoir. As a Senior Research Engineer at Saint-Gobain R&D in Boston, MA (2007-08), Pradyumna helped his company discover novel ways to make pores as effective as diamond in abrasive tools.
pradyumna@indicorps.org
Prerna Seth
Prerna Seth is from New Delhi and recently completed her BA inEconomics from the University of Delhi. She is an avid debater and active participant in her university, taking a lead role in organizing and inter-college Economics Fest. As an assistant with an event-planning firm, Prerna developed and executed the promotional strategy for the Great Indian Rock Festival 2007, one of the largest and most popular Indian rock events this decade. As an August 2008 fellow, Prerna was partnered with the Jansamarth to utilize renewable energy sources to increase income in the mountain communities of Uttarkhand. Post her fellowship, Prerna decided to join Indicorps staff because she strongly believes in the Indicorps philosophy of \"being the change\". Prerna feels passionately about working with youth to create long lasting social change.
prerna@indicorps.org
Roopal Shah
Executive Director, Co-FounderRoopal Shah currently serves as the Executive Director of Indicorps (which she co-founded with her siblings Anand and Sonal) and is based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. A graduate of Harvard University and the University of Michigan Law School, Roopal practiced law for almost a decade - clerking for a federal district judge, practicing at a law firm in DC, and serving as a federal prosecutor (of major narcotics and alien-smuggling along the Southwest US-Mexico border).
Fun highlights from Roopal\'s story include coordinating the Bollinger fun run and movies on the quad as the president of the University of Michigan Law School Student Senate; assisting Federal District Court Judge Ezra draft judicial opinions; joining the core trial team at Shearman & Sterling for the Orthofix $150 million verdict; twice completing the Marine Corps marathon (with a worse time for the second run :)), and surfing South Garbage (San Diego) in the rain with 4-6 foot waves as part of a 400+ day surfing streak.
roopal@indicorps.org
Terry Levine
Fellowship Support; Development of Leadership CurriculumTerry Levine joined the Indicorps staff in August 2009 as a member of the Fellowship support team. From July 2008-July 2009, he was part of the Congress-Bundestag Exchange for Young Professionals (CBYX) a yearlong scholarship program that provides 75 young Americans with an understanding of everyday life, education, and professional training in Germany. Prior to this, he worked for two years in Washington, DC at the Aspen Institute, a think tank committed to enlightened leadership and timeless values. His role included working on leadership and seminar programs through event coordination, curriculum development, and ensuring smooth communication between departments. In 2006, he graduated from Tufts University with a BA in International Relations and Philosophy and is a proud resident of perhaps the most beautiful (yet mocked) US state, New Jersey. Terry has been to all continents (except Antarctica) and has a goal of having extra pages added into his passport. He completed the Philadelphia Marathon in October 2006 and hopes to complete a triathlon in the near future.
terry@indicorps.org
Vijay Ramchandani
Volunteer AhmedabadVijay joined Indicorps in June 2006 in a Project Development role. Before joining Indicorps, Vijay served for three years as an administrative executive for Motif Inc., a business process outsourcing firm in Ahmedabad . Currently Vijay is coordinating Indicorps\' domestic volunteer program - Volunteer Ahmedabad - that promotes the spirit of volunteerism and encourages civic engagement in Ahmedabad. A proud Sindhi, born and brought up in Gujarat, Vijay completed his Bachelors in English Literature in Ahmedabad. Vijay also has Diploma in Interior Designing. Vijay enjoys painting and other art related endeavors in his leisure time.
vijay@indicorps.org
