| Type |
Details |
| Founding Member |
Vandana Gopikumar, Founder Trustee
15 years of work in the social sector in identifying an invisible issue, a growing need, glaring gaps and pursuing things doggedly through The Banyan gave me the experience in a few key areas that could be of value to the social sector. Sharing this experience excites me now, a year after I moved from a daily operations role to an advocacy and mentoring role at The Banyan.
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| Founding Member |
Vaishnavi Jayakumar, Founder Trustee
Vaishnavi Jayakumar dropped out of her MBA course to join her close friend Vandana Gopikumar in starting The Banyan in 1993. In their early twenties' at the time, the pair were propelled into action when the saw a half-naked mentally ill woman trying to cross the street outside their alma mater, Women’s' Christian College. None of the organisations in Chennai were equipped to care for her and the woman soon ended up on the streets again. At that point, Vandana and Vaishnavi decided it was time to take on the responsibility themselves. The Banyan started in a rented, four-bedroom apartment in Mogappair with just a handful of residents. When The Banyan shifted to its own property in 2002, there were more than 80 mentally ill women, living in those quarters along with Vandana and Vaishnavi. Vaishnavi who had a knack for numbers shouldered the responsibilities of Administration and Finance while constantly engaging and challenging the team with her innovative ideas, activities and games as the Trustee for Human Resource Management at The Banyan. She is also a talented designer who enjoys creating T shirts and posters on The Banyan and mental health. Vaishnavi has a wide range of interests which include western classical music, history, anthropology, literature.
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| Staff Member |
Mr. David Nash, Chief Executive Officer
David graduated from the University of Sussex, Brighton, UK with a BSc in Mathematics and joined Zurich Financial Services in August 1987. Having spent the entirety of his 22 year corporate career with Zurich, David has developed key business skills essential to leading any organisation – he is an excellent administrator who clearly understands systems and processes; he is also a skilled mentor and coach which enables him to bring the best out of any team. His outside interests, as a politician, have honed his communication skills and have enabled him to develop his strategic thinking skills. He has also served as Chairperson of local schools’ Governing Bodies for the past 10 years. For the past 5 years he has worked directly in the development sector, managing Zurich’s India Programme, a role he continues to combine with his duties at The Banyan.
David was attracted to join The Banyan a year ago, because he was inspired by the drive of the founders; the dedication of the team and the potential to make a difference to the lives of millions. His main strategic aim over the coming 3 years is to establish The Banyan as a sustainable organisation that maximises the resources it has.
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