Pratham USA National Board announces new chairperson
After 6 years of serving as the chair of Pratham USA, I informed the board late last year that I would like to step down and we should transition to a new chair. I am delighted to announce that the board unanimously and enthusiastically elected Dhiren Shethia as the new Chair, effective April 1, 2023.
Dhiren has been a longtime supporter of Pratham and currently serves on the Pratham National Board. He is a past president of the Pratham Houston chapter. His full bio can be seen here. Dhiren shares the vision of a bright future for Pratham and under his seasoned guidance, we will continue to build on the strong foundation to realize that vision.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my utmost gratitude to all members of the board and that of Pratham’s leadership team for all their help over these years. It has been my utmost privilege to work with these distinguished group of individuals to serve the children of India and help realize Rukmini and Madhav’s vision. I want to thank the chapters and the staff for their exceptional dedication to Pratham’s mission: every member contributes to make Pratham a force for social good.
As we move onward and upward, please join me in welcoming Dhiren to this new position.
Here are some quotes from members of the leadership team at Pratham, reflecting on the transition. The Chair-Elect also shared his thoughts as he moves into this new role.
“On behalf of the entire Pratham team in India, I would like to convey my gratitude to Deepak Raj for his unstinting support. Deepak has led our teams from the front. For the next innings, we welcome Dhiren Shethia as the leader of Pratham USA. He has already proven himself to be a strong pillar of Pratham USA’s effort with large donors and corporations. We look forward to working closely with him to take Pratham’s journey to the next level.” – Rukmini Banerji, Chief Executive Officer, Pratham Education Foundation
“I want to thank Deepak for his visionary leadership. I feel very privileged to take on this role at such an exciting time for Pratham. We are clearly on a growth trajectory. I am determined to see our mission continue to have a transformative impact in India and beyond. I look forward to continuing to work with fellow Board members and the world class team on-the-ground and in Pratham USA.” – Dhiren Shethia, Chair-Elect, Board of Directors, Pratham USA
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Deepak for his leadership. Under his guidance, Pratham has grown both in terms of size and scope, has professionalized its approaches and developed innovations for impact. Dhiren’s expertise and commitment have been apparent over the years. He demonstrated exemplary leadership for Pratham as we navigated the early days of the pandemic. I look forward to furthering our mission under Dhiren’s visionary leadership.” – Manisha Bharti, Chief Executive Officer of Pratham USA and Global Executive