Anusha is an Advocate practising in the Supreme Court of India, Delhi High Court and courts and tribunals across Delhi. Over the last 12 years, she has had the opportunity of working with some of the largest law firms in the country and chambers of Senior Counsel. As an independent practitioner, she regularly represent individuals and corporates in a wide range of civil, constitutional and commercial litigation and arbitration. Apart from handling disputes, she also advises corporate clients on labour welfare, good governance policies, gender justice within the organization and related issues.

Rajiv Whig is a Medical Graduate from the prestigious Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi University. He is a general physician by profession who was Trained at Hospital Broussais, Paris (France) in Clinical Management of HIV and AIDS. Besides more than 14 years of Managerial and HR experiece with corporate entities such as De Core* Group, Ranbaxy, Som Datt Group, he also has 9+ years Clinical and Teaching experience in Community Health, Reproductive Health, STD/RTI’s, HIV and AIDS, and Adolescent Health.

Rajiv was one of the early medical practitioners (since 1995) to have worked with the MSM community in providing medical advice and services. He has conducted trainings with medical fraternity, social workers, school/college students and community workers in various areas and worked with Adolescents in the areas of Health, Risk reduction and well being. He is a trained Counsellor in areas of Adolescent Issues, Family Issues, HIV and AIDS. Rajiv has served on committees/task force/boards of premier bodies such as the Confederation of Indian Industry, the Indian Medical Association and Naz.

After studying physics at St Stephens College in Delhi, Saurabh Kirpal read law at the University of Oxford and did his Masters in law at the University of Cambridge. He did a brief stint working with the United Nations in Geneva before returning to Delhi. He has been practising law at the Supreme Court for well over two decades and has appeared in a range of matters involving fundamental rights. He was the counsel for Navtej Johar, Ritu Dalmia and others in the case that led to the reading down of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. He is the author of the book ‘Sex and the Supreme Court’.

Sumant is a Scenographer, Designer, Installation artist and Theatre person. He was initially trained in visual communication at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. He has since then been a constant innovator and has developed multi-disciplinary skills to express creativity in different fields. His first opportunity to broaden his horizons was through travelling and working in the UK, and in Europe. Sumant builds in various elements such as audio-visual, video, calligraphy, lighting, performance and other dynamic inputs within the mode of theatrical performance, whether for Theatre, Dance, Film, Fashion or the world of Events.

Sumant is deeply concerned with cultural issues related to the contradictions of Local Identity and Global Universality. He thereby attempts through his work to interpret and reflect on values and attitudes that currently dominate our lives. He has been a recipient of the Charles Wallace India Trust Arts Award in 1994 (a British Council Arts Grant), the Sanskriti Award in 2001, and the Fulbright Arts Fellowship in 2002.

Akhila Sivadas, Managing Trustee is a founder member of the Centre for Advocacy and Research. Aa an expert on community engagement, she has led the organisation since 1998, and brings with her rich and varied experience as a researcher, visionary and communication expert on issues related to gender and development and its impact on marginal communities. With acumen in strategic planning and advocacy, she has assisted national and regional institutions in preparing policy briefs, strategy documents, papers on gender and intersectionalities, child rights, reproductive health, community media engagement, urban sanitation, climate and disaster management, networking and leveraging government programmes and schemes for the benefit of the poor.

Dipa Nag Chowdhury was Deputy Director of the India office of the MacArthur Foundation. She led MacArthur’s grantmaking on Population and Reproductive Health in India and for the international portfolio. She was also Program Officer for the Foundation’s grantmaking on girls’ secondary education. Prior to joining the Foundation in 1998, Dipa worked with the Naz Foundation Trust in India, the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, and the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington D.C. Dipa has Masters Degrees in Political Science from Mumbai University, India, and Public Administration from Syracuse University.

Anjali Gopalan is the Founder and Executive Director of the Naz Foundation (India) Trust. Anjali was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. She studied in both India and the US, with a degree in political science, a postgraduate diploma in journalism, and a Masters in International Development. She began working on issues related to HIV/AIDS and marginalized communities in the United States. On returning to India in the early 90s, she was frustrated at the lack of government response, and even civil society response, to the burgeoning HIV epidemic. Her response was to begin Naz and to focus on communities stigmatized by society.

As a strong advocate for the sexual health and rights of the LGBTQIA community, Anjali spearheaded the 17-year legal battle against Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). In 2001, Naz filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) to decriminalize homosexuality and put an end to the archaic law under which individuals were harassed and discriminated against based on their sexual orientation.

In 2001, Anjali was awarded the Commonwealth Award for her work with the marginalized communities. In 2005, she was nominated and short-listed for the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her work to bring harmony to those whose lives have none and became an Ashoka Fellow in recognition of her achievements as a social entrepreneur. She was named one of the 100 most Influential People in the World by the TIME magazine in 2012. Anjali was awarded Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur, the highest honor by the French Government for her work on Lesbian and Gay Rights in 2013.

Anjali Gopalan is an environmentalist and a passionate lover of animals.

James Veliath has been a part of Naz for more than a decade. Before joining Naz, James worked with the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of India in their HIV Care program. He joined Naz as Coordinator of the Capacity Building Programme that trained staff of institutions providing care and protection for Children Living with HIV. Currently, James is the Coordinator of the Naz Care Home, he is in charge of the Administration of the organization and he is part of the training and counseling team that creates awareness among individuals, groups and organizations on HIV/AIDS, gender awareness and sexuality.

Suresh Chand joined Naz India in 2017 as Senior Accountant. He came with vast experience in the field of general accounts and taxation. He worked with Wave Group prior to joining Naz India. The organisation delightedly promoted him as the Accounts Manager in 2021. Very gentle by nature, Suresh is committed to keeping the accounts system of Naz running in perfection.

Sahil Choudhary heads the LGBTQIA+ program at The Naz Foundation (India) Trust. He is the program Director of the New Delhi LGBTQIA+ Centre, an initiative of Naz India. He is a Law Graduate from Faculty of Law, University of Delhi.

Sahil advocates for diversity and inclusion and a greater understanding of sexuality and to empower members from the community to access their rights.

Sahil dreams for the realisation of Naz’s vision of creating a just and equitable society by transforming individuals from socially and economically excluded communities into agents of change.