Our Team
Meet our dedicated and passionate team who are working tirelessly to spark the change! If you'd like to join us, please check our vacancies here.
Anu Parthasarathy
|
Anu is involved in all things professional development at ArtSparks. She serves as a key part of the induction training process for new team members. Mentoring and capacity building Program Managers in particular, Anu has worked to support their ongoing growth and development in the domain of art education. Anu also coordinates and executes ArtSparks’ professional learning offerings, working closely with the Manager of the Professional Learning program. She also serves as one of the facilitators of ArtSparks' EdSparks Collective program, having played a critical role in the program's development. A passionate art educator, committed to advocating for the arts and building wider and deeper awareness about how the visual arts can develop 21st century learning and life skills in children from diverse backgrounds, Anu has also worked directly with children, providing robust art education opportunities for them. She herself is an avid painter and photographer. Prior to her work at ArtSparks, Anu worked for several years, both in India and the US, in different capacities: conducting art classes for children within her local community; working with schools teachers and administrators to usher innovative practices in teaching and learning; serving as a product designer; setting up and running, as director and partner, a business to support traditional craft practices in India; working as a web designer & developer in the US. Her commitment to advocacy around the arts in education is what leads her now to her work in professionally developing adults—teachers, educators, nonprofit administrators—in the domain of art education.
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Interior Design, University of Madras Masters of Arts, Project Management & IT, Colorado Technical University |
Arpitha Jayaram
|
Arpitha manages ArtSparks’ Creative Learning Lab (CLL) program, ensuring the smooth functioning of the program, while mobilizing the CLL team. Her role involves program strategy development, recruitment of CLL facilitators, conducting professional development, implementation of programming across partner school sites, stakeholder management, quality control, assessment, and reporting. A major part of her role is to ensure the continuous professional development of CLL facilitators to empower them, support their growth as well as the children they work with. Prior to ArtSparks, Arpitha worked in ed-tech, resource distribution, as well as within a nonprofit setting, working closely with school principals, children, and teachers. Arpitha is passionate and committed to providing quality learning experiences to children from diverse backgrounds. This is what motivates and inspires her.
Bachelor of Technology, Christ University Master of Arts, Education, Azim Premji University |
Muankimi N
|
Muankimi is involved in the end-to-end activities with regards to volunteer management at ArtSparks, from recruitment, to placement of the volunteers, training and development, and other ongoing management activities. Muankimi partners with other volunteering platforms to ensure committed and dedicated volunteers are onboarded and placed into various volunteer roles at ArtSparks. She also provides support to the program team, when required, with planning and execution of their volunteer engagement activities. Muankimi is motivated by her belief in the power of individuals and the tremendous positive shifts they can create in a child’s or any person’s life. And, she strives to be a part of the change in any way she can. Prior to joining ArtSparks, Muankimi used to work in Mizoram with government school children in providing quality education by building capacities of teachers and school management committee members. If she could bring about one change to communities everywhere, it would be to provide quality education for each and every child and ensure life skills are taught from a young age. She wishes she could make each and every one in this world believe in themselves.
Bachelor of Social Work, St. Joseph's College of Arts & Science, Bangalore Master of Social Work, St. Joseph's College of Arts & Science, Bangalore |
Narasimharaju L
|
Narasimharaju oversees all aspects of program coordination of the Creative Learning Lab (CLL) program, from strategy development, to streamlining processes such as data collection, data management, and more. He also supports the Program Manager and provides key logistical support to the CLL team, ensuring smooth functioning of the program. Furthermore, he serves as a liaison for the teacher engagement segment of the CLL program where he works with school teachers to provide support and help them access resources that can expand their teaching practices. As a key component of program coordination, Narasimharaju also continuously works with ArtSparks CLL facilitators as well as other stakeholders, building strong relationships that can help further program goals. Prior to his work at ArtSparks, Narasimharaju worked closely with children, facilitators, teachers, and government officials to execute life skills programming at the grassroots level. In his free time, Narasimharaju enjoys farming and loves singing and performing, having participated in many theatre events.
Bachelor of Arts, Government First-grade College, Sira Master of Social Work, Tumkur University |
Nisha Nair
|
Nisha has been involved in the education sector for close to two decades in varied settings in the US and India. As an art educator and researcher, she is deeply interested in how meaningful art experiences can propel individual and social transformation, and in how teachers can promote such experiences for diverse learners. In particular, her work in education explores the role of visual arts & design in developing the whole child, building more inclusive learning environments that promote the development of 21st century learning and life skills, and developing the capacity of teachers. It is these interests and passions that led her to start ArtSparks Foundation. As Founder & Executive Director, Nisha wears many hats, from organizational strategy development, program design, team building, donor relations, reporting, and much more. More recently, Nisha has also been involved in research around the work of ArtSparks. Prior to ArtSparks, Nisha’s tenure in education has included serving as facilitator, researcher, curriculum specialist, teacher educator, and program director at nonprofit institutions, intergovernmental agencies, schools and museums, in the US and India. And, prior to education, Nisha worked in the field of Marketing Communications Design, and over her eight-year tenure, won numerous design awards for her work for diverse clients such as the Smithsonian Institution, Honda, NASA, and more.
Bachelor of Fine Art, Graphic Design, Savannah College of Art & Design Master of Art, Art Education, Teachers College Columbia University International Educational Development Studies, Teachers College Columbia University Doctoral Fellow, Art Education, Teachers College Columbia University |
Saagarika Chatterji
|
Saagarika manages ArtSparks’ Professional Learning and Development Program, and is involved in planning, strategizing and implementing its various professional development offerings. This involves creating awareness about the role of art in education and broadening understanding around art and art education in children’s learning, growth and development. She organizes the annual professional development program called EdSparks Collective which is attended by different organizations and individuals across India, who further become a part of a community of practice. One of her major roles is to provide on-going support to our partner organizations throughout the year to help them get fully equipped and confident to conduct robust art interventions within their own spaces so that the potential of art can benefit more children. Prior to ArtSparks, she worked with and for children in different settings, not only as a life skills and creative activities instructor, but also engaging with teachers, educators and NGO administrators working with children. She is committed to working for causes related to children and their rights, as she believes they are our hope for a better future. In her free time, she likes to go on cycling expeditions and also enjoys DIY projects.
B.A in Psychology, Sociology & Literature, Christ University, Bengaluru Masters in Social Work - Human Resource Development & Management, Christ University, Bengaluru |
Sathyanarayana S
|
Sathyanarayana, as an integral part of the Creative Learning Lab (CLL) team, provides valuable logistical support to the program. His work involves creating and maintaining a meticulous data collection and management system; setting benchmarks for high quality data that effectively captures and tells the story of the work that ArtSparks conducts; liaising with CLL facilitators, school administrators, teachers, parents, education official, on an ongoing basis; supporting program team needs during professional development sessions, as well as events such as inaugurations and exhibitions; applying for and retrieving necessary permissions; visiting schools in support of the program team; and much more. Passionate about child rights, he also wishes to sensitize CLL facilitators, expanding and enhancing their understandings. Furthermore, he enjoys investigating various art media, expanding his own understandings, and incorporating them within the 21st-century learning framework. He always works collaboratively and supportively with his colleagues to uphold and successfully meet the team and organization’s collective vision. Prior to ArtSparks, Sathyanarayana served as a trainer and organizer, communicating with government officials to uphold child rights in the state of Karnataka. He also worked with government school children, educating them about child rights, and empowering them to solve issues in their neighbourhoods. Sathyanarayana is an activist, loves reading books, and derives great pleasure from traveling, with a particular love of beaches.
Master of Social Work, Goutham College of Science, Bangalore (affiliated with Bangalore University) |
Former Team Members
Aishwarya Santhosh
|
Nagaraj Kulkarni
|
Content and images are the property of ArtSparks Foundation. Copyright © 2021. All Rights Reserved.