Padmashree Ms. Lila Poonawalla along with her husband Mr. Firoz Poonawalla established the Lila Poonawalla Foundation (LPF) in 1995 with a vision to contribute to the empowerment of Indian women. LPF supports academically outstanding and financially deserving girls through scholarships to pursue higher education. LPF places great importance on nurturing women’s abilities through comprehensive education, including personal development workshops, activities, study tours, and other enrichment programs. Since its inception, LPF has transformed the lives of over 10,800 girls and their families. The foundation gives Scholarships to the girls from Amaravati, Wardha and Nagpur in Maharashtra and Hyderabad in Telangana.
IDRF partner since: 2009
Focus Area: Education and Women’s Empowerment
Location: Maharashtra and Telangana
Project Title: Merit-cum-need based scholarships and skill-building
Details: LPF awards scholarships to academically meritorious girls from the economically weaker background:
School scholarships (7th grade up to graduation)
Undergraduate scholarships and skill building project (engineering, engineering after diploma, pharmacy, nursing, and science courses)
Postgraduate scholarships and skill building project
The focus of LPF scholarships lies in the overall development and transformation of the scholarship recipients. Besides the financial assistance provided for completing their professional education, LPF focuses on ‘Beyond Scholarship’ by investing in the Skill Building & Development interventions to transform its girls into confident employable professionals for the industry at large. This also makes them balanced, empathetic and responsible human being. LPF provides them support in locating internship and placement opportunities, especially to those girls who may not get campus placement opportunities. LPF School Project is also supported with need based infrastructure and counseling of girls and their parents.
Many LILA Girls/LILA Fellows are working as Leaders in organizations such as Google, TCS, IBM, and Walmart in the USA. In India, thousands of LILA Girls and LILA Fellows are excelling in their career with Corporate MNCs, Hospitals, Academia Institutes, Research Organizations, Consulting and Civil Services.
LPF encourages the culture of give back within the LILA Girls/LILA Fellows through donations to help other girls get an education and blossom into confident young ladies through mentoring.
Skill building and training program for LILA Fellows.
Lila Girls from Wardha in a training class
Please click on https://www.lilapoonawallafoundation.com/ to know more about how Lila Poonawalla Foundation champions the significant cause of promoting girl’s education and women empowerment
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Ms. Shubhra Garg (Masters in Mathematics; MBA), USA
Secretary
Member since 2022
Shubhra Garg retired from the World Bank in 2015 as Chief Administrative Officer, having served for over 25 year in a variety of senior management and technical positions in the areas of strategy, leadership, budget, performance management, finance, and administration. She has also served as treasurer and secretary on the Board of another NGO. Shubhra did her Master in Mathematics from Delhi University and an M.B.A from University of Maryland.
Mr. Adesh Jain (Masters, B.Tech), USA
Member since 2022
Adesh is a seasoned, hands-on leader with over 30 years of progressive experience in leading an information technology services business. He is currently responsible for Belcan’s Federal Civilian business and Vice President and General Manager. He is passionate about building trusting customer relationships, and business management with sharp focus on growth. Adesh has a Masters degree from University of Maryland at College park and Bachelors from Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur, India. Adesh enjoys reading business books, running, badminton and volunteering in various organizations including IDRF, Capital IIT and Girls Scouts. He lives in Herndon, VA with his wife and two kids.
Dr. Prem Garg (PhD, Engineering-Economic Systems), USA
Treasurer
Member since August 2014
Dr. Prem Garg retired from the World Bank in 2007 after serving as the Director for the Quality Assurance Group and in a variety of operational and executive positions for 35 years. He is recognized as a leader in providing innovative approaches to development programs. Dr. Garg received his doctorate in Engineering-Economic Systems from Stanford University.
Rajeev has over 20 years’ experience in starting and scaling small business for success and impact. He’s been involved with IDRF as a volunteer, adviser, Board member and now as their Executive Director. His focus is making IDRF more efficient and impactful in its mission to serve the underprivileged. He holds a B.Tech. from IIT Delhi and an MBA from University of Maryland.
Donor Spotlight
Mr. Inder Sud, a former World Bank Director and President of the 1818 Society (2015-21), is
a highly respected member of the Indian-American community in the Washington DC Metro Area. Over the years he and his wife Peggy have supported several projects in India through IDRF. In 2022, they supported the
renovation of a hostel mess at Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya in Jalandhar, Punjab with the help of the Udhampur Rotary Eye & General Welfare Foundation.
Dr. G. R. Verma (Ph.D. Mathematics), USA
Member since 2011
Dr. Verma is among IDRF’s top donors. He visits India every year, devoting his resources to rural women’s education, self-empowerment and social reforms. IDRF benefits tremendously from his extensive experience in development. He guides NGOs in India to create scalable projects that can accelerate social development.
Bharathi Mallampati (MS, Engineering), USA
Member since June 2022
Bharathi came to the USA for her MS in 1991 and pursued her career with Bell Communications Research. She was involved in IDRF from 1995 and later became the New Jersey and Atlanta, Georgia chapters’ coordinator. Moving back to India for family, she started a small-scale industry for a few years and worked as an Associate Professor at CVR Engineering College. She participated in different projects under Sewa Bharati and was the joint secretary for Vaidehi Ashram, a home for destitute girls. She later started a new project for adolescent girls from poor neighborhoods called Vaidehi Kishori Vikas Yojana. Since 2015, moving back to the USA, she has taken an advisory role in projects in India and actively works with IDRF to raise funds.
Ms. Nisha Narayanan (Masters in Economics), USA
Member since 2021
Ms. Narayanan is a risk and compliance professional with over 15 years of experience in anti-money laundering, anti-corruption and political and economic risk. She became interested in sustainable development while working at the World Bank and through a prior project on corporate citizenship in India. She brings to IDRF a passion for empowering marginalized communities with the tools to improve their lives through strong local partnerships that focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance goals. She received an M.A. in Economics from George Mason University and a B.A. in International Relations from William and Mary.
Mr. Mohinder Gulati, (MBA-Finance, Masters in Physics), USA
Member since 2017
Mr. Gulati retired from the World Bank in 2015 after having served as Advisor (Energy) at the World Bank and as Chief Operating Officer of United Nations Sustainable Energy for All. He has also worked in several executive positions in India in a financial intermediary, commercial banking, investment banking, and armed forces. A post-graduate in Physics and Management from Delhi University and Management training at Harvard Business School, he brings 40 years of development experience to the Board.
Dr Vinod Prakash (PhD, Economics),USA
President
Member since 1988
Dr. Vinod Prakash is a retired World Bank economist and the founder of IDRF. He has been working pro bono since 1988 to help alleviate poverty and enable sustainable development in India. He provides strategic oversight to leverage maximum benefits from donor dollars and shapes programs so they address the interlocking needs of the less privileged.
Dr. Suresh C. Gupta (M.D.), USA
Member since 2020
Dr. Gupta is a highly respected physician who has been honored by the state of Maryland for his work as chair of the Maryland Board of Physicians. He has been elected as the first Indian-American president of Prince George’s Medical Society, Prince George’s Hospital Center, President of Hindu Temple, and President and Chairman of Durga Temple. He is actively involved in the cultural-philanthropic activities of the Indian-American community and several religious, health-related activities at the county and state level. Dr. Gupta has held leadership positions with several Indian-American organizations in the area.
