Smita Deshpande

Executive Director

Smita Deshpande is the founder of EarlySpark. She has electronics and communications engineering background and a graduate degree in computer science from Boston University. She has previously held roles in several startups in the food services, supply chain analytics, fashion and gaming industries including at the MIT Media Lab. She has always found ways to advance the lives of children - be it inventing a patented mixing and anti spoilage monitoring device for baby formula or starting EarlySpark to enable access to high quality education for all children irrespective of their backgrounds.

Dr. Nermeen Dashoush

Curriculum Director

Dr. Nermeen Dashoush is faculty at Boston University’s Early Childhood program where she focuses on teacher preparation and science education. She designs curriculum for international use and designs digital learning platforms that promote STEM education. Dr. Dashoush joined EarlySpark because of its commitment to empowering children, educators and families.

Anuja Burns

Director of strategy

Anuja is the Founder of Galileo Preschool, located in San Jose, California. She holds a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from M.I.T. She also holds an MBA and Masters of Education from Stanford University. Anuja is passionate about education and has worked with underserved youth locally and abroad. She spent a summer teaching Physics and Web Design in China, and closer to home, she started a college prep program in South Central, Los Angeles. Today, Anuja serves as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for children in the dependency system.

Dr. Sushil Vachani

Dr. Sushil Vachani retired as Professor of Strategy and Innovation at Boston University, and Director of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. He is passionate about using technology to enhance the quality and reach of education, and supports EdTech initiatives among non-profits and start-ups. He has varied business experience, having worked with Philips, the Tata Group and Boston Consulting Group. He is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad and Harvard Business School.

Dr. Prashant Loyalka

Dr. Prashant Loyalka is an Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Education and a Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. His research focuses on examining/addressing inequalities in the education of children and youth and on understanding/improving the quality of education received by children and youth in multiple countries including China, India, Russia, and the United States. He also conducts large-scale evaluations of educational programs and policies that seek to improve student outcomes.

Dr. Lav R. Varshney (on leave)

Dr. Lav R. Varshney is currently an Associate Professor of ECE, CS, Neuroscience, and Digital Agriculture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has previously been a principal research scientist at Salesforce Research and a research staff member at the IBM Watson Research Center, where he led numerous AI for Good projects in areas including poverty, child abuse, employment, urban blight, sustainability, and hunger/obesity.

Serge Bhachu

Serge Bhachu is currently Managing Director of Sparta Group LLC, a private investment office with an opportunistic global mandate. Serge's prior roles have spanned executive positions in legal, finance and operations in both for profit and non profit organizations. Serge also serves as a Director for Virtudent, and board observer for Instylla, as well as Trustee for the Deshpande Foundation and Deshpande Educational Trust and Director for Entrepreneurship For All.

Rishikesh BS

Rishikesh is an Associate Professor at the School of Education, Azim Premji University. He also leads the Hub for Education, Law & Policy located at the University. He has over 20 years of research and teaching experience. His research interests are in the domains of educational policies, educational research, learner assessments and teacher education. He has served on several government advisory committees including Karnataka Task Force established to implement National Education Policy 2020. He has worked closely with Dr. K. Kasturirangan committee which drafted the NEP.