Pratham USA, a nonprofit organization that aims to improve the quality of education in India, announced on Friday the appointment of three new directors to its National Board.  Satish Cherwoo, Dr. Marie Goradia and Rajesh Shah join the board of directors as the organization celebrates its 20th anniversary.

Satish Cherwoo has over thirty years of experience trading commodities including futures and options for various global trading firms such as Louis Dreyfus Corporation, Marc Rich International, Land O'Lakes, and Consolidated Natural Gas. A longtime Pratham support, Cherwoo actively contributes to several organizations in the areas of education, healthcare and poverty alleviation in India.

Dr. Marie Goradia is President of Pratham's Houston chapter and has served on its board since 2010. Trained as a molecular biologist, she brings her expertise and dedication to several organizations, including the Asia Society and MD Anderson Cancer Center, on whose boards she also serves. She is a former President of Woodlands Toastmasters and currently serves as an Area Governor.

Rajesh (Raj) Shah is a President at M S International, Inc. in Los Angeles, where he has worked in an official capacity since 2003. Previously, Shah was a Vice President with Lehman Brothers in the Investment Banking Division with a focus on serving the needs of financial sponsor/private equity funds. Shah serves on the board of directors for the Orange County Chapter of Young President's Organization and the Los Angeles chapter of Pratham USA.

In addition, the organization announced the appointment of Deepak Raj as President of Pratham USA. Raj succeeds Dr. Atul Varadhachary from Houston who stepped down in 2014.

Raj is the Managing Director of private investment firms Rush Brook Partners and Raj Associates. Previously, he worked for 24 years at Merrill Lynch, where he retired as Senior Vice President and a member of the firm's Executive Management Committee, managing a team of 700 investment professionals. Raj serves on Pratham USA's board of directors and is President of its New York Tri-state chapter.He is also the founder of the Raj Center on Indian Economic Policies at Columbia University.

"We are extremely pleased to have three new Board members and an Executive of this caliber to help guide the organization as we enter our next phase of growth," said Chairman Dinyar (Dinny) Devitre. "Each of them is a highly accomplished individual with a great passion for Pratham's cause. We are delighted to welcome them to their new roles in the organization."

New President Raj said, "For two decades, Pratham has been singularly focused on improving the quality of education for India's poor. I believe it represents our single brightest hope for educating India's children and I am honored and humbled by the opportunity to help Pratham achieve its mission to have Every Child in School and Learning Well."

ABOUT PRATHAM

Founded in 1995 to ensure that every child is in school and learning well, Pratham is now one of the largest non-governmental organizations in India's education sector. Pratham employs low-cost, scalable methods and works in partnership with government and community stakeholders to deliver quality education to underprivileged children. Last year Pratham reached nearly 8 million children, adolescents and young adults through a range of programs in 21 of  India's 29 states.

Pratham USA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a four-star rating (the highest possible) from Charity Navigator. It accepts tax-deductible contributions from US donors to create educational reform throughout India. To learn more about Pratham and its programs, visit prathamusa.org.

|