Board Members
Mr. Ramamurthy Shankaran
Mr. Ramamurthy Shankaran, founder of Frigoscan Post Harvest Technologies, is an expert in post-harvest management with over 30 years of experience. His company, founded in 2011, specializes in cold storage and packhouse operations for perishable fruits. Shankaran has a background in mechanical engineering and food production, with past work at Blue Star Limited. He also mentors startups, advocates for women's health and sanitation in Jharkhand, and supports restoration of ancient temples in Tamil Nadu.
Dr Thiyagarajan Thiripurasundari
Dr. Thiyagarajan Thiripurasundari has 27+ years of experience in child rights, gender, and youth issues. Her work spans leading nonprofits, focusing on child protection and education during emergencies. She has received recognition for creating child-friendly spaces and implementing Standard Operating Procedures for railway safety. She has trained over 1200 Railway Protection Force personnel in Southern Railways and supported Tamil Nadu's Juvenile Justice System documentation.
Ms. Padmapriya Venkatramani
Ms. Padmapriya Venkatramani has 20+ years of experience working in varied fields including Administration, HR, Research, Strategic planning, Event & Crisis management. She is currently the Logistics Manager and a member of Equal Employment Opportunity liaison office in American Consulate General. Priya had also worked with the British Deputy High Commission, the Australian Consulate and Consulate General of Belgium. She has a Master's degree in Business Administration specializing in Human resource management.
Founder
Dr S Paramasivan
Dr Shanmugasundaram Paramasivan has over forty years of experience in WASH programme development, design, implementation, evaluation and research. He founded Sanitation First India as Wherever the Need India Services in 2007. He has pioneered non-sewered sanitation in India and designed the first ever ecosan school toilet block and container-based sanitation system in India. He is a well-respected international expert on all aspects of Water, Sanitation, indigenous WASH technology, and agricultural research.
Management Team
T S Padmapriya
Chief Executive
Ms. Padmapriya T S, Chief Executive of Sanitation First India, has over 22 years of experience in top management roles at leading international development organizations, including CARE and Save the Children UK. She is recognized for her expertise in strategic planning, operations, grants management, and policy development for the non-profit sector, with a focus on sustainable WASH and circular economy. Padmapriya has received numerous awards, including the Rotary Vocational Service Excellence Award in 2014 and the Imagine Award of Excellence in WASH Leadership in 2023. She is also a heritage blogger, researcher, walk curator, and published author.
Kumar Mohanasundaram
Director, Finance
Kumar Mohanasundaram, Director of Finance at Sanitation First since 2018, has played a key role in establishing effective financial processes that ensure accountability and trust. With over 22 years of experience in compliance, operations, and grant management for international non-profits like CARE, USAID, and the British Council, he's skilled in managing complex, multi-currency projects and geographically dispersed teams. Kumar has earned multiple awards for fiscal excellence and has trained over 400 partners in best practices, demonstrating his expertise in leading large-scale humanitarian projects, including a 30-million-USD Tsunami relief effort.
C. Sundara Manickam
Construction & Wash Specialist
Sundara Manickam is a seasoned construction engineer, WASH specialist, hydrologist, and disaster management expert with over 30 years of experience across international and UN agencies. In his recent role with Sanitation First, he has significantly contributed to community mobilization and water sustainability projects in Tamil Nadu, implementing participatory approaches and developing a pictorial guide for village women to test water quality. His previous experience includes work with RedR India, UNICEF, WASH Institute, and ADRA, focusing on post-disaster relief, WASH infrastructure, and training government officials and community members on water quality and sanitation.
Dr. Sophia J D
Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist
Dr. Sophia, with over twenty-five years of R&D experience in fields like Natural Resource Management, WASH, and Climate Adaptation, currently serves as the M&E specialist at Sanitation First. She has a strong background in theory of change, strategic planning, and integrated project management, and has led multi-country projects with a focus on gender-transformative, participatory, and sustainable approaches. Prior to this role, she was a Principal Scientist at M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, coordinating the Indo-EU Water4Crops project and demonstrating innovative water management systems.
Nisha Kesavan
Head, Projects
Nisha has over a decade of experience in programme management, emergency procurement, and development communication, specializing in delivering high-impact training and managing large-scale humanitarian projects. She led the development and rollout of menstrual health training for over 20,000 women during the lockdown, trained over 2,000 teachers on COVID-19 protocols, and coordinated the distribution of critical medical supplies. Nisha is also an award-winning filmmaker, a certified adolescent trainer, and has executive certifications from WHO on child safeguarding and development communication.
Team Members
Velliangiri N
Training Specialist
Shanthi P
District Consultant, Virudhunagar
S Selva Kumar
District Consultant, Virudhunagar
C Raja
District Consultant, Virudhunagar
J John David Lawrence
District Consultant, Virudhunagar
S Samuvel Charly
District Consultant, Ramanathapuram
M Kalaiarasan
District Consultant, Ramanathapuram
Ida Agnes Beaula A
District Consultant, Ramanathapuram
Guru Eswar P
Programme Coordinator
A Khannan
Technical Supervisor
Shalini Priya M
Accountant
