An eminent sociologist, social worker, and a counselor. She is a recipient of Fulbright Hayes award from US Department of Education. As Co-director of Cambodia Study Abroad program, at Northern Illinois University, Prof. Westman travels to Cambodia every year to teach. She played a key role in creating the MSW program at Sri Sarada College Tirunelveli.

Gerry Hanley, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of MERLOT and SkillsCommons, a free and open online library for teaching and learning in higher education and workforce development. He is also the Professor Emeritus of Psychology at California State University, Long Beach.

Sowjanya started TN Job Skills Development Center, Tirunelveli, an initiative honoring her father and mentor, who dedicated his twilight years to helping youngsters improve language skills. Director JSDC, Co-Director of SkillsCommons (USA)-Tamil Nadu Program in India, Academic Consultant Tilak Vidyalaya, Visiting faculty at Sri Sarada College, Tirunelveli.

Data Scientist from IIT Mumbai. Works in Credit Risk Analysis. She returned to India in 2021 from UK where she worked in the banking sector. She currently works at Kalediofin, a fintech providing financial solutions to people to underserved segments of community. Her interests are gardening, music and she is a cruciverbalist.

35 yrs in Information Technology Consulting, Transition, Transformation & Applications Development with leading IT Services companies like IBM, EDS & Cognizant Technology Solutions. Holds a postgraduate degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science.

Building an Analytics and Digital- Engagement, Execution, Education – strategy are some of the few key areas SKY has worked on. He teaches Business Context as part of our TARA IT team and has been instrumental in strengthening the program.

A marathon runner, a community volunteer, Lead mentor for TiE.

Kavita is a Software Engineer at Unique Force Technology Solutions, Chennai. She played a major role in the development of websites for Connemara library, Chennai and JSDC, Tirunelveli. She served in the Board of Studies (Dept. of Computer Applications), Sarada College, Tirunelveli in evaluating and accrediting college program. Currently Kavita is part of the TARA team, developing Innovations Project, focusing on imparting technology skills among rural graduates. She spends her spare time in reading, writing and learning new technology.

After securing his graduate degree in Physics at R K Mission Swami Vivekananda college, Chennai, Venkat Kalakkad completed his graduation in Computer Science and Engineering at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Venkat's stint in India includes being part of team AT CDAC, Bangalore that created the first parallel machine to enable self reliance in supercomputing. He was part of parallel debugger team. Post 1997, his stint in US includes engineering roles in wireless domain Motorola and now as senior data scientist at Optum. Venkat's current interests include learning and teaching about data science. With his experience he is keen to prepare next generation of data scientists.

Subbu Lakshmi is a graduate in English Literature, currently pursuing her master’s in English. She got trained by our TIPP program and is now assisting as a bilingual translator and teacher with TIPP USA. In addition, she is serving as a Case Coordinator providing career guidance at Tilak Vidyalaya, Kalladaikuruchi, to middle and high school students.

Tarun is a Senior Information Security Management Professional. With a strategic mind and a proactive approach, Tarun partners with organizations to craft a performance-based, customer-centric, and risk-driven Information Security Department.
Tarun’s educational journey includes a Master’s in Computer/Information/Network Security from DePaul University, a Master’s in Science with Geographic Information Systems from Northern Illinois University, and a Bachelor’s in Computer Science from Franklin University.
His certifications include PMP®, CRISC®, CISSP®, CISA®, and CISM®.
Outside the office, Tarun’s hobbies keep him balanced and energized. He’s a runner, a yoga enthusiast, and an avid reader. Whether he’s negotiating contracts, forming strategic partnerships, or overseeing complex projects, Tarun brings insight and versatility to everything he does..