Ashwin Koleth
Board Member, President & Co-Founder: Ashwin was the CEO and President of Cyrus-XP, a health information technology company dedicated to improving care coordination between payers, providers, and consumers.He now works in Healthcare management consulting.
Having grown up in rural India and Zimbabwe, he has witnessed first hand the challenges that under-developed communities face with limited resources. He is passionate about connecting individuals with the tools needed for industrious living, in first world and third world countries. Ashwin dreams of driving cross country on a Harley Davidson.
Erich Sachse
Board Member & Treasurer: Erich joined Profugo’s board after years of travel (for business and pleasure!) to countries all over the world, including lots of trips to India. During the day, Erich is a consultant, working in areas of sales compensation, educational analytics, and other non-profit data analytics. By night, Erich is a certified expert in wines, taking and teaching classes. He’d love to tell you more about Profugo over a glass… or a bottle.
Jenny Koleth
Board Member, Secretary & Co-Founder: While trekking in the foothills of the Himalayas in Yunnan province, China, Jenny fell in love with the rich culture and stories of the ethnic minority groups of Dali and Lijiang (Yunnan has 51 different ethnic groups!). Since that trip many years back, she’s seized cross-cultural opportunities whenever possible, exploring Tibetan Buddhism, teaching in Afghanistan, and marrying an Indian man. Her professional experience includes 12+ years in the publishing industry. She is passionate about people finding their “voice.”
Emily Davies
Board Member: After receiving her bachelor’s degree in International Relations, and spending time in Southeast Asia and South America, teaching English and “vagabonding,” Emily knew she would forever be involved in the good work of spreading social justice. Emily worked for Greenpeace for a couple years, managing a fundraising office in Philadelphia. Greenpeace opened her eyes to the power people have to bring about real and lasting change when they come together and make their voices heard.
She recently received her MPA, with a concentration in International Public Service and Development, from Rutgers Camden. As part of her degree she spent two years as a Field Fellow for Profugo in Prashanthagiri. When asked, she often says that it was fate that brought her there and that there will always be a special place in her heart for the warm and affectionate people of Prashanthagiri. She is currently working as a Youth Services Assistant at the Bucks County Free Library where she can hopefully motivate the next generation to take up the cause!
Jeffrey Conradi
Board Member: Jeffrey has a passion for engagement with world cultures and international development. He has travelled to over 20 countries for study, business, and leisure. As an undergraduate, Jeffrey studied abroad in both Mexico and Costa Rica as an International Relations major and Spanish and Latin American studies Minor at the University of Delaware. He earned a Master’s degree in Economic Development and Tourism Management from Boston University. In his career working in Higher Education spanning over a decade, Jeffrey has extensive domestic and international program management experience. Jeffrey currently serves as Associate Director of International Programs at Temple University’s Fox School of Business and recently was named an Adjunct Faculty Member for Temple University’s School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management (STHM). His graduate-level course titled Sustainable Tourism Development will include a case study based on Profugo’s work in Kerala. In addition to Spanish fluency, Jeffrey has been studying Modern Standard Arabic since October 2015 and has a working knowledge of French. Raised in Massachusetts, Jeffrey now lives in Ardmore, PA with his wife and 2 sons.
Justin Dausch
Board Member: Justin joined Profugo in 2020 with the intention of giving back to the community and providing opportunities to developing communities. He began his legal career working for a large international bank, and currently works for a consulting company. His professional experience provides a wealth of knowledge to benefit Profugo in the areas of immigration, compliance, and finance. His key responsibilities include developing internal procedures and advising Profugo on legal and compliance related matters. Justin enjoys cooking, travel, and New England sports.
Divya Balasubramaniam
Board Member: Divya was born and raised in Chennai, South India, where she earned a bachelor of commerce degree from Stella Maris College and a master’s degree in economics from Anna University. In 2004, she moved to the United States to embark on the next chapter of her journey and pursued a Ph.D. in economics at the University of Georgia. Divya began her career at Saint Joseph’s University in 2010, where she is currently an Associate Professor of economics and also serves as Director of the Nealis Program in Asian Studies. As an applied microeconomist, Divya’s overarching research theme focuses on how social justice issues such as social divisions and gender inequality can affect maternal or child health outcomes in India. While Divya’s association with Profugo began in 2012, joining Profugo’s board in the summer of 2020 has strengthened this association by creating opportunities to collaborate and work with Profugo’s team to further its vision and mission. A fun fact, Divya is a South Indian classical musician who has performed in several vocal concerts with her sister, Deepa in and outside the United States.
Vidhi Shah
Board Fellow: Vidhi, while passionate about her work at TD Bank in their Corporate & Specialty Banking team, loves involving herself in other organizations, such as Young Involved Philadelphia (YiP) and the Villanova Mentor Program. Vidhi received her undergraduate degree at Villanova University, in 2015, majoring in Finance and Accounting, with an Economics minor. Profugo had a substantial impact on Vidhi’s life, when she began working with the organization during her time at Villanova, helping with marketing ideas and fairs at Nova. She loved that the organization did work in India, where she was born, but also that it helped empower the people of Wayanad with tangible skills, including business and education. She is looking forward to having a more insider voice in the organization as a Board Fellow as Profugo drafts its strategic plans and initiatives for the next five years and one day hopes to visit Prashanthagiri.