Our Governing Body

Dr. (Col) Chandra Shekhar Pant, M.D. FICRI, VSM, is the Chairman of Aarohi and steers its Community Health Program. (Col) Pant has made several unique and pioneering contributions in the areas of medicine, health services and social welfare over the years. He completed his MBBS in 1968 from University Of Rajasthan and his M.D in Radio Diagnosis in 1978 from University of Delhi. (Col) Pant has a distinctive list of awards and accomplishments, among the honours is the prestigious Vasisht Sewa Medal (VSM) awarded to him on Republic Day in 1987 by the President of India.

Premila Nazareth Satyanand has a keen interest in grassroots development issues, having lived in Satoli and volunteered with Aarohi since the mid-1990s. Premila has a B.A. in History from St. Stephen's College, New Delhi, and an M.A. in International Relations from Columbia University, New York. Professionally, she focuses on foreign direct investment. She has worked with the United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations, New York, and the Economist Intelligence Unit, New Delhi, facilitating the Government dialogue on FDI liberalisation and advising foreign investors on India’s strategy.

Dr Pankaj Tewari is the Executive Director of Aarohi, a non-profit based in Nainital, with over two decades of experience in environmental research and sustainable mountain development. Holding a doctorate in Forestry and Environmental Science from Kumaun University, his work focuses on rural livelihoods, climate resilience, natural resource management, and community development in the Himalayan region. He has led over 20 projects supported by organisations including World Bank, UNDP, GIZ, and ICIMOD, and has worked extensively with marginalised mountain communities, including the Van Raji tribes near the India–Nepal border.

Gopal Singh Negi has been with the organisation since its inception and has seen it grow and evolve to its present day. He is presently, the Secretary and Chief Accountant at Aarohi. Gopal completed his post-graduation in Commerce from Kumaon University, Almora. After working for over a decade in a private organization and a bank, he decided to quit it all to pursue his passion for social work. He enjoys spending time with the community as much as providing guidance and support to the accounts function at Aarohi.

Milind Gandhi, a 59-year-old Chartered Accountant, is the founding partner of Gandhi & Associates LLP, Chartered Accountants, based in Mumbai. With over three decades of professional experience since 1990, he specialises in corporate and non-corporate taxation, assurance and compliance, foreign exchange laws, corporate advisory, and taxation for charitable entities. A B.Com graduate and a Fellow Chartered Accountant (FCA), Milind has also served as a visiting faculty for the MBA program at MET’s Business School (2010–2013), teaching Strategic Taxation and Working Capital Management. Beyond his profession, he enjoys sports, trekking, and studying economics.

Prof (Dr) Navin Dang is an alumnus of Modern School, Barakhamba Road New Delhi, M.B.B.S (Delhi University), M.D (P.G.I Chandigarh), and AIIMS (New Delhi) and is a renowned specialist in Lab Medicine. He is the Director of Dr Dangs Lab, New Delhi, which started in 1985. He is known for pioneering quality in the field of diagnostics in India. He is the recipient of several awards, including the Dr B C Roy National Award for his contribution to the socio- medical field. Dr. Dang is on the board of various public and private health advisory organisations and committees.

Ranjan Joshi has had an illustrious career in management, spanning over 3 decades. Ranjan was the Director, of Facilities & Services in Andersen Consulting's Emerging Markets of EMEIA region. He was later responsible for providing geographical leadership to the Accenture India office in the areas of IT, Finance, Human Resources, and Marketing apart from Facilities & Services. Ranjan started his career with IBM in 1970. He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from the IIM Calcutta, and a bachelor’s degree in economics from St. Xavier's College, Kolkata.