Our Team
We are immensely grateful to our past steering commitee members for their contribution and dedication to Friends of Shelter Associates’s early years.
Current Steering Committee
Sunil Bhatia, Chair
Sunil Bhatia, Ph.D. founded Friends of Shelter Associates (FSA), a local chapter of the Indian nonprofit organization, Shelter Associates in 2005. Sunil Bhatia is an Associate Professor of Human Development and Director of the Holleran Center for Community Action and Public Policy at Connecticut College. He has published over 20 articles and book chapters on issues related to language, self, immigrant identity and cultural psychology. His most recent book, American Karma: Race, Culture, and Identity and the Indian Diaspora (New York University Press, 2007), is based on an extensive, two-year ethnography of the middle-class Indian diaspora in Southern Connecticut.Sheila Dobbyn
Sheila Dobbyn has been a proud member of FSA since 2007. Sheila Dobbyn is the International Student Advisor for the ELS Language Center at Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI. Prior to joining the ELS team she worked with underprivileged youth as an Employment Specialist at the Exeter Job Corps Academy. She is responsible for event planning for FSA.Apurv Gupta
Apurv Gupta, MD, MPH has been actively working with FSA since 2008. He is currently a principal at Atria BPH, a healthcare services and consulting company. In 2009, he received the AMA’s Foundation’s Leadership Award and Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business. Dr. Gupta is a Trustee of IMANE and Co-Chair of Akshaya Patra (Boston Chapter). Dr Gupta is responsible for developing FSA’s Philanthropic Opportunities.
Gyan Pareek
Gyan Pareek, MD was inspired by Dr. Bhatia’s vision of FSA and its parent organization Shelter Associates. He is passionately committed to “Sanitizing Slums” and serves as FSA’s Treasurer. Dr. Pareek is the Director of Minimally Invasive Urologic Surgery at Brown Medical School, Providence, RI.Karin Wetherill
Karin Wetherill has a personal commitment to volunteerism and philanthropy both in her local community and on behalf of needy causes worldwide. Karen is Associate Director of Kids First, a Rhode Island non-profit organization working to improve the nutritional well being of children. She has been working with FSA since 2008 and is responsible for event planning for FSA.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Sunil Bhatia, Chair
Sheila Dobbyn
Apurv Gupta
Gyan Pareek
Karin Wetherill
Pratima Joshi, Shelter Associates
"In Pune, 45% of the population are living in slums that make up less than 10 percent of the city's area. It was so depressing to find out that such a large number of our people lived in such degraded environments. I set up Shelter with a group of architects out of a desire to use our skills to help people get better housing. If you cannot give basic dignity to your fellow human beings, what kind of progress can you talk about”
- Pratima Joshi, Founder (BBC News)
Architect Pratima Joshi set up Shelter Associates, in 1997 an internationally recognized NGO in Pune to improve sanitation and basic accommodation in slums. She has received world wide recognition for her work and in 2005, BBC named Pratima Joshi as one of “India’s New Pioneers” for her exemplary role in improving the sanitation conditions in the slums of Western India. That same year, Pratima Joshi was selected for her work as a social entrepreneur by the Ashoka Foundation.
SHELTER ASSOCIATES
Pratima Joshi, Director
A/17 Sarasnagar Siddhivinayak Society
Shukrawar Peth, Pune 411002 India
Tel: +91 20-2444 0363