Board of Trustees Members
Ms. Lalita Pawar
Chairperson
Lalita Pawar is a member of one of our Cooperatives. From her humble beginnings as a trainee at Creative Handicrafts, she has evolved into an independent woman. She is confident and known for her integrity.
As a result of her excellent leadership skills she has headed her group for two terms. She is well respected by all and was nominated as the Chairperson for Creative Handicrafts from the year 2011.
Ms. Beula Jose
Member
Beula had a humble beginning at Creative Handicrafts as a trainee. She is known among the women for her competitive spirit. She acknowledges that over her time at Creative Handicrafts she has transformed herself from a timid and shy woman to one who exudes confidence.
Beula Jose is currently the head of a Cooperative and was nominated to the board from the year 2011.
Sister Jacinta Canis
Missionaries of Christ Jesus
Sr. Jacinta Canis MCJ belongs to the Missionary of Christ Jesus Congregation. She has been actively involved in women's liberation movements for the past 22 years. She has extensive experience of working with marginalized women from Gujarat, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and almost all the districts of Gujarat.
Known for her struggle against gender discrimination, she continues standing fearlessly for women’s rights, justice and empowerment.
Ms. Elizabeth Poojari
Secretary
Elizabeth Poojary is a teacher by profession. She currently teaches at the Cannossa High School, Andheri East. She was working with Creative Handicrafts since its early days. Ms. Poojary is known for her honest and firm conviction on matters that concerns the poor and the marginalized. She possesses great leadership skills and has served Creative Handicrafts in the capacity of Secretary for the past 15 years.
Mr. Josantony Joseph
Josantony Joseph is the current Advisor (Maharashtra) to the Commissioner appointed by the Supreme Court of India on Food Security. He was instrumental in setting up the National Centre for Advocacy Studies in India. He has many articles and publications to his credit and these include books on Food Security issues, teaching Ethics to Social Work students.
Ms. Laxmi Degvekar
Member
Laxmi Degvekar was a hard-working woman from the time she joined Creative Handicrafts. Leadership qualities were soon identified in her. She took charge of a new cooperative group and turned it into one of the best groups that Creative Handicrafts manages today. She believes in maintaining an atmosphere of hard work while upholding the bonds of a family.
She was nominated to the board of trustees from 2011.
Ms. Pamela Fernandes
Treasurer
Ms. Pamela Fernandes has nearly three decades of field experience in the social sector. She is presently overseeing the Hotline Project in Mumbai, a collaboration between the Justice and Peace Commission of Mumbai Diocese and the Asian Centre for the Progress of Peoples, (ACPP) Hong Kong. She is one of the founder members of Centre for Human Ecology that focuses on awareness building to sustain the environment.
Ms. Thangarani Nadar
Member
Tangarani Nadar is a woman who has gone through very harsh life circumstances. She never allowed circumstances to take over her life but battled it out and built her life from scratch. Today her life situation has improved and she has emerged stronger.
She is currently the head of a Cooperative and was nominated to the board of trustees of CH from 2011.
Mr. Johny Joseph
Ex-officio without voting rights
Johny Joseph is a professional social worker working in the field of social work and research for the last 20 years. Previously Mr. Joseph was Head of the Dept. of Social Work, St. Xavier’s College, Kathmandu, Nepal. He has presented a number of papers on Social Enterprises and Social work at international seminars and workshops in several Asian and European countries. He is currently the Secretary of World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO).
