Embracing All Abilities: Including People with Disabilities at Work

Mrunmaiy Abroal

PR Head, Amazon devices and Alexa

Mrunmaiy is a communications professional with more than 18 years of experience. At Amazon India, she heads public relations for Amazon devices and Alexa. A road accident in June 2011 gave her a cervical spinal cord injury, resulting in quadriplegia. She started the PWD affinity group for employees in India at Amazon India and serves as the President. Mrunmaiy is also a para athlete, she has participated in national para athletics championships in the club throw event F51 category and won a silver medal.

Aparna Vedapuri Singh

Founder & CEO, Women’s Web

After a post-graduate diploma in Communications (PGDC) from the prestigious Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA) and working in Marketing & Business Development for a decade, Aparna started Women’s Web in 2010, perceiving a need in the Indian market, for an authentic platform that served all of women’s interests. 

Since then, she has grown Women’s Web to become an integral part of Indian women’s daily consumption, and a community that now boasts of over 10000 high-quality contributors and reaches over a million users each month.

Kirthi Jayakumar

Equality advocate, Author and Artist

Kirthi runs The Gender Security Project and ChalkPeace, and works in the space of peacebuilding and gender.

Anjali Raghuvanshi

Chief People Officer, Randstad India

Anjali is an expert in driving strategic resource optimization and rationalization initiatives through the organization. She has been instrumental in business continuity through developing a talent management framework which brings in all elements of talent together – like attract, retain, develop and engage. She has also been instrumental in driving a performance based culture in the organization and moving away from traditional performance management approach. She is passionate about protecting our environment for the future generations and an inclusive workplace. She also associates with campuses and B-schools in shaping the young minds and building talent for tomorrow.

Ishan Mehta

Learning Project Manager, LinkedIn

Ishan is a process management expert with over 11 years work experience, primarily as a Six Sigma Black Belt Practitioner. A spinal cord injury during a company offsite in October 2016 led to quadriplegia & 90% physical disability. After a 5 year sabbatical of rehabilitation, Ishan is now working at LinkedIn as a Learning Project Manager.

Preethi Srinivasan

Founder of Soulfree & Writer

Along with being the founder of Soulfree, an organization that supports people with disabilities, Preethi is also an advisory board member of the Welfare of the Differently-Abled in Tamil Nadu, and an ICA Women’s Cricket Representative. She has used her expertise in public speaking and her experience as a person with disabilities to fuel her passion, which is being an agent of change. She has been a speaker on various TEDx platforms and has been highly recognized for speaking out loud about the needs of people with varying abilities. Preethi is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at IIT Madras and exploring new opportunities at Soulfree.

Priti Sridhar

CEO, Mariwala Health Initiative

At MHI, Priti focuses on building the Grants portfolio which is primarily community led, spearheads the advocacy initiatives where she leads the work on Suicide Prevention, Workplace Mental Health, working with government and collaborating with Funders to invest in mental health. Priti has been able to conceptualise and implement programs and training to build the mental health ecosystem in India. She has 25 years of work experience and has worked with Not-for-profit organisations working on the issue of Mental health, Child Rights and Homelessness as well with For-Profit organisations in Banking, Financial Services and Ratings.

Madhavi Gupta

Founder, Awareness for Inclusion Foundation

Madhavi Gupta is the founder of Awareness For Inclusion Foundation and has been working in the field of inclusion and diversity for the past 35 years. Her brand is In For The Cause (www.inforthecause.org). She is also a trained Kathak dancer, amateur singer and soon to be a professional model.

Tina Vinod

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategist and Consultant

Tina is the founder of Diversity Simplified with a vision to help workplaces overcome barriers to adopt and operationalize high-impact Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategies, practices, programs & communications. Tina also continues to consult with Thoughtworks, a global technology consultancy where she was leading the DEI function both globally and in India.

Shruti Pushkarna

Director, EnAble India

Shruti Pushkarna is a former journalist who now works as Director, EnAble India where she heads North India operations as well as media and communications outreach. As an inclusion & diversity advocate she works closely with Civil Society Organizations, Corporate Sponsors and Government bodies engaged in promoting equity and equality. She also writes a fortnightly column on ‘Media and Disability’. She can be reached via Twitter at @shrutipushkarna