Sajma Aravind

Sajma holds a Master's degree in Clinical and Counselling Psychology from SDM College, Ujire. She works in the Jiva project as a career counsellor. Though interested in arts and literature, she gave in to the pressure of choosing the popular option of Science. This experience stirred in her a motivation to help students facing similar crises and to empower them to make informed decisions regarding career. Shifting from Science to Humanities, she specialised in the area of counselling psychology. Through her work at the Promise Foundation, she assists students in making important decisions regarding career. She counsels students in individual sessions and small group sessions and also conducts group workshops in schools in and out of Bangalore. Sajma is also a facilitator for the certificate course in Career Counselling conducted by the Promise Foundation.

Esther Z Sailo

Esther Z Sailo has an M.phil. Degree in Psychology, with an area of interest in Family and Child Psychology. She started her work with children, related to child health care awareness, three years ago in Delhi, India. She is now a project coordinator and career counselor at The Promise Foundation, with the Jiva Project. Her aim is to contribute more to the field of youth upliftment through Career Psychology in India.
According to Esther Z Sailo: 'The concept of Jiva breathes in a new approach to career counselling, in a conflicted world of career choices and decision making, for the youths and young career developers.'

B. Kala

Kala holds a Master's Degree in Mathematics and B.Ed Degree. She is a member of The Promise Foundation's core team. She provides information technology support in developing and designing Career Development resources. As our data manager, she helps in all activities related to research.

Robert D' Souza

Robert is a member of The Promise Foundation's core team. He is an accountant and administrator. Robert supports Jiva for all aspects related to finances, budgets, accounts and administration.

Dr. Sonali Nag

One of the Directors of The Promise Foundation, Sonali is a clinical psychologist. She holds an M Phil degree from National Institute for Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) in India and a doctoral degree from University of Portsmouth, UK. Sonali is a Research Fellow at the University of York, UK and was recently awarded the Newton Fellowship by the Royal Society. She is an international consultant to various national and international agencies such as UNICEF and ILO in the field of early childhood education and literacy acquisition. She has played a key role in curriculum development and resource management for Jiva. She is one of the faculty members for the Foundation's M.Phil Programme. She is the key contributor in designing and implementing all the research projects undertaken by Jiva.

Dr. Gideon Arulmani

Gideon is the Founder and Managing Trustee of The Promise Foundation. He holds an M.Phil in Medical and Social Psychology from the National Institute for Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (India) and a doctoral degree in Career Psychology from the University of Portsmouth (UK). Gideon has long experience in designing research and interventions related to career development of young people in the developing world context. He is well known for his book: Career Counselling - A Handbook, McGraw Hill, 2004.
Gideon is a consultant to the World Bank, UNICEF and the Asian Development Bank, for whom he has executed assignments on guidance and counselling in Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia. He is a member of the International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance, and an Honorary Research Fellow, University of Portsmouth, UK. He is an International Fellow of the National Institute for Careers Education and Counselling, UK and Visiting Senior Lecturer at the University of Canterbury Christ Church, UK. He is the president of the newly created Indian Association for Career and Livelihood Planning. He is an expert resource person to the National Curriculum Focus Group and the Ministry of Human Resource Development of the Government of India for its projects on counselling and guidance. He is a member of the Working Group for Adolescents' Development and Youth Affairs for the Government of India's 11th Five Year Plan.
Based on his experience of more than 15 years he conceived Jiva and leads the project as its Director.