Call us 88678 50377
Call us 88678 50377
Founder and Executive Trustee of Visthar and Chairperson of Visthar Academy
An educationist with excellent skills in organizational development and deep involvement in community-based advocacy for the rights of the marginalized in Indian society.
Dean of a semester-long study abroad programme in India for students from Gustavus Adolphus College and Concordia College in Minnesota, USA. He has also coordinated month-long Student Immersion for students from the University of Lancaster (UK) and Gordon College Mas, (USA) in India. Has been involved in the Advanced Leadership Programme for the Asia & Pacific Alliance of YMCAs in Hong Kong as visiting faculty and as regional coordinator of the School of Peace. David offers training and capacity-building support for Non Profits in India and serves as a consultant to ecumenical and secular developmental agencies in Asia and Europe.
David has a Master in Divinity (M.Div.) from Trinity Theological College (Singapore) and a diploma in Development Studies from Selly Oak Colleges (Birmingham, UK). He has also done Communication Studies at the Asian Institute of Christian Communication (Chiang Mai, Thailand). David was awarded Doctor of Humane Letters – 2008: Gustavus Adolphus College, Mn, USA
Fr.David Selvaraj
Founder and Executive Trustee of Visthar and the Chairperson of the Visthar Academy of Culture and Contemporary Studies
MK Mathew trained at the Indian Institute of Technology(IIT) in Delhi and then obtained a PhD in Molecular Biophysics at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore. Thereafter he worked at various Universities in the USA before returning to take up a position at the National Center for Biological Sciences (NCBS), TIFR in Bangalore. He served as the Head of Academics of NCBS and also served as Convenor of the Biology Subject Board of the TIFR University.
Professor Mathew is a membrane biologist whose research interests lie mainly in the areas of neuroscience and plant physiology. Work from his laboratory has been published extensively in international journals.
After retiring from NCBS, he has been involved in teaching at a number of institutions. He teaches regularly at the Indian Institute for Science Education and Research (IISER) at Thiruvananthapuram and also at TIFR Hyderabad.
MK Mathew
Trustee | Visthar Academy of Culture and Contemporary Studies
Mamta Sagar is an Indian poet, academic, and activist writing in the Kannada language. Her writings focus on identity politics, feminism, and issues around linguistic and cultural diversity. She is a professor of Academic and Creative Writing at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology.
Sagar has translated poetry, prose, and critical writings into Kannada and English. Her own poems have been translated into many languages, and have been included in textbooks from Jain University, Bangalore and the University of Kerala. Some of her poems are accompanied by music by Vasu Dixit Bindumalini, and Sunitha Ananthaswamy.
Sagar produced Interversions 1,2, & 3, three poetry films based on her own collection of the same name, with Srishti Films as part of the Wales-India collaborative projects (2018). She has also written and produced For Gauri, a video presentation of her poem written for Gauri Lankesh.
Sagar has curated many international and national poetry and theatre events in Hyderabad and Bangalore, including Kaavya Sanje, a multilingual community poetry event at the Bangalore Literature Festival, and she is actively involved with international poetry translation projects.
Mamta Sagar
Trustee | Visthar Academy and Contemporary Studies
With Visthar since its inception, Mercy Kappen has over 30 years of experience as a trainer, activist, and programme coordinator. She has a strong foundation in critical pedagogy. Mercy has been involved in designing and facilitating capacity-building for mainstreaming gender and diversity in organizations and programmes. She has served as visiting faculty at the Grail Centre in Cape Town for the diploma in Training for Transformation and has been a gender facilitator for CBM (SARO), Asia-Pacific Alliance of YMCAs and the Federation of African Women in Media Zimbabwe, among others.
Mercy Kappen
Advisor for Visthar Academy of Cultural and Contemporary Studies and Director of Visthar
Dr. Sudhir Selvaraj is currently a Lecturer in the Department of Peace Studies and International Development at the University of Bradford. He recently gained his PhD from the King’s College London. Additionally, he has worked in student affairs for over a decade in the US and UK. He is also a playwright. His plays on conflicts in South Asia have been produced in India, the US and the UK.
You can learn more about his work through his personal website: https://www.
Dr Sudhir Selvaraj
Advisor | Visthar Academy of Cultural and Contemporary Studies
M. Francis worked as Financial Advisor and Chief Accounts Officer with the Mormugao Port Trust in the Ministry of Shipping for Government of India.
M. Francis
Director and Finance Administrator of Visthar Trust.
Dr. Chris Chang-Bacon is an assistant professor at the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development. His research explores language education, educational policy, and social justice teacher preparation. Prior to his academic appointment, Dr. Chang-Bacon worked as an English teacher and Youth Development worker in the U.S., South Korea, and Morocco. He is a proud alumnus of the Visthar social justice, peace, and development semester study program.
You can learn more about Dr. Chang-Bacon and his work through his personal website: https://
Dr Chris Chang-Bacon
Advisor | Visthar Academy of Cultural and Contemporary Studies
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