Aparna Sanjay leads the US operations of the Catalyst Group of organizations. She oversees partnerships and fundraising efforts with key stakeholders. With two decades of expertise in business responsibility, philanthropy, social enterprise, and non-profit management, Aparna is deeply committed to fostering meaningful growth and scale. She possesses extensive experience in initiating projects from the ground up, grant-making, strategic stakeholder management, program development, and capacity building for social businesses and non-profits. Before joining ICF USA, Aparna worked as a consultant for small and medium-sized NGOs, assisting them in strategic planning, organizational sustainability, and board development initiatives. Previously, she served as the Executive Director at Social Venture Partners (India) and headed the Earthy Goods Foundation in New Delhi. She also led the CSR function for MphasiS, a prominent Indian technology company. Aparna is also an active member of the boards of HelpAge USA and World Pulse. Her educational background includes a Postgraduate Diploma in Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, a Diploma in International Development from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and a Certificate in Strategic Non-profit Management from Harvard Business School.
Impact Catalyst Foundation (ICF) is a US public charity that is part of the Catalyst Group of organisations, headquartered in India. The Catalyst Group was founded in 1994 and is a social enterprise platform focused on the promotion of the health and wealth of vulnerable communities. Our work has spanned over 25 countries across Asia and Africa in multiple domains, including health, livelihood, and climate change.
ICF USA functions as a global platform for the Catalyst Group to engage more effectively with our partners while bringing critical development issues to the forefront of key decision-makers. We work closely with our partner organisations, such as Swasti (public health), Catalyst Management Services (social investments and solutions), Vrutti (livelihood), Green Foundation (regenerative agriculture), Fuzhio (impact marketing), Community Action Collab (resilience of vulnerable populations) and Upfront (wellbeing of workforces), to scale the impact of their work through catalytic collaborations and investments.
What we do
The common threads across all our work, be it on health, climate, livelihoods, or social protection, have been:
Thought leadership
As thought leaders, we build knowledge and perspectives and generate learning. Our multi- and cross-disciplinary experience affords us the ability to draw, process, and share insights across themes and sectors, enriching solutions through diverse lenses.
Build synergies
We understand that transformation and scale are not possible without partnerships and collaborations. We bridge the worlds of communities, practitioners, thinkers, and investors, and of programme and policy, bringing these together for scale and sustainability.
Catalyse action
Ethics, integrity, and execution excellence are the pathways towards action that demonstrate quality and dignity for communities. We provide mechanisms for partners in the social sector to remain firmly on these pathways.
ICF strives to bring this thought leadership and impact creation to the attention of our global stakeholders, be they foundations and other donors, governments, or diaspora populations.
Through our existing work and collaborations, ICF will impact the health and wealth of vulnerable communities globally.
Where we work
We work across the domains of livelihood, health, and Wellbeing for the Workforce with deep experience in policy, research, implementation, monitoring, capacity building, strategy, and documentation. We have been working across India and have a global footprint in 25 countries.
Board of Directors
Aparna Sanjay
Aparna leads the US operations of the Catalyst Group of organisations and is responsible for partnerships and fundraising with key stakeholders.
Aparna Sanjay
Catherine Cove
Catherine Cove is the Secretary of the Impact Catalyst Foundation. She is a healthcare consultant based in Chicago working with provider organizations to support care delivery.
Catherine Cove
Catherine Cove is the Secretary of the Impact Catalyst Foundation. She is a healthcare consultant based in Chicago working with provider organizations to support care delivery. She has diverse experience in public health and healthcare in the United States, India and the Asia-Pacific region more broadly. She has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BA in Biological Sciences from the University of Chicago and hails from the San Francisco Bay Area.
Previously, Catherine worked as the Health Practice Manager and Technical Specialist at the Catalyst Group of Organizations in Bangalore, where she managed a health practice team and conducted projects in maternal and child health, sexual and reproductive health, COVID-19, economic development, tuberculosis, health financing and worker wellbeing. She has experience across the domains of health service provision, financing and evaluation, through her engagements with government, private sector and civil society organizations. Her roles have involved policy design, quantitative research, and monitoring and evaluation. Catherine has worked in innovative finance as the project manager of the process evaluation for the first health development impact bond in India. She has managed the development of a case study on the role of community participation in India’s health sector, and led a review of knowledge management systems promoting sexual and reproductive health in the Asia-Pacific region. She was involved in the development India’s first universal health coverage scheme, Arogya Karnataka, and supported the implementation of Andhra Pradesh’s fecal sludge management strategy in select urban local bodies.
Angela Chaudhuri
Dr. Angela Chaudhuri is a public health leader with over 2 decades of experience leading and mentoring global programs that translate the science of public health into meaningful community action for equitable change.
Angela Chaudhuri
Dr. Angela Chaudhuri is a distinguished public health leader with over two decades of experience spearheading global programs that bridge the gap between public health science and impactful community initiatives for equitable change. Her advocacy for at-risk adolescents, gender nonbinary groups, and individuals with HIV and other conditions transcends continents, epitomizing her rallying cry of “Leave No One Behind.” Currently serving as Chief Catalyst at Swasti, a global public health non-profit, Angela is dedicated to adding 100 million healthy days to the lives of the poorest and marginalized by 2030. In 2021, during her leadership in the COVID response through the COVIDActionCollab (now CommunityActionCollab), she pioneered a multidisciplinary collaboration platform for environmental surveillance called Precision Health. Angela holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Dental Sciences (Bangalore University), a Masters in Public Health (Boston University), and a PG Diploma in Journalism (London School). Having lived in five countries and worked in over 30 countries, including extensive work in India, Angela currently serves on the board of the Catalyst Foundation and Swasti. She also holds positions on two committees within the World Health Organization: the Social Participation Technical Network and as a Steering Committee member of WHO’s first-ever civil society commission.
Shama Karkal
Shama is a social impact professional with 25+ years of experience; her core expertise has been working on community systems strengthening with a focus on marginalised communities.
Shama Karkal
Shama Karkal(Partner, Swasti):
Shama is a seasoned social impact professional with 25+ years of experience. Her core expertise has been working on community systems strengthening with a focus on marginalized communities (women in sex work, LGBTQAI, urban and rural poor, factory workers), where people and their organizations work with a range of providers (health, justice, finances, etc.) to achieve well-being, individually and collectively.
She has been with Swasti and the Catalyst Group, a social enterprise platform, since 2006. She works with diverse collaboratives to solve wicked problems.
● Chair, Steering Committee of the Asia Pacific Alliance on Sexual and Reproductive Health
● Trustee, Catalyst Foundation
● Board Member – Impact Catalysts Foundation Inc, USA
● Core Team – Systems Innovation Bangalore Hub
● Executive Group -Catalyst2030 India Chapter
● Member, Future Talent Council
● Advisory Council – Pay-What-It Takes India Initiative
● Advisory Board – Community Design Agency
Raghunathan N
Co-founder of The Catalyst Group of Organisations, a strong proponent of building evidence and innovations to guide development. He has 7 Peer-reviewed/published papers to his name.
Raghunathan N
Raghunathan (Co-founder, Catalyst Group of Organisations): Raghunathan is a dedicated advocate for evidence-based approaches in guiding development efforts. He excels at facilitating theories of change, building rigorous evidence through pluralistic methodologies, and establishing efficient monitoring, evaluation, and learning systems. With an impressive portfolio of work, including lead and advisory roles in monitoring and evaluation, Raghunathan is recognized for his contributions. He has published seven peer-reviewed papers and received the prestigious ‘Indian Council of Agricultural Research’ National award for his multi-disciplinary action research in agriculture and allied sciences. Raghunathan’s community engagement efforts directly impact small and marginal farmers, landless laborers, micro-small-medium entrepreneurs, women-owned businesses, women factory workers, artisanal fisherfolk, and over 500 community organizations and non-profit/social enterprises.
Shiv Kumar
Co-founder of The Catalyst group and Chief Integrator of the Community Action Collab, Shiv is a social investor who is passionate about solving complex social problems and improving the health & wealth of vulnerable communities.
Shiv Kumar
Shiv (Co-founder of The Catalyst Group and Chief Integrator of Community Action Collab): Shiv is a dedicated social investor with 30 years of experience in social development, both in India and internationally. His expertise spans a spectrum of focus areas, including health, livelihoods, education, sustainability, gender, and equity. Shiv has founded several organizations within the Catalyst Group, contributing significantly to the social development landscape. He has also incubated and supported over 200 community organizations and special enterprises. Shiv actively participates in various standing committees, task forces, and reference groups, both in India and internationally. In addition to his professional endeavors, Shiv is a food enthusiast, technology enthusiast, and avid cyclist. He holds a PG Diploma in Rural Management from the Institute of Rural Management, a PG Diploma in Systems Development from the National Institute of Information Technology, and a Bachelor of Commerce from St. Joseph’s College, Tamil Nadu. Shiv embodies the maxim, ‘Act with urgency, be patient with outcomes’.