SHDF Executive Board

Gajinder S. Ahuja | Senior Advisor

Gajinder S. Ahuja is a founding member of SHDF, who has served in the organization since its inception in 1999. He is retired from The World Bank, where he held senior budget and finance management positions for many years. He oversaw and worked on finance-related projects and programs for several countries.

Dr. Harbaksh S. Sethi | Treasurer

Dr. Harbaksh S Sethi is a founding member of SHDF, who has served in the organization since 1999. He obtained his Ph.D in Germany in 1963 after which he joined a German manufacturing company, rising to the position of Director of Planning. He joined The World Bank in 1978. He retired as Advisor in The World Bank in 2002 and for the next 10 years he was a consulting Advisor at The World Bank.

Mehakdeep S. Bhatia | Board Member

Mehakdeep S. Bhatia is a Portfolio Manager at Brevan Howard, managing a global Emerging Markets Fixed Income portfolio. He has extensive emerging markets experience over the last 16 years. He holds a MBA from IIM, Calcutta and a B. Tech. in Electrical Engineering from IIT, Delhi. Currently he lives in London (UK) with his wife and son.

Dr. Gurpal S. Bhuller | Board Member

Dr. Gurpal S. Bhuller is a retired orthopedic surgeon, now living in the Washington Metropolitan area. He practiced in the Richmond VA region for 33 years before moving to his present home. In the education field he has been involved with the Virginia Commonwealth University, the John Randolph Foundation in Hopewell VA, the Perak Sikh Education Aid Fund in Malaysia, and with the Akal Academy in Punjab. He has been an active supporter of the SHDF over many years.

Devender Singh | Board Member

Devender Singh is a Cisco veteran with agile technology leadership experience. He has more than two decades of experience in producing stellar results achieved through total accountability product/offer management combined with excellence in technology marketing consistent with Pragmatic Marketing.

Davinder Kohli | Board Member

Davinder Kohli serves as the Chief Digital Officer at Creospan, a strategy and technology consulting company in Chicago serving healthcare and telecom companies. He has over two decades of experience in digitization and transformations at Fortune 100 companies. In 2017, he launched a Virtual Reality based omnichannel sales platform and was invited to the World Economic Forum to discuss his work. Davinder holds an MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois, Chicago, executive management from Booth School of Business, and advanced management & AI from Wharton..

Preet Kanwal Singh Khalsa | Board Member

Preet Kanwal Singh Khalsa is an accomplished Strategic and Performance-Focused Customer Experience Leader and technology evangelist at Cisco Systems, known for his innovative leadership in both US and Asia. With over a decade of sales and consulting experience, Preet excels at defining mission and goals, aligning resources, and consistently exceeding expectations. Currently pursuing an MBA at the prestigious Wharton School, UPenn, Preet brings a forward-thinking mindset, visionary leadership and commitment to excellence to make a significant impact on community-driven initiatives.

Gunvir S. Baveja | Board Member

Gunvir S. Baveja is the President and Chief Executive Officer of eVigilant, Inc. His primary focus is on leading the strategic growth and direction of the firm. Under his leadership, eVigilant has been recognized by Inc magazine in 2007 and 2009 for excellence, and counted amongst the top security companies by the Washington Business Journal in 2007.

Kanwal Singh | Board Member

Kanwal Singh is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants, Mrs. Singh is also a distinguished member of the Washington area Sikh community. She is partner in a reputable CPA firm in Chevy Chase, Maryland, which caters to high net-worth clients with an emphasis on professional and personal service corporations. She brings to the SHDF Board skills and experience in finance and accounting.

Annumeet Rao | Board Member

Annumeet Rao joined the Board in March 2021. She has been involved with SHDF for almost a decade. She was previously the Program Manager, and has made important contributions to the operations of SHDF over many years. She has significant experience on working on scholarships issues with Nishkam.

Harsharan Kaur

Harsharan Kaur has a B.A. (English Honors) from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University and a M.A. (Communication) from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She has over 15 years of nonprofit management experience. The transformative effects of scholarship-supported higher education in poverty-stricken communities motivate her daily to work to increase this investment in society.