Manager, Association of People with Disabilities (APD, India)

Sahana L

Manager @ APD | Ex–Assistant Program Manager @ SBI Foundation
M(A)SW (Gold Medalist), Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) · B.A. (Hons) Sociology, LSR (DU)

Message About Experience

About

I work toward an inclusive and equitable society for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs). At SBI Foundation, I managed 10+ projects expanding access to education, employment, and livelihoods, building partnerships across corporates, NGOs, and government to drive systems-level inclusion.

I hold a Master’s in Social Work (Disability Studies & Action) from TISS, graduating with multiple academic and research awards. My experience spans community-based rehabilitation across rural and urban contexts, with competencies in project planning, delivery, monitoring & evaluation, due diligence, creative visualization, stakeholder management, and communication.

Experience

The Association of People with Disability (APD, India) — Manager

Jun 2025 – Present · Bengaluru (On-site)

Operations Management: Leading program operations for 14 skilling & employment projects across 5 states, reaching 3,000+ PwDs annually; standardizing delivery across day-scholar centres, residential campuses, and partner programs.

Strategy & Systems: Built a 3-year Livelihood Unit strategy targeting 10× scale with milestones for outreach, placement, and retention.

Stakeholder & Ecosystem: Co-designing demand-driven skilling with employers; aligning internal teams (Training, M&E, Partnerships, Comms).

Fundraising & Donor: Representing the Livelihood Unit in reviews and planning; crafting decks, concept notes, reports, & success stories.

Ops LeadershipStrategyEmployer Partnerships

The Association of People with Disability (APD, India) — Manager: Operations & Innovation

Oct 2024 – Jun 2025 · Bengaluru (On-site)

SBI Foundation — Assistant Program Manager

Apr 2023 – Aug 2024 · Mumbai (On-site)

Project Delivery: Coordinated across co-funders, NGOs, beneficiaries & leadership for 14 projects; ensured objective & budget adherence.

Monitoring & Evaluation: 20+ field visits; designed indicator tracking for 8 projects; audit SPOC (CAG, Statutory, RCM).

Due Diligence: Led RFP end-to-end; engaged 70+ NGOs; evaluated 50+ proposals; advanced 5 to sanction.

Brand & Events: Represented SBIF at DEI forums (KPMG, NCPEDP, TISS); organized GAAD & International Purple Fest 2024.

RFPs & DiligenceM&EStakeholder Mgmt

Student Social Worker — ICBR, Tata Steel Foundation, Youth4Jobs

2022–2023 · Mumbai & Odisha

Baseline surveys, PRA (transect walks, resource mapping), disability sensitization with children, ASHA/AWW/Gram Panchayat; employer/job mapping & PwD counselling.

FieldworkCommunityIEC

Featured

Wheelchair Etiquette — 5 Essentials

Language matters (“wheelchair user”), ask before assisting, respect the chair as personal space, don’t universalize wheelchair use, and understand ambulatory users.

InclusionAccessibility

Network of Student Social Workers (NSSW)

Building a community to share opportunities, solve challenges together, and create meaningful connections across campuses & specializations.

CommunityStudents

Questions that Sustain Conversations — HPAIR

From branding for NGOs to news equity, using questions to unlock diverse perspectives and keep the dialogue going.

HPAIRDialogue

Highlights

Top Skills

Project Management Progress Monitoring Program Evaluation Leadership Team Coordination Due Diligence Stakeholder Collaboration Creative Visualization M&E

Education & Honors

Tata Institute of Social Sciences — M(A)SW, Disability Studies & Action

Aug 2021 – Aug 2023

Honors: NTPC Gold Medal, M.K. Tata Prize, Institute Shield (Best Student); United Way Mumbai Award (All-round Best); Best Research Project.

CAREER CELL RepI-ACCESS Rights Mission

Lady Shri Ram College (DU) — B.A. (Hons) Sociology, Minor in Sanskrit

2018 – 2021

Awards: First Position in BA Hons Sociology; leadership across Library & PWD Cell, EOC (REACH), Department fests, and SC/ST Cell.

Volunteering

Aapatsahaya Foundation — Educator

Social Services

Vyoma Linguistic Labs Foundation — Volunteer

Assisting projects in conversational Sanskrit

Recommendations

Kiran Ghorpade — Deputy Manager, SBI Foundation

Feb 15, 2025

“Sahana’s commitment to social impact, strong work ethic, and ability to handle responsibilities efficiently made her an invaluable asset.”

Nishant RoY — Development Professional

Sep 1, 2024

“Exceptional in documentation, data management, reporting, and presentations — proactive and impactful.”

Languages

English — Professional Hindi — Limited Working