Kishore Rao started Indian Cancer Society, Karnataka, in 1986 as a voluntary organisation, and today ICS has offices in Kalaburagi and Mangaluru besides Bengaluru. In 1994 he started Karunashraya in partnership with Rotary Bangalore Indiranagar- a shining example of a cancer hospice across the country. Kishore has been in the not-for-profit sector for the last 35 years.

Kanchan has been in the voluntary sector for 25 years. Till recently she was Managing Trustee of Akshara Foundation, an education NGO and was on the Board of Pratham Books, a producer of delightful children’s books. Prior to that she was a Consultant with TERI as well as Centre for Environment Education. Currently she is also a Trustee at Karunashraya.

Sujatha is a successful and reputed practicing Chartered Accountant, based in Bangalore with clients far and wide. She has more than 30 years of experience in industry, management consulting and tax advisory. She is a Fellow Chartered Accountant and MBA from Georgia Tech, USA.

Dr. Anjali Rao retired recently as Additional Director, Central
Government Health Scheme Bengaluru, after serving for 37 years. Her work has been mainly clinical, in screening, diagnosis, therapeutic, and long-term management of NCD and associated complications. Dr. Rao is an alumna of the Armed Forces Medical College Pune, with a Diploma in Child Health (DCH). Presently, Dr. Rao is a National Standing Committee member of IMA’s ‘Doctors For Doctors’ (D4D), an organisation dedicated to the emotional wellbeing and welfare of doctors and medical students.

Dr. Latha Jagannathan is the Medical Director and Managing Trustee of the not-for-profit organization, Bangalore Medical Services Trust, (BMST). She founded BMST in 1984 and has been responsible for its operations and growth into the only standalone facility in India with a Blood Centre, HLA Laboratory and Tissue Bank, providing a wide spectrum of services in the field of blood, organ & cellular therapies.

She is a founder member of the Indian Cancer Society, Karnataka and Karunashraya. She is on the board of MYRADA, a developmental organization, and Samraksha, an NGO working in the field of HIV & AIDS.

She is an invited member of several Government, National & International bodies on Health, Blood Banking, and Transplant Immunology and the Task Force on Health and Family Welfare, Karnataka.

Dr. Rakesh Mittal, started his career as a consultant pediatrician in 1983. He then completed his DM in Medical Pediatric Oncology from Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bangalore in 1997. Dr. MIttal worked in various national and international cancer hospitals including at Kuwait Cancer Center, where he was the Head of the Pediatric Oncology Dept. His last assignment
was as Deputy Director of the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital, Varanasi. Currently based in Bengaluru, he is involved with various national and international NGOs working in the field of oncology.

Praveen has been involved with ICS Bengaluru since 2016, and was instrumental in setting up ICS Kalaburgi Unit with other volunteers. Praveen has a bachelor’s degree B. E in Electronics & Instrumentation from Gulbarga University and has 23 years of experience in IT / Semiconductor domain. He has close ties with north-east Karnataka region and closely guides the ground team.

Kala Devarajan is a Chartered Accountant by profession, and has corporate work experience in the Manufacturing and Financial Sectors.
1996 was a landmark year when she joined the Bangalore Hospice Trust, Karunashraya, as a volunteer.

Her professional expertise helped her assist with their finance planning, fund raising and administration. She was invited to join the Board of Trustees in the year 2000 and has been contributing as the Treasurer for the past 20 plus years.

Sridhar is an M.Tech from IIT Mumbai, Sridhar recently co-founded a start-up Ubiqare Health Private Limited which focuses on enabling specialised doctor driven care to patients at home. Sridhar along with friends started Sanman, a volunteer group for Palliative Care in Jan 2014 for providing support to families and patients for curative, palliative and end-of-life care. Sridhar is also a Trustee at Karunashraya.

AP Kamath joined ICS, Bangalore as a volunteer in Dec 2022. Before joining ICS, he worked in a couple of leading MNCs at senior positions with a work experience of 46 years. He is passionate about community service, especially for the underprivileged classes, not forgetting animals.

Dr. Guru Suhas. P has an undergraduate degree in Dental Sciences from Oxford College of Dental Sciences Bangalore and followed it up with a Masters in Public Health Dentistry from Bangalore Institute of Dental Sciences. He then worked as faculty in Maruthi Dental College. He joined the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) as a Project scientist for little over two years. He has now found his passion in Indian Cancer Society and wants to help spread awareness about cancer.

Chandrakala completed her Secretarial Course and joined a Proprietorship company as an Executive assistant in the initial stage of her career. Later she moved to the HR department in a corporate company and worked as an Assistant Manager HR (Operations) for about 20 years. Since the last 5 years Chandrakala has been working with Indian Cancer Society as an Manager Administration and Accounts.

Ms. Alpa Dharamshi is a multilingual Counsellor with over 15 years of experience in Counselling patients and caregivers in a range of situations from Cancer patients to Family counselling to Suicide counselling. Alpa has extensive experience, having volunteered with Banjara Helping Hand, Dignity Foundation (for Senior citizens), Parihar Foundation (for the cause of widows) and Madat Trust at Tata Memorial Hospital. She has been in the forefront of the Volunteering team in ICS since 2015. Alpa is the founder of PEHECHAAN – A Mission To Help Identify Yourself.

Amarinder started her career with corporate jobs but soon chose to run a school in a semi-urban area in Bathinda, Punjab.

Eleven years in the school brought her face-to-face with the many social, political, health and environmental realities that made life difficult for the people. Picking up on environment and health, she started working with an NGO to promote organic farming.

Since then, Amarinder has continued in the NGO field as a communications and fund-raising resource person.

Dr. Swathi D Acharya, holds a BAMS degree and currently serves as Programme Coordinator at Indian Cancer Society, Bangalore.

With over 5 years of experience in the medical field, her career included roles such as Medical Officer at Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail Bangalore, Duty Medical Officer at Pragathi Multi-speciality Hospital Mangalore and RBSK Medical Officer at NRHM Mangalore. Dr. Swathi enjoys drawing and reading books, which complement her passion for holistic well-being. 

Dr. Pavan Kumar. H (BDS) graduated in 2024, worked as a consultant Dentist in Ballari, Karnataka, and worked as an Associate Dentist at Swaraj Dental Clinic in Bangalore. He is presently working as a project consultant for TCC at ICS Bangalore.

Dr. Pavan believes in working as a team to reach greater heights. He believes in the core values of positive attitude, optimism and self-respect. He is interested in reading digital medical journals and spending time by researching innovations in digital dentistry.

Dr. Pavithra is an Ayurveda physician holding a BAMS degree from Ramakrishna Ayurveda Medical College, Bangalore. She also has an additional certification, a PG Diploma in clinical research.

With a strong foundation in Ayurvedic medicine and clinical research, Dr. Pavithra brings a unique blend of traditional and evidence-based approaches to healthcare.

Dr. Pavithra specializes in providing adjuvant care, supportive, palliative, end-of-life care, and post-cancer survivorship, contributing to holistic cancer care through Ayurveda.

Dr. Anam Tasneem is a Public Health Dentist, currently based in Bengaluru. At ICS, she serves as the Data and Research Coordinator, where she contributes to cancer awareness initiatives and supports the planning of screening programs. 

Her background includes impactful research on oral cancer prevalence and behavior change interventions. She brings a strong academic and clinical foundation, with extensive experience in oral health research, community dentistry, and data analysis.

Jannet Maria Jibu is an MSW graduate in Clinical and Community Practice from Christ University, Bangalore, with a background in Psychology from Delhi University.

Jannet interned at leading hospitals and NGOs, working across mental health, disability support, and women’s rights.

Her passion lies in community upliftment and inclusive care. Jannet brings empathy, initiative, and leadership to every project she takes up.

Shaila grew up in Mangalore, where she graduated from St Agnes College in the Commerce stream. She has experience working with JSW Steels, Bellary in their CSR Dept. Shaila joined ICS Mangalore four years ago, as Regional Operations Manager. She spearheads the activities in the region in collaboration with hospitals and partner organisations and has built up a network of contacts at various levels. She has been associated with several Voluntary organisations in and around Mangalore.

Ranjan A. V. began his career with ICS in 2018. Hailing from Kasaragod, Kerala, he holds an MSW from Srinivas University, Mangalore, where he ranked first and received the “Best Academic Achiever” award in 2018. He co-authored studies on the Halakki tribes and crime prevention against women. 

His training includes clinical work at Father Muller and Manaswini Hospitals. He has led community studies, conducted health camps, and actively volunteered with Ramakrishna Math, showcasing his strong academic and social commitment. 

Gururaj Kulkarni is a native of Kalaburagi (earlier called Gulbarga) and is a qualified Tax Practitioner. Before setting up his practise, Gururaj worked in Mercedes Benz (ZTC) Finance Division at Muscat (Oman) for 4 years. He joined ICS as a Volunteer in 2016 and is responsible for Planning & Managing of Awareness and Screening Camps in Kalaburagi region. He has developed good coordination with District level Medical officers, other NGOs as well as KIDWAI Hospital, NCDC and DHO for smooth running of camps.

Shrinidhi N. Naikal is an alumnus of Nutan Vidyalaya Commerce College, Kalaburagi. He has served as a Senior Coordinator in the magazine section of Ramoji Film City, and was the Regional Coordinator at Blue Star India Ltd., Hyderabad. Shrinidhi has volunteered at ICS from 2007 uptil June 2023. From June 2023, Shrinidhi has taken the role of the Regional Coordinator at ICS, Kalaburagi.

I am a native of Kalaburagi, with an MSW completed in 2022 and an HRM in 2024. Post graduation, I gained valuable experience working with an NGO dedicated to orphan rehabilitation and have explored various other sectors. 

Driven by a passion for public service, I found the ideal platform at ICS, where I joined as a Medical Social Worker in May 2024 to contribute to public health. In my free time, I enjoy reading magazines, newspapers, and listening to music for relaxation.

Santani started her professional life in 1998 as a high school Hindi teacher at Hasan District. She later moved to Dharwad and worked with Akshara Foundation as a district program coordinator. Post this, she worked with various organisations in different roles such as a district program coordinator in Mahila Samakhya Karnataka, (Dharwad unit); as Program lead in Vidhya Poshak Dharwad; and as Program Coordinator in Prajayatna, Bangalore.

Later on, she started her own Trust named DANDIN TRUST Through which she is currently running education and health programmes for women and children.

Dr. Ashwini from Kalaburgi graduated with a BAMS degree in 2023. She then interned at the HCG Cancer Hospital, Bangalore and gaining valuable experience in Radiation Oncology. She has participated in multiple medical camps with ICS with focus on community health and cancer awareness. Dr. Ashwini is a Project Coordinator at ICS, Kalaburagi since August 2024 and is committed to promote cancer prevention. Dr. Ashwini is a passionate singer and a state level Yoga player.