POWERED BY WOMEN

We are proud to be a female-led organization, providing compassionate solutions to break the cycle of trauma, and establish a new cycle of trust, well-being, choice and independence.

EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP

Sarah founded HFC in 2005 with her husband John Berger. Formerly, she was a composer of music for TV and film, and before that, a counselor and art teacher at Creative Arts Workshops in New York City. Sarah is the author of THIS IS NO ORDINARY JOYand co-author of STANDING IN THE WAY. You can view Sarah’s TED Talk about Living Heroically on YouTube. Sarah is passionate about empowering survivors to be changemakers in their families and communities.

Sarah Symons

Founder & Executive Director

Amanda has been with Her Future Coalition since 2017 managing U.S. fundraising, donor relations and assisting in strategic planning. Additionally, she designs and maintains our website, graphics and brand identity. Amanda received her BBA from Kent State University and completed graduate work in Masters in Teaching. She is a 500 E-RYT yoga instructor and serves on the Yoga Medicine® executive team, overseeing the Seva Foundation, a partner of HFC.

Amanda B. Cunningham

Managing Director

Catherine Wanjohi is the founder of Life Bloom, an HFC partner organization. She is providing insight and advisory services for programs in Kenya, as well as leadership coaching to our team and girls. Catherine is a certified Transition Coach and member at ICF, Personal Leadership Mentor, professional Counsellor, organizational expert, journal writer, Trainer and published Author.

Catherine Wanjohi

Senior Strategic Advisor

Srabani received her Masters Degree from Calcutta University and has been involved in women’s and child rights movements for the last twenty-five years, as the Founder and Chairperson of South Kolkata Hamari Muskan- a grassroots anti-trafficking organization working in red lights of Kolkata. She has extensive experience in providing legal assistance to victims of violence. Srabani believes passionately in a gender equal society and has the ability to create adolescent and women’s groups and to build resilience in them to become future leaders.

Srabani Sarkar Neon

India Director

Anjali the Founder and President of Freedom and Hope – a charity fighting trafficking with education in her home region of Nuwakot, Nepal – and the Hasta Memorial School (Freedom School). She is a leading voice in Nepal’s anti-trafficking movement, and a core partner and senior advisor of HFC. Anjali is the co-author of ‘Standing in the Way – from Trafficking Survivor to Human Rights Activist, with HFC Founder Sarah Symons.

Anjali Tamang

Nepal Regional Lead

Bio coming soon!

Wanjiru Wahome

Kenya Regional Lead

PROGRAM DIRECTORS

Since 2012 John Das has worked for Sari Bari, a nonprofit organization in Kolkata, India. John has also worked for the Government at the Election Commission of India, and as a volunteer at Loyal Leathers. John graduated from Calcutta University with a business degree and is currently working towards his second degree in social work. John joins HFC with high energy and a passion for community outreach; he's looking forward to expanding HFC's reach.

John Das

Learning Center Program Director

Tish spearheads Mental Health Programming through a trauma sensitive lens, builds collaborative relationships with mental health practitioners, provides Wellness Coaching for staff, facilitates processing on HFC service trips + actively leads Trauma Sensitive Programs on the ground in Kolkata, India. Tish has 40 years of experience empowering others, fostered by a professional degree in Social Work alongside MBSR Jon Kabat Zinn Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Training, 500 RYT, and certifications in Yoga Therapy + Meditation.

Tish Roy

Mental Health Program Director

Sumaiya first crossed paths with Her Future when she joined our Jewelry Program in 2010. She spent 10 years designing and making jewelry and proved to be a hard working, independent, joyous woman. She speaks 3 languages and her smile brightens any room. In 2022 Sumaiya joined our management team. She helps manage operations at our Learning Center and other Kolkata programs.

Sumaiya Khatun

Assistant Program Director

Soma provides counseling, life skills training, and social work support to women and girls in all our Kolkata programs. She serves on the Executive Team, and as a translator for our English speaking volunteers and interns. Soma has a Bachelor degrees in Sociology, is a certified nurse and is currently taking classes in mental health programming.

Soma Seal

Hamari Duniya Program Director

Sonali first joined the HFC family as a program participant, growing up in a shelter home in Kolkata. After graduating high school, she joined our jewelry program and became an expert goldsmith while also working her way through college. She recently graduated from Netaji Open University with a degree in Liberal Arts with Bengali Honors.

Sonali Biswas

Kidderpore Children’s Program Director

Maura has been living and working in Kolkata for the past 20 years, as an art teacher and translator. She is passionate about helping provide top quality education to all children, regardless of their background or economic circumstances. Maura was invited to represent Her Future Coalition at the Obama Foundation's Girl's Opportunity Alliance summit in Athens, Greece in 2023.

Maura Hurley

Education & Sponsorship Program Director

STRATEGY, FINANCE & FUNDRAISING

Suchismita is a Chartered Accountant by profession and a social activist by passion. She has been associated with HFC for over a decade. Her strong acumen of finance, compliance, strategy and social networking has positively contributed in the journey and growth of HFC in India. She takes deep interest in animal welfare and is actively involved in sustainable development activities for differently abled persons too.

Suchismita Ghosh Pal

Consultant CFO

John is the co-Founder of Her Future Coalition and Managing Director at Toniic, an impact investing nonprofit. Previously, he spent 18 years as an investment banker at Prudential Securities, Smith Barney, Schwab Capital Markets, and BB&T. John is a Chartered Financial Analyst and has extensive experience evaluating, improving, and financing business models in a variety of industries.

John Berger

Strategy & Finance

Toby has over 20 years experience raising millions of dollars for a wide range of nonprofit organizations around the globe. As a fundraising and nonprofit management consultant, Toby has supported organizations on five continents, allowing them to expand their work in areas ranging from women’s rights to environmental conservation, education to health, and the performing and visual arts among many others. She received her BA from Cornell University.

Toby Banks

Institutional Giving

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Kara Penn is the Board President for Her Future Coalition. She is also the owner and principal consultant at Mission Spark, a social impact strategy and implementation consulting firm focused on transformative social change. She works on the front lines of practical management to co-design and implement innovative strategy solutions in complex, often resource-constrained settings. She also leads the Mission Spark Social Impact Fellows program for college and graduate students seeking to build careers in social impact. She has led award-winning community collaboratives; designed, managed and evaluated multi-year social change initiatives; and guided --as a trusted, results- driven partner-- more than 100 government, corporate, nonprofit, philanthropic and community-based organizations on mission-critical work. Several prestigious national programs, including Coro, Watson and Forte, have recognized her leadership and community contributions with fellowships. She is also the co-author of Fail Better: Design Smart Mistakes and Succeed Sooner, published by Harvard Business Review Press.

Kara Penn

Board President