Dr. Atanu Deb
Agricultural Extension & Indigenous Knowledge
Executive Director & Founding Director
Vision, strategy and executive stewardship.
About · Board & Team
Board & Team
A small board with clear portfolios, an advisory council that guides without voting, and a field cadre drawn from the villages we work in. Governance here is designed to be handed over, not held.
Our story Scroll
Founder
Founder, MTF
Dr. Atanu Deb
Agricultural Extension, Participatory Research & Indigenous Knowledge
Founder & Executive Director · 2025–present
He was teaching agricultural extension in Odisha when the lockdown emptied India's cities. What he did next was not to write a proposal — it was to spend two years in villages asking what would let a family stay, before registering anything at all.
He works in participatory research, indigenous knowledge and tribal community development, and is also a visual artist and documentary filmmaker — which shapes how MTF records what it finds: in drawings, film and the community's own language, not only in reports. He holds the Foundation's vision, strategy and daily stewardship.
Board
Board of Directors
Our board carries the work in portfolios, so that no vertical rests on one person and no decision rests on one voice.
Purnajyoti Khanra
Community Systems, Livelihoods & Climate Resilience
Director, Livelihood, Education & Research
Oversees livelihood enterprises, the Bodh Kendra education model and participatory research programmes. Brings field experience in PRA, natural resource management and climate restoration across rural systems.
Subhankar Chhandogi
Community Welfare & Social Entitlements
Director, Community Welfare & Practice
Leads welfare entitlement access and community practice on the ground across terrains. Works directly with families on ration, pension and housing entitlements.
Arindam Ghosh
Art, Culture & Cultural Heritage Archive
Director, Art, Culture & Archive
Heads the Art-Culture-Archive vertical, documenting and reviving tribal craft and cultural heritage. Leads documentation work in film, drawing and the community's own language.
Annepu Divesh Babu
Finance, Compliance & Treasury Governance
Director, Finance & Treasury
Holds the Finance & Treasury portfolio on the board. Manages financial governance, compliance and transparency for all MTF programmes.
Directors serve fixed three-year terms under Circular Resolution MTF/BR/2026/01.
Advisory
Advisory Council
A circle of experienced voices guiding strategy, ethics and community practice. The Council advises the board and binds it to nothing — honorary, non-voting, with no financial dealings with the Foundation.
Dr. Preetha Bhadra
Biotechnology, Community Learning & Institution Building
Secretary, Advisory Council · Co-founder
She and 129 students built the first Bodh Kendra at Paralakhemundi with their own hands in July 2023 — which remains the clearest statement of how MTF believes an institution should begin. A biotechnologist by discipline, she stepped down from the board in 2026 so that the Foundation's governance would stand independent of its founders.
Senior Advisory Council
Prof. Sankar Kumar Acharya
Research, Policy & Institutional Development
Chief Academic & Policy Advisor
Former Dean of Post-Graduate Studies at BCKV, with over 35 years of experience. Provides academic leadership, policy direction and institutional credibility.
Anshuman Das
Food Systems, Agroecology & Sustainable Development
Senior Advisory Board Member
Over 25 years in agroecology, community-based natural resource management and sustainable development across South Asia and Africa.
Dr. Pallab Das
Legal, Governance & Institutional Development
Senior Advisory Board Member
Founding Dean, School of Law. Expert in legal systems, governance and institutional structuring.
Advisory Board
Dr. Purnabha Dasgupta
Research, Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning
Advisory Board Member · Editor-in-Chief, POJC Press
Fellow of IIT Kanpur, with 8+ years leading over 50 funded projects worth ₹67+ crore. Expert in impact evaluation, RCTs, CSR assessment and research systems.
Dr. Koustab Majumdar
Research & International Collaboration
Advisory Board Member · Executive Editor, POJC Press
Assistant Regional Director, IGNOU; international fellow in Canada and Taiwan. Strengthens global research collaboration.
Sanghamitra Chanda
Gender & Social Inclusion
Advisory Board Member
Development professional ensuring inclusive and gender-responsive programme design.
Subhasis Mondal
Livelihoods, Skills & Development Strategy
Advisory Board Member
Experience across EY, Grant Thornton and PRADAN, and in public policy implementation as an MGNF.
Pritom Das
Programmes, Strategy & Implementation
Advisory Board Member
Supports programme design, execution frameworks and strategic implementation.
Rajdeep Sarkar
Organisational Development & Institutional Liaison
Advisory Board Member
Focuses on partnerships, institutional coordination and organisational systems.
Arnab Roy
Legal & Regulatory Affairs
Advisory Board Member
Advocate advising on legal systems, regulatory compliance and institutional structuring. Brings independent legal counsel to the Foundation's advisory body.
Himadri Pradhan
Finance & Compliance
Advisory Board Member
Senior Accounts Officer at CUTM, with expertise in audit systems, statutory compliance and CSR financial governance. Leads financial integrity and compliance systems.
The Council meets twice a year for technical and programme review.
Research
Research & Publication Wing
JPEC — Journal of People, Ecology and Community
Our peer-reviewed publication carries field research, participatory studies and community-authored documentation from the terrains we work in.
jpec.press- 01
Dr. Atanu Deb
Editor-in-Chief
Leads journal vision, research quality, and the integration of MEL and impact frameworks.
- 02
Dr. Preetha Bhadra
Executive Editor
Oversees editorial operations, content direction and institutional alignment.
- 03
Dr. Purnabha Dasgupta
Executive Editor
Strengthens research systems, impact evaluation and editorial quality.
- 04
Dr. Koustab Majumdar
Executive Editor
Strengthens global academic engagement and editorial quality.
Governance
How we are structured
A small board with named portfolios, an executive line that runs from this page to the village, and an advisory council that sits deliberately outside the reporting structure.
- governs
- independent
- advisory
The Advisory Council advises without governing. The Statutory Auditor and Legal Counsel sit outside the executive chain.
- Board of Directors
- Executive Director — Dr. Atanu Deb
- Statutory Auditor — CA P. Shaila Kumar, FCA (independent)
- Legal Counsel — Arnab Roy (independent)
- Director, Livelihood, Education & Research — Purnajyoti Khanra
- Director, Community Welfare & Practice — Subhankar Chhandogi
- Director, Art, Culture & Archive — Arindam Ghosh
- Director, Finance & Treasury — Annepu Divesh Babu
- Programme Manager
- Project Coordinator — Dooars
- Project Coordinator — Gajapati
- Finance & Admin — Accountant (part-time)
- Master Trainer / Community Mobilizer
- Community Resource Persons
- Volunteers
- Enterprise Groups
- Committees
- Community Resource Persons
- Executive Director — Dr. Atanu Deb
- Advisory Council (unconnected)
- Secretary — Dr. Preetha Bhadra
- Senior Advisory Council
- JPEC — Research & Publication Wing
- Advisory Board
- Secretary — Dr. Preetha Bhadra
Governance
How we govern
- 01
The board meets quarterly, with circulated agendas, recorded minutes and a tracked action list.
- 02
Every director holds a named portfolio and an annual work plan.
- 03
The Advisory Council reviews programmes twice a year and holds no vote.
- 04
Second-line leadership is mandated for every vertical, so that no function rests on a single person.
Audit
Statutory audit & legal counsel
Independently audited by CA P. Shaila Kumar, FCA. Our financial statements are published in full.
Legal counsel: Arnab Roy.