Ashok Panikkar, Founder, Meta-Culture
Executive Director and Principal Consultant

• Conflict Management consultant, mediator, facilitator, and educator.
  
• Graduate degree in Critical and Creative Thinking from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, undergraduate studies in Visual Communications from The National Institute of Design, Ahmadabad, India and advanced training in Conflict Resolution from leading institutes in the U.S.
  
• Conducted hundreds of workshops in communication, conflict resolution, critical thinking, and cross-cultural diversity in the U.S, India and Europe.
  
• Lead Mediator and Director of Training and Workplace Mediation with a Conflict Resolution program in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  
• Facilitated successful multi-party Dialogues with members of extremely polarized groups in both the corporate and public spheres.
  
• Client experience ranges from Fortune 500 companies, to mid-sized organizations, educational institutions, and both governmental and non-governmental groups.
  
• Advised senior management of leading Indian and international companies on relationship management, conflict resolution, and conflict systems design.
  
• Presented well-received papers at professional conferences in India and the U.S. Written for professional journals, and was elected to the board of the New England-Association of Conflict Resolution (NE-ACR) for 2004-2005.
  
• Member of Board of Mediators Beyond Borders, a non-profit, humanitarian organization established to partner with communities worldwide to build their conflict resolution capacity for preventing, resolving and healing from conflict.
  
• Keynote speaker at MBB annual Congress, in Los Angeles, March 2011.
  

Beth Fascitelli, Head of Consulting and Senior Trainer

• B.A. in Anthropology from Amherst College (Amherst, MA) and Masters in International Affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University(New York, NY). Concentration in “Human Rights, Conflict and Corporate Development” with focus on oil-related conflict in Nigeria’s volatile Delta region.
  
• Authored a plan for a multi-stakeholder partnership to address violence and lack of development in the Delta.
  
• Relationship and Conflict Management consultant and trainer, worked with clients such as the Compliance/Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) of the World Bank, Catholic Relief Services, the Karnataka State Police, and senior management at Infosys, Wipro, Accenture, Bharati Airtel and Nokia Siemens Network.
  
• Spearheaded the launch and subsequent facilitation of Meta-Culture’s successful monthly public Dialogue program, Bengaluru Speaks.
• Worked in Washington, D.C. as a Program Coordinator with The Keystone Center, an organization dedicated to the use of Consensus Building trategies to help decision-makers effectively address challenging societal issues.
  
• Served on staff with a community-based organization in Lakeland, FL where she built broad-based coalitions to address community issues such as health delivery, education, and security.
  
• Speaks Spanish and Thai and has worked, studied, or conducted research in multiple countries, including Costa Rica, Mexico, Thailand, and Nigeria.

Kaz Obuka, Conflict Management Specialist

• BA in Philosophy and Politics from the University of Exeter (Exeter, UK), MA in Coexistence and Conflict from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University (Waltham, MA).
• Worked with the Japan Immigration Policy Institute (JIPI), where he advised them on policies to affirm majority-minority interdependence, built connections with key stakeholders, and designed a framework for monitoring and evaluation.
• Assessed training in conflict sensitivity and social inclusion given to Liberian civil society and government representatives.
• Assisted the Saitama Prefectural Government, Japan, with an initiative to create effective services for foreign residents.
• Authored a study addressing the challenges to intercommunal coexistence in Argentina.

Cheryl Rebello, Deputy Director and Head of Media and Communication

• Masters degree in Economics with a specialization in Econometrics.
  
• Was Research Assistant at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmadabad.
  
• Experience as Lecturer, Copywriter, Freelance Writer, Advisory Board Member, and Communications Coordinator.
  
• Experience in media advocacy, content management, positioning and branding.
  
• Led and managed complex development projects with nationally distributed teams, and has experience in stakeholder interfacing, multiple project management, staffing, and estimation.
  
• Volunteer with the Civil Defence in Karnataka. Cheryl is Divisional Warden of the JC Nagar and RT Nagar areas in Bangalore.
  
• Interested in multiple-stakeholder dialogue and contributing to shaping inclusive, and informed decision-making processes for sustainable development.
  

Nivedita Chowdary, Head of Training

• B.A. BL (Hons) Degree from Nalsar University of Law, Hyderabad. Graduated in 2005.
• LL.M in Alternate Dispute Resolution from University of Missouri, Columbia. Graduated in 2006.
• Manager of Mediation Services at the Center for Conflict Resolution, Chicago.
• Coordinator of Volunteer Mediator Services at Safe Horizon, New York.
• Training Coordinator at Safe Horizon, New York.
• Certified mediator from the State of Illinois and State of New York, USA.
• Mediated community disputes, family disputes, divorce, and business disputes.
• Trainer in Conflict Resolution, Mediation, Facilitation and Communication Skills.
• Spearheaded the Divorce Mediation Program at Safe Horizon Mediation Program (now New York Peace Institute).
• Trainer for the United Nations Inter-Agency Framework For Coordination on Preventive Action. 
• Facilitated After-School Program on Conflict Resolution for Middle School students in Brooklyn, New York.
  
• Trained local community organizations such as New York Housing Authorities, and Department of Education in New York.
  

Shilpa Mahbubani, Client Manager

• Degree in Business Management
  
• Was corporate trainer at ITC
  
• Yoga practitioner. Enjoys running as form of exercise.
  
• Shilpa believes Meta-Culture’s internal discussions and teamwork makes this a great place to work.
  
  

Usha K.S., Head of Administration

• MBA (Financial Management).
  

Usha is drawn to Meta-Culture because she finds the business concept unique. She is proud to be associated with India’s only specialized conflict management company.

Support Staff

Mathew David Raj

Mathew, our driver, has over ten years’ experience driving on Bangalore’s roads, and he enjoys navigating through the busy city. He is currently pursuing his graduate studies from Tamil Nadu Open University.  Mathew has command over several languages – English, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu & Hindi.

Swarupa

Swarupa, our lunch lady, is the newest member of the team and possibly one the most important. Quick and efficient, hot lunch is always ready at 1 pm. She also speaks Tamil, Hindi and English.