Who We Are
Who We Are
Door Step School Foundation aims to address illiteracy among children (3 to 14 years) from marginalised sections of society like those from construction sites, pavement dwellers, temporary and permanent slums. Our focus is to address three major problems of public education system through various innovative programs:
- Non-enrolment i.e. children are not enrolled in schools for a variety of reasons.
- Children drop out of school at an early age.
- Even if children are enrolled in schools, their quality of education is low and children suffer from low learning levels
DSSF has also expanded its scope to take vocational counselling and guidance to school children between 12 to 14 years and youth in communities up to 25 years.
Meet The Team
Prof. Rajani Paranjpe
Prof Rajani Paranjpe (or Rajani Tai as she is fondly called) founded the Door Step School, out of her passion for children and education. As a professional Social Worker, she realized that Education was the single most important factor that could bring about a change in the lower strata of society. With this goal in mind, she founded the Door Step school which today has become a 600+ member strong organization. Rajani Tai has a Masters in Social Work and is a retired professor, having taught subjects like Indian Social Problems and International Social Welfare. She has held posts at both the College of Social Work, Mumbai and the Shikoku Christian University, Japan and has a teaching experience of more than 20 years. In addition to teaching she has also headed the Research Department and Anganwadi Training Center at the College of Social Work.
Mrs. Neela Dabir
Prof. Dabir is Retired Deputy Director (Admin), Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Her areas of interest include Violence against women, street children and Juvenile Justice and vocational education She has been a social worker with different NGOs for more than 12 years and has been in academics for 20 years. She is a Master of Social work and also holds a Doctorate Degree. She has authored two books and and many research reports in her areas of interest.
Jayashree Joglekar
Jayashree Joglekar is a highly accomplished professional with a diverse background in engineering and leadership roles. She holds a Master of Science (Electrical Engineering) from Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA. With extensive experience in the aerospace and IT industries, Jayashree has held key positions at renowned organizations such as Bendix Aerospace Corporation, contributing to the design of control systems for fighter jets; AT&T Bell Labs, where she played a pivotal role in the development of the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems and Veritas Software as Director and General Manager overseeing their Pune office; and Lastly in Wipro, Pune as Vice President and Chief Operations Office for Wipro’s global Financial Securities Business, as well of Head of Wipro Pune where she played a crucial role in the growth and success of the company's Pune operations. She was later given charge of Wipro Cares Projects for the state of Maharashtra. In March 2023, Jayashree Joglekar joined Doorstep School Foundation as Director, bringing her expertise and passion to drive the organization's mission forward. Prior to this, she held a position of Director in The Society for Doorstep Schools from 2009-2014. Jayashree has been honored with the "IT Woman of the Year" award by the Computer Society of India.
Sharmila Paranjpe
Ms. Sharmila Paranjpe is a Global Business Leader in Information Technology Services with 30+ years of overall work experience of which 20+ years have been with Wipro Limited.
She has a strong track record of leading businesses, consistently delivering results, and creating value for the organization and its customers.
She has a rich and well-rounded global exposure across P&L management, Sales, Operations, Strategy and Compliance.
Beyond her corporate endeavours she is passionate about sustainability and corporate social responsibility and spent over 5 years with the Wipro Foundation.
She played a transformative role in increasing employee participation and contributions. She also played a pivotal role in establishing Wipro’s CSR programs in the UK.
She has supported and worked with a social enterprise called Rural shores (a rural BPO) helping them in setting up centres in rural India and building the sales operations, thereby catalysing employment opportunities for rural youth.
She is now an Independent director and Business Advisor.
Ameya Kunte
Ameya Kunte is a qualified chartered accountant and Graduate of Commerce from the University of Pune. Ameya Kunte has been associated with Doorstep since 2006 as a volunteer. On the professional front, Ameya is a founder of Globeview Advisors LLP - a boutique consulting firm focusing on corporate and international tax advisory services. Ameya has over 19 years of professional experience and specializes in direct tax, international tax and business & transaction advisory. Before Globeview, Ameya co-founded Taxsutra – a leading b2b tax news and information portal in India in 2010. Ameya has worked with consulting firms – Ernst & Young and PwC. Ameya is based in Pune and loves trekking and travelling. Ameya strongly believes that "education is a great leveller".
Mandar Shinde
Mandar has been actively involved in various projects and campaigns concerning child rights, for the last 15 years. He works with the ARC network (Action for the Rights of the Child) in Pune and is also associated with other national networks like Campaign Against Child Labour (CACL) and Right To Education (RTE) Forum. Mandar has conducted trainings and capacity building workshops of social workers, teachers, community leaders, government officers, as well as children and youth across Maharashtra and some other states. His areas of interest include child education, youth mobilization, participation in policy making and administration. Mandar is also a prolific writer and a passionate storyteller with considerable experience in theatre and arts.
Team – Networking and Nurturing Project
Team – Parents’ Participation in Children’s Education and Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Projects