Members

Core Members of reStore

• Anantha Sayanan returned to India from Switzerland two years ago, having given up a business career in telecom and IT to devote himself full-time to voluntary non-profit work. Ananth, is in his own words, “Afflicted with the national disease, cricket!”  He is also passionate about environmental issues to do with water bodies, solid waste management and organic farming.  He and his wife Sumathi are involved with several different environmental initiatives. Ananth's energy and talent in working with people of varied backgrounds have helped launch reStore as a community organization.
  

• Chitra Sundaram has a background in banking and banking software. She also has a passion for observing nature and wildlife, and for all things natural including food! She has paid close attention to the billing process at reStore and is a key member of our accounting team.

• Gayatri Sriram

• P.K. Hariharan is a senior executive in a multinational company. He is excited by the idea of offering healthy alternatives to urban consumers, while bettering the livelihoods of small farmers. Hari’s ability to connect with people at all levels, coupled with his willingness to lend a helping hand everywhere, make him an indispensable part of our organic bazaars. His professional expertise in sales and marketing has been a key asset to reStore. He and Usha (who work together at reStore) have a son and daughter.  

• Jaideep Billa
  

• Lalitha Sankaran has a professional accounting / IT background. She gave up her career in this field to pursue her many passions --she is an avid bird-watcher and naturalist; is interested in organic farming and in helping underprivileged children. Her other hobbies include music and reading and she enjoys being part of a community of like-minded people exploring alternative lifestyles. Her organizational and financial skills and initiative have been of great value to reStore.  
  

• Meera Rammohan started her career as a documentor for an archival center in traditional music; she went on to become a consultant editor in book publishing and has worked with several prestigious organizations over the last 15 years. She is drawn to all artistic or creative endeavour and has an abiding interest in health. Besides being active in the retail aspect of reStore, Meera has put in sustained effort in studying pest control methods and now also manages website development and content. Meera’s husband Karthik Kumar plays an advisory role in reStore. As a senior executive he provides in-depth perspective on matters such as pricing policy and governance.
  

• Praveen Lakshmipathy

• Radhika Rammohan: By education a software engineer, Radhika resigned from her career in the telecom industry in the US to do full-time voluntary work with Association for India's Development (AID-US). At the end of 2006 she and her husband Uday returned to live in Chennai with their then 3-year old daughter. She joined her friend Sangeetha to work on creating reStore, modelled on the co-op stores found in many cities of the US, which are run by members in democratic participative fashion. She considers reStore to be not just a retail space but also a center for learning and interaction.  

• Rajeev Natarajan: Rajeev is a Principal at an IT start-up company in Chennai. His background in volunteering with AID-US, conducting participatory workshops, and interest in reducing his own ‘eco-footprint’ have led to his support and participation in reStore. Rajeev's business and financial acumen contribute to planning reStore's retail activities.

• Sangeetha Sriram has worked with several non-profits in the areas of environment, rural development and agriculture over the last 13 years. Inspired by the possibilities of building caring communities such as found in the food co-ops of the US, Sangeetha along with her husband Rajeev, were actively involved in founding reStore. Sangeetha’s passion for natural farms and wild gardens is satisfied by growing greens and medicinal plants on her rooftop and visiting farms whenever she can. Her well-researched articles on the history of the Green Revolution are featured regularly in a Tamil literary magazine. Sangeetha’s extensive networking has led to the sourcing of many products and in building resources for reStore.

• Sumathi Sethuraman: Sumi exemplifies the ‘walk-the-talk’ principle in examining the ecological impact of our lifestyles. After several years abroad in the IT industry she now devotes herself to volunteering in environmental and social initiatives. She enjoys   undertaking any kind of hands-on work and is very focussed on the core values of reStore.

• Rohit Shetti has a background in electronics engineering and at present works for a semi-conductors company. He has been involved with volunteering activities with groups focusing on child rights, education and corporate accountability. He is excited by the idea of bringing people together in a space for questioning and dialogue.
  

• Usha Hari believes that food should be restored to its primary place in life. She has been regularly sourcing organic food for her family for many years now. She is also interested in exploring alternative/sustainable lifestyles. Usha joined the reStore team to be part of a community of like-minded people. She has been actively involved in all areas of reStore’s retail activity. Usha is also interested in collaborating with other nature and sustainability-related initiatives. She volunteers with Nizhal, a Chennai-based NGO. 

• V. Vijayapriya
  
  

Staff Members

• K. Sajjiraj joined reStore a year ago as an operations assistant and has promoted himself to the role of an operations coordinator, by dint of his sheer hard work and initiative. He coordinates most of the back-end activity in our retail wing right from placing the orders, taking care of godown and grain management, packing, daily accounts, inventory management, and pick-up of goods. He also minds the shop and the bazaars. His friendliness coupled with his competent and thorough approach have proved invaluable for reStore. 
• Ravikumar
• Gomati
• Gowri