A Graduate in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford, the Founder, Sunethra Bandaranaike is the driving force behind the Foundation. Her passion for the performing arts, coupled with her enthusiasm to uplift the condition of the differently-abled in society, led to the establishment of the Foundation. Her commitment to the cause makes her play a vital role in fundraising and awareness raising activities of the Foundation.
A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK Sharmini Ratwatte holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Colombo. Sharmini holds Non-Executive Directorship at Convenience Food (Lanka) PLC, a company under the CBL Group and at the National Credit Guarantee Institution Ltd, a public-private collaboration with the GOSL, 13 banks and NBFI’s to support and grow the SME businesses in Sri Lanka. She is also a Non-Executive Director on the Board of Greenpeace Asia Ltd. She is a Founding Trustee of the Federation of Environmental Organisations, which aims to catalyze and contribute towards facilitating environmentally sustainable practices in Sri Lanka.
Krishan Balendra is the Chairperson-CEO of John Keells Holdings PLC. He is also the Chairperson of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and the Hon. Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Sri Lanka. He is a former Chair of the Employers Federation of Ceylon, Nations Trust Bank and the Colombo Stock Exchange. Krishan started his career at UBS Warburg, Hong Kong, in investment banking, focusing primarily on equity capital markets. He joined JKH in 2002. Krishan holds a law degree (LLB) from the University of London and an MBA from INSEAD.
Rohan Ponniah is a well know theatre personality and he currently serves as the Chairman of the Wrap Factory. An Economist by profession, he has also served as the Special Assistant to the Secretary General of the South Commission in Geneva from 1988 to 1991. He was the Senior Officer of the Secretariat of the Group of 15 from 1992- 1997.
Mario Gomez is the Executive Director at the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES), an independent think-tank in Sri Lanka. He has worked in academia, human rights, peace building, and previously taught public law and legal theory at the University of Colombo.
Thusharie Wijemanne serves as an Independent Human Resource Management Consultant. She currently extends her professional support to organisations in multiple industry verticals. Previously, she was attached to Deloitte Consulting LLP in the capacity of a HR Consultant, supporting USAID PARTNER initiated projects. Prior to that, Thusharie served Hayleys Advantis Group as the General Manager Human Resource and was a Director at Advantis Freight (Pvt) Ltd. Thusharie has held several senior positions in Human Resource Management in the private sector entities including Sri Lankan Airlines Ltd., MAST industries Inc and MAS Holdings (Pvt) Ltd. She holds a BA (Hons) Degree in Psychology from the University of Peradeniya, and is an Associate Member of the Institute of Personnel Management (IPM). She is a certified license holder in Psychological Testing and Psychology from the British Psychological Society, UK.
A Lawyer by training and a Graduate of the University of Colombo, Azira Esufally teaches Speech & Drama having obtained qualification from Trinity College, London. An active patron of the performing arts, she cares passionately about using drama to help enrich the lives of children. Azira is also involved in a hydro therapy program for differently abled children.
Manil Jayesinghe currently serves as an Independent Director of several Public Listed Companies (PLCs) in addition to being a Member of Audit Committees. He served as a Senior Partner, Ernst & Young from 1993 to 2023, working in Audit and Management Consultancy. He was also a Director/Partner of all its associate and subsidiary companies. He is a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (UK), Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy (UK).