Biodiversity Convention: Seed, Soil & Millets

Governing Board

Founder

Mr Avtar Singh Negi is the Founder Secretary of Mount Valley Development Association (MVDA). Since its inception in 1995, till the end of August 2023, Mr. Negi has been the Chief Functionary of MVDA.
avtar singh negi

Mr. Avtar Singh Negi

 His major work experience spanning three decades includes the development of livelihoods for small and marginalized farmers through natural resource management, including sustainable agriculture, strengthening local governance and institutions building. 

 He started first project with the government on Joint Forest Management, his hard work and determination brought goodwill to the organization as well as gained the popularity and trust of the locals. During the initial period, he worked closely with youth to raise awareness about social stigmas like gender violence and liquor consumption, further moving on to promote and facilitate literacy, preventive health, and environmental awareness.His love for his community and the betterment of the oppressed led him to work through advocacy to eliminate the atrocities of the local community and to work religiously for improvement in the lives of the rural community. He has a Bachelor’s and Master’s in History from Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University. His enthusiasm for reaching out to communities and protecting nature and traditional practices is the same as when he first sow the seed of the organization. His passion and hobby lie in his work for his people and their empowerment. 

Board of Members

Mrs. Sujata Goswami

Mrs. Sujata Goswami

(President )

With over 20 years in the development sector, she currently serves as Executive Director of Sarba Shanti Ayog (SSA), a Kolkata-based nonprofit promoting inclusive, sustainable development. She leads programs on enterprise development, Fair Trade, climate resilience, and women-led livelihoods, supporting 70+ grassroots collectives. She also plays a strategic role in Sasha, SSA’s Fair Trade marketing arm, advancing ethical market access, sustainable sourcing, and producer capacity-building. Her work bridges community empowerment with sustainable business models and systemic impact.

Mr.Ravi Pratap Singh

(Vice President )

Ravi Pratap Singh is an accomplished development leader with over 30 years of experience in program management, strategic planning, and policy development. He currently serves as an International Development Consultant, spearheading large-scale initiatives in green entrepreneurship, climate resilience, and social justice across India and Sri Lanka. He has held senior leadership roles, including International Program Director and Regional Director at Aide et Action and also worked at N. M. Sadguru Water & Development Foundation.

His expertise spans natural resource management, humanitarian response, youth empowerment, and climate justice across South Asia. He holds degrees from the London School of Economics, Chulalongkorn University, and Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Jabalpur.

Ravi Pratap Singh

Dr. Vinod Kumar Bhatt

(Secretary)

Having more than 30 years of experience in various capacities as a teacher, researcher, executive Director and advisor to various govt. and non- govt. bodies. Mr. Bhatt has been part of 30 research papers in national and international journals. Not only this, he also has 7 books published in his name. He is currently heading Ingenious Research and Development (IRD) Foundation Dehradun and Uttara Resource Development Society, Badowala, a Non-Governmental Organization based in Dehradun. In addition, he is also involved in evaluation of developmental projects being implemented by the NGOs on Sustainable Agriculture, Biodiversity and livelihoods, funded by the international donors. He is also consultant to various organizations including GIZ, New Delhi, Patanjali Organic Research Institute and Fair-Trade Forum India and Eramount Industries Pvt. Ltd. Dehradun. He is involved in monitoring & evaluation of developmental projects being implemented by the NGOs on Sustainable Agriculture, Biodiversity and livelihoods, funded by the international donors. His knowledge and expertise is extremely helpful to MVDA.

vinod kumar bhatt
Tashi Yangzom

Ms. Tashi Yangzom

(Treasurer)

With more than 24 years of experience as a Finance Officer at a development organization in Dehradun, she was primarily responsible for overseeing accounts for operations in both India and Nepal. In addition to her financial duties, she also managed office administration and carried out financial evaluations for smaller development organizations in the region. This extensive hands-on experience has sharpened her skills in navigating complex financial environments while ensuring adherence to organizational objectives.

 

She has a passion for traveling and immersing herself in different cultures, always enthusiastic about meeting new people and embracing diverse viewpoints. In her free time, she enjoys expressing her creativity through crocheting, a hobby that blends artistic expression with meticulous attention to detail.

Mr. Rakesh Mohan

(Member)

With 0ver 25 years of experience at senior management level as Humanitarian and Development Programme professional in the non-profit sector, Mr Rakesh Mohan has gained significant expertise in programming for long term development and humanitarian response works, developing operational strategy, and management of development, humanitarian response and early recovery works for the people living in poverty stricken, disaster and conflict affected, and protracted crisis set up. He has worked with different international NGOs and engaged and developed partnership with local CSOs and NGOs workings with poverty stricken and vulnerable communities in South and South East Asia, Middle East and African countries.

He is interested in and working on strengthening Localisation in development and humanitarian assistance works and engaged in coaching, mentoring and capacity building of organisations and practitioners for efficient programming and implementation that ensures timely and quality result.

rakesh mohan
rakesh jha

Mr. Rakesh Jha

(Member)

Mr. Rakesh caries more than 25 years of work experience. He had been associated with the organizations of repute like UNDP. DFID, UNICEF and many more. He has been working with the marginalized and underprivileged socio-cultural-ethnic communities for their upliftment and development. He has also been part of the govt. project in skill development program of Govt. of Madhya Pradesh with respect to MP Vision 2013 – 2018. Developed implementation plan with long, medium and short term strategies and action plan in coordination with department officials. He also has experience in state of Uttarakhand with Indo Global social service society for more than 7 years where he worked in the field of watershed development projects to ensure availability of drinking water and protection of cultivable land in the hilly villages. Not only this, Led and managed a multi-disciplinary team of professionals/consultants for strengthening of civil society governance and performance improvement for eradication of Poverty. His knowledge and expertise in Designed capacity building, community mobilization & outreach, will surely prove very useful to MVDA.

Mr. Purshotam Thapliyal

(Member)

Purshotam Thapliyal brings over 26 years of extensive experience in the development sector. Currently, he is serving as the Project Manager for the Hans foundation (THF).

Before joining The Hans Foundation he worked as a Programme Head – Livelihood at Mount Valley Development Association, and began his journey as a Community Organizer.

He holds a Master of Social Work (MSW) with a specialization in Medical & Psychology, as well as an M.A. in Sociology, both from H.N.B. Garhwal University.

Purshotam Purshotam
Our partners

Network Partner

Our partners

Mission Partner

Actionaid
Ajivika
American Indian Foundation
Azim Premji Foundation
Bioversity International
EdelGive Foundation
Enduring Value
Global Environment Facility
Grow Fund
Hamilton
HDFC
Himmotthan
ICAR
IFAD
Iimpact
IM-Swedish Development
India-Global Social Service Society
International Livestock Research Institute
LIC HFL
Mankind Pharma
National Bank For Agriculture and Rural Development
Organic Uttarakhand
OXFAM Hong Kong
OXFAM India
People’s Science Institute
Room to read
SOIR-IM
Tata – Leadership with  us
Tata Trusts
Uttarakhand Seva Nidhi Paryavaran Shiksha Sansthan
World Food Programme