Jayashankar Vengathattil

Jayashankar, or Jay to everyone, grew up in the south Indian cities of Bengaluru and Kozhikode. With an undergraduate degree in Commerce from Christ (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru, he was all set to be a Chartered Accountant, like his elder brother. However, soon into his corporate stint, he realised his innate aspirations didn’t align with the offerings of a corporate life. What followed was a journey of self-discovery (read a gap year and a master's education in social sciences) that finally led him to the social impact space. Since then, he has worked with not-for-profits, consulting firms, and research teams. Currently, he is Senior Officer, Strategy and New Initiatives, at a social enterprise in the civic education domain. A few years down the line, he hopes to start/head an organisation working in mental health or education.

Outside work, he has a motley of interests ranging across sports, quizzing, literature and cinema. He is passionate about mental health and hopes the world has increased awareness, timely diagnosis and ongoing care (among a lot of other things). He hopes to reach 2000 points on chess.com and publish a book (that eventually gets made into a movie) someday.