Franz Gastler,
Executive Director and Founder

Franz_Gastler@Yuwa-India.org

Franz grew up in Edina, Minnesota (USA). He completed his B.A. and Masters in International Political Economy from Boston University and is a graduate of the Program on Negotiation (PON) at Harvard Law School. Through Harvard, he worked at the Ministry of Finance in Colombia. As a consultant to CII, India's biggest industry body, he worked with company executives on social strategies. At KGVK-India, an NGO, he launched a $10 million, 10-year partnership for food security with Ashoka featured as a model at Clinton Global Initiative 2008. He lived 6 months in a tribal village in Jharkhand before co-founding Yuwa.

Stephen Peterson, CFA
Director of Finance and Legal

Stephen manages Yuwa's finances and legal affairs. Outside of Yuwa, he is an Equity Analyst with Palo Alto Investors, a Silicon Valley hedge fund. Stephen graduated with a BSBA in Finance and Accounting from the University of Denver and is a CFA Charterholder.

Greg Deming,
Director of Operations and Fundraising

Greg_Deming@Yuwa-India.org

Greg facilitates Yuwa's day to day operations and heads all fundraising initiatives. Outside of Yuwa, he is a senior trader and strategist for Simplex Investments in Chicago, a proprietary electronic trading company specializing in equities and derivatives. Greg graduated from Indiana University with a BS in Economics and Finance.

Erik Odland,
Director of Technology

Erik manages Yuwa's web presence. Outside of Yuwa, he is a Web Marketing Manager with Cargill, Incorporated. Erik holds a BBA from Texas Christian University and an MBA from the University of Denver.

Tim Deming,
Fundraising Coordinator

Tim helps build Yuwa's fundraising base in the U.S., managing a variety of fundraising initiatives and events. Tim graduated from Iowa State University with a BS in Business and Sport Management. Outside of Yuwa, Tim is an Account Executive with Cars.com.

Col. Surajit S. Rath (retd. From Indian Army)
President of Yuwa India
Surajit Rath serves as the President of Yuwa India's governing body. Outside of Yuwa, Col. Rath is also the President of Citizens Foundation. He is the former Secretary of KGVK and a Retired Col. in the Indian Army.

Franz Gastler
Executive Secretary, Founder
Franz leads Yuwa India’s day operations, see bio above.

Anand Prasad Gope
Leading Coach and Board Member
Anand is one of Yuwa’s founding coaches, and is based in Hutup village, Ranchi district. He has completed coaches’ training programs at Tata Football Academy (Jamshedpur) and Baichung Bhutia Football Schools (Delhi).

Hiralal Mahto
Leading Coach and Board Member
Hiralal is one of Yuwa's founding coaches, and is based in Hutup village, Ranchi district. He has completed coaches' training programs at Tata Football Academy (Jamshedpur) and Baichung Bhutia Football Schools (Delhi).

Sandeep Chhetry
Mentor and Board member
Sandeep ('Sonu') is an award-winning musician and vocalist in the rock band Sparsh, founder of the Ranchi Rock Music Association, and an avid footballer and coach. Sonu helps raise awareness and funds for Yuwa, and often travels with coaches and players, assisting them with logistics and acting as an English translator. His song 'Johar Jharkhand' has been chosen as the official State song of Jharkhand, and he has performed during both the Commonwealth Games and 34 th National Games. He has completed coaches' training at Baichung Bhutia Football Schools (Delhi). He is based in Ranchi.

Soni Kumari Munda
Community Sports Leader
Sixteen-year-old Soni has trained with Yuwa since 2009, and hails from Rukka village. She was selected for both Jharkhand state’s U-19 and U-17 teams, as well as India’s national teams for Homeless World Cup 2011 (Paris) and Discover Football 2011 (Berlin). She was too young to compete in Discover, but will be traveling to Paris for HWC. She has completed coaches’ training programs at Tata Football Academy (Jamshedpur) and Baichung Bhutia Football Schools (Delhi). She currently studies in 10th class in a government school.

Kalawati Kumari Munda
Community Sports Leader
Sixteen-year-old Kalawati has trained with Yuwa since 2009, and hails from Rukka village. Like Soni, she was selected for both Jharkhand state’s U-19 and U-17 teams, as well as India’s national teams for Homeless World Cup 2011 (Paris) and Discover Football 2011 (Berlin). Also like Soni, she was too young to compete in Discover, but will be traveling to Paris for HWC. She has completed coaches’ training programs at Tata Football Academy (Jamshedpur) and Baichung Bhutia Football Schools (Delhi). She currently studies in class 9 at Mother Teresa School, a private school near Ranchi.

Meena Kumari Mahto
Community Sports Leader
When fifteen-year-old Meena, from Hutup village, first started coming to Yuwa practices in 2009, she was like the majority of girls here – shy and lacking confidence. In 2008, her father, a cook at a local school, was shot and killed in a robbery attempt while he was on his motorcycle. Since then, Meena has been helping to support her family even as she has been coming to practice an average of 24 days in a month (288 days in the last 12 months). To keep pace with her teammates in saving for football boots and balls she took on extra work in other families’ fields. After two years as a player, Meena began showing an interest in coaching, teaching Yuwa’s youngest team. Of Yuwa’s first batch of seven female coaches trained at Baichung Bhutia Football Schools (Delhi), she was the youngest and shyest. But after returning from Delhi, Meena carries herself
with a completely different demeanor of confidence and self-worth. “Before she wouldn’t talk to us, now she speaks to everyone,” says Ravinder, assistant captain on Yuwa’s senior boys’ team.

Seema Toppo
Community Sports Leader
Sixteen-year-old Seema has been with Yuwa since 2009. She was selected for the Jharkhand State U-16 team, and traveled to the All-India football Federation Nationals in Uttarakhand. She has completed coaches’ training programs at Tata Football Academy (Jamshedpur) and Baichung Bhutia Football Schools (Delhi). She currently studies in class 9 at Mother Teresa School, a private school near Ranchi.

Binita Toppo
Community Sports Leader
Sixteen-year-old Binita has been with Yuwa since 2009, and plays goalkeeper for Yuwa’s first team. Even on Jharkhand’s hard gravel fields, she dives hard for the ball, and was recently awarded Player of the Match in her team’s penalty shoot-out win over an older team of state-level players. She lost her father several years back, and her mother works as a cleaner at a school nearby. As a coach, Binita has doubled her family’s monthly income. She has completed coaches’ training programs at Tata Football Academy (Jamshedpur) and Baichung Bhutia Football Schools (Delhi). She currently studies at Mahindra College in Ranchi.

Sunita Oraon
Community Sports Leader
Sixteen-year-old Sunita hails from Hesatu village, one of Yuwa’s newest clubs. The newest of Yuwa’s players to travel to Delhi for coaches’ training at Baichung Bhutia Football Schools, she had never ventured outside of Ranchi district. Sunita works hard to lead her team, often running door-to-door to encourage girls to come to practice, not an easy task in Hesatu where alcoholism among parents is rampant, and most girls drop out of school very early because of family pressure to work. Sunita currently studies in 8th class at a local government school.

Sunita Kumari Munda
Community Sports Leader
Sixteen-year-old Soni has trained with Yuwa since 2009, and hails from Rukka village. She was selected for Jharkhand state’s U-19 team, and traveled to Chandigarh for the All-India Football Federation Nationals. Of Yuwa’s seven Community Sports Leaders, Sunita is one of the biggest surprises. Her confidence had taken a big hit after she was passed up for two recent state team selections, but she had remained tireless and selfless in dedicating her time to coach younger players. Because of this, she was the first to be informed she’d been selected for coaches’ training at Baichung Bhutia Football Schools in Delhi, several days before others were informed. In Delhi her confidence soared, and her hunger and desire to learn and now teach has been exciting to see. What sets her apart even in this impressive group is her confidence (even coaching same-age boys), her planning and the intuitive way she seeks feedback from the players she coaches. She currently studies in 10th class in a government school.

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