There comes a time in every leader and organization’s journey when we are invited to seek new frontiers and embrace change to continue to stay relevant to our vision and in our case, our cause. That time has come now for Dream a Dream. After 16 years of proudly helming the affairs of Dream a Dream, I am delighted to announce that Suchetha Bhat will be taking over as CEO of Dream a Dream starting 2nd April 2018.
Suchetha joined Dream a Dream as a volunteer in 2007. She was a mentor to a young woman who unfortunately in due course ran away from home. The experience pushed Suchetha to reflect deeply on her role as a mentor and what she could have done differently. Delving on her experiences, Suchetha didn’t give up; albeit in 2010 chose to move into the social sector & Dream a Dream full-time to stay with her questions.
Having studied engineering and worked in the IT sector for over 9 years, Suchetha’s potential was truly unlocked at Dream a Dream. Joining a small team meant the organization needed her support in multiple areas and Suchetha jumped right into the deep end. She developed a deep understanding of our programmes, reviewed and designed curriculums and became the curriculum head and trainer in our Mentoring programme and also the newly launched Teacher Development Programme. Her depth of understanding of a young person’s transformative journey today is un-paralleled.
In the words of KS Ramanan, Chief Programme Officer at Dream a Dream, “Suchetha’s 100% commitment to young people is clearly evident in the way she applies herself to design programmes that deliver high impact, lead and mentor teams to stay the course and provide overall direction to the organization.”
Suchetha has also been an architect of the game-changing people philosophy at Dream a Dream. Based on the core values of Trust, Dignity and Accountability, the people philosophy has shaped the culture and ethos of Dream a Dream under Suchetha’s able leadership. Since its adoption in 2012, the people philosophy has brought our attrition to under 11% pa; has helped the organization develop a high-performing and deeply reflective second and third line of leadership under the idea of ‘Community of Changemakers’; and has ensured that 40% of our team today is comprised of graduates from our programme across the organization structure – from leadership to the field team. According to Vikram, another colleague, “Suchetha embodies reflective leadership.”
Suchetha has driven the scale and strategic direction of Dream a Dream as COO and also as part of the leadership team since 2012. She has helped scale the team from 23 to over 85 full-time staff; scale the impact from 10,000 young people a year to over 100,000 young people and placed Dream a Dream firmly as a thought leader and pioneer in the space of Life Skills in the country.
Her learning curve has been meteoric and she has role-modelled how one can embrace one’s true potential through sheer perseverance, self-belief, commitment to excellence and hard work.
“The way she mentors people of each programme to focus on impact at a deeper level is incredible.” says, Shrikanth.
Suchetha is a deeply reflective human being. She draws strength from a deep belief in herself and her intuition. She has helped each and every team member within Dream a Dream to expand their sense of self, look at the beauty within themselves and draw strength from their identity and stories. No one could have said it better than Ansar, “Suchetha never brought hierarchy as a wall between us and through her acceptance and deep listening has given us the strength to bring out our potential. By role-modelling in this way, she has been able to build an organization where each one is inspired to be an empathetic leader with a strong vision.”
Over the years, Suchetha has held a mirror to our fears and to our strengths. As Pavithra states, “Today Dream a Dream as an organization is confident in making a CEO transition because of the leadership and mentorship that Suchetha has demonstrated in the organization. Suchetha has practised leadership in attitude and action because of which today there is a second line of leaders emerging in the organization.”
As a life partner too, Suchetha has helped me move to a higher understanding of myself through the deeply reflective practices she has brought into our personal relationship.
In this next phase, I will continue to be a part of Dream a Dream in a new expanded role as a champion for young people in the country and supporting the advocacy and strategic partnership efforts for Dream a Dream. As we embark on this next journey with the bold vision to change the paradigm of education in our country, I feel proud and look forward to being a part of Suchetha’s team and help achieve this vision.
It will require a reflective leader to achieve this vision; a leader who values stillness in this world of speed; a leader who values silence in this world of noise; a leader who believes in nurturing people and believing in their potential. We are delighted that we found in Suchetha the leader that Dream a Dream needs and hopefully the approach to leadership that the world will come to respect and emulate.
We are delighted to welcome Suchetha Bhat as the new CEO of Dream a Dream and I invite you to support her like you have supported me all these years. Your support has helped us nurture the next leadership within Dream a Dream and we count on your continued and committed support to unlock more potential within Dream a Dream to achieve our ambitious vision for young people.
Pervin Varma, Board Member, Dream a Dream shares, “To see this leadership transition unfold in the way it has, has been a deeply rewarding experience. I believe it can be an example for our sector itself – that it is possible for founders to transition out of leadership roles and find new avenues, continue making a lasting and meaningful contribution; and for new leadership to emerge from within the organization. Suchetha and Vishal have managed this transition beautifully, confronting the often very difficult issues and simultaneously embracing the myriad new possibilities awaiting them and Dream a Dream. All this has been done with deep integrity, dignity and grace. I cannot wait to see all the new vistas that will open up for Dream a Dream in the future. My best wishes are with Suchetha and Vishal as we make this change.”
I am sure Suchetha would love to hear your congratulatory messages and good wishes. She needs your support and we invite you to write to her at suchetha@dreamadream.org.
Thank you,
With much gratitude,
Vishal Talreja
Co-founder, Dream a Dream