Life clearly had a tryst planned with street children and discovering a world earlier unknown to her. Working with drug using runaways, girls rescued from commercial sex work and domestic work, Sonali was struck by the intensity of their pain and the wisdom in their life. Their wisdom was compelling; inviting her again and again to listen once more, a little more deeply and understand. They became her teachers in understanding the inner world; its myriad hues and depths, its paradoxes, its search and longing for feeling whole and complete. They introduced her to meditation, the power of hope and intention, holding faith and anchoring in unstinting belief against all odds. No one could have asked for a better caravan of spiritual guides!

Over time they helped her define her role in their lives; as one who was meant to create, hold and foster space without judgment and the deep belief that in midst of all the inner chaos and the pain; the voice to support and nourish life and dreams could be heard and strengthened. Working with runaways taught Sonali to appreciate unstructured work hours, think in open spaces, flow, learn that home is where you stand, right here , right now; that nothing can work as brilliantly as humor to dissolve a tough moment and good food to bring a beaming smile that reaches the eyes.

As time passed, it became clear that this was life's work and so Dreamcatchers was born in 2001. Sonali is also an Ashoka Fellow and was elected the First International Fellow at Global Fund for Children, Washington DC, USA. She serves on the Boards of a diverse range of non-profits such as ArtSewa in USA, Thoughtshop in Kolkata and Point of View, in Mumbai.

Bishakha Datta
Bishakha is a non-fiction writer and documentary filmmaker with an abiding interest in gender, sexuality, and marginal points of view. She has a Masters in Communication from Stanford University and has been the Executive Director of Point of View since its inception. She has edited two anthologies on the lives and realities of women: And Who Will Make the Chapatis? (Stree, 1998) and 9 Degrees of Justice (Zubaan, 2010).

Her filmography includes In The Flesh: Three Lives in Prostitution and Taza Khabar: Hot Off The Press. She is currently writing Selling Sex, a book on the struggle for sex workers' rights in India. She is on the boards of several non-profits, including CREA, Breakthrough, Majlis, and the Wikimedia Foundation.

Sharada Harihar
Shradha graduated from N.M. College and then went on to pursue higher studies in Finance and Accountancy. She qualified as a Chartered Accountant in November 1995 and has since then been associated as a Fellow Member with The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. She has been in practice for the past 15 years with a focus on taxation, audit and corporate law and a specialization in the entertainment industry.

She is also a trustee of Vivekananda Youth Forum, a non-profit organization, founded on the principles of Swami Vivekananda. She has been a trustee of Dreamcatchers Foundation since inception and has been greatly inspired by its path breaking healing work with young people. As a Trustee she has helped in facilitating its financial systems.

Sunetra Neogy
Sunetra has over 18 years of work experience in the media and communications’ industry with experience in the fields of media strategy, buying and negotiations. She began her career with Dev Features in 1992. Post Dev Features she has worked in frontline media organizations like Lowe Lintas, Ogilvy & Mather and Universal amongst others and reputed companies like ABCL and Cinevistas.

Currently she is AVP Buying on Reckitt Benckiser at Vivaki Exchange in Delhi, where she is responsible for RBIL’s media buying strategy and negotiations, experiential advertising opportunities, research and business intelligence, media relations, and MIS.

Sunetra holds a Masters in Economics (International Trade and Finance) from the University of Bombay. She is an avid amateur photographer (seldom leaving home without her camera), a voracious reader and an English movie buff.