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We believe in the power of data, information and collaboration

DataLEADS is a digital media and information initiative aimed to help people understand and engage with the world around them.

ABOUT US

DataLEADS is a digital media and information initiative aimed to help people understand and engage with the world around them. Our work spectrum ranges from training, data analysis, fact-checking initiatives, media research and media development initiatives. Central to our work is the belief that information, knowledge, creativity and understanding enriches people's lives and advance societies.

We’re proud partners of Google News Initiative in an effort to train and support journalists across India in their fight against misinformation. The GNI India Training Network is one of the world’s biggest and most impactful fact-checking training networks, equipping a new generation of Indian journalists and media educators with tools and strategies to spot and debunk misinformation. We also work with the world’s leading media and tech companies and regularly partner with them in various collaborative initiatives.

Our project work is diverse.

We’ve worked with Reporters Without Borders (RSF) to build media ownership database in India as a part of a global research and advocacy effort to promote transparency and media pluralism. We’ve worked with Germany’s Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung to maintain data visuzualization project on the Energy Security and Climate Change Asia-Pacific project and also assisted CarbonCare InnoLab (Hong Kong) with visualising data and designing the Paris Watch Report. We have worked with India’s leading scientific institutions such as Translational Health Science And Technology Institute and Indian Institute of Technology (Kanpur) on data visualisation initiatives. Backed by some of India’s best computer-assisted data specialists, journalists, public records experts, fact-checkers and economists, our team conducts data-driven reporting, training and research across Asia. In collaboration with UN Foundation, KAS (Germany), The Star (Malaysia), The Daily Star (Bangladesh) and University of Hong Kong, GIJN and Google News Initiative, we’ve conducted boot camps in over 11 Asian countries.

DataLEADS also runs HealthLEADS which is Asia’s first data-driven health news and information platform building collaboration between journalists, doctors and technologists by combining mass media, data and technology to strengthen evidence-based health information. Our approach to build collaboration with doctors is globally recognised as a unique initiative in healthcare reporting and it has won the Membership Puzzle Project, New York University. In the past, our work has been awarded the prestigious British Medical Journal Award, the medical world’s equivalent to an Oscar for promoting data-driven reporting on healthcare.

DataLEADS is founded by Syed Nazakat, an award-winning Indian journalist, media trainer and entrepreneur.

MEET OUR TEAM

SYED NAZAKAT

Founder, DataLEADS

Syed Nazakat is an award-winning Indian journalist, media entrepreneur, founder of DataLEADS. He leads DataLEADS in New Delhi, as well as oversees its outreach across Asia with different partners, including with Google News Initiative. He has worked in senior positions at different media organisations and his work has earned him global recognition and awards. He is passionate about open data, governance, public health and the intersection of technology and media, and is a frequent speaker on these issues across conferences and media outlets globally. He holds B.Sc degree from India and Master’s degree in Journalism from the Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines.

Dr. Sabba Mehmood

DR. SABBA MEHMOOD

Co-founder, DataLEADS

With over 13 years of experience as a medical practitioner, Dr Sabba has undertaken a variety of roles in medical practice, medical emergency, infection control, surveillance, coordination and operation support. She has also worked as a medical officer in J&K. She is trained in health management with interest in structure and functioning of the health systems. Her diverse experience makes the organisation unparalleled in its spirit to undertake intersectional work. She holds MBBS from Government Medical College Srinagar and Diploma In Health And Family Welfare Management (DHFM) from the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India.

SURBHI-PANDIT-NANGIA

Surbhi Pandit Nangia

Vice President - Partnerships and Outreach

Surbhi Pandit Nangia heads the outreach and partnership team at DataLEADS. She has over 20 years of experience in media with expertise in marketing and sales. Surbhi started her career with The New Indian Express and then moved on to Business Week as Country Representative. She also worked as Vice President - Sales and marketing with Planman Media and then with Media plus Publishing Ltd (Hong Kong). She did her Bachelor's in Commerce and then MBA with a specialization in International Marketing. She not only likes to dress to nines but also loves to keep everyone buoyant and cheerful. She is the positive energy mill of the organisation.


Varadarajan_Ananthakrishnan

VARADARAJAN ANANTHAKRISHNAN

Director- Training and Research

Varadarajan Ananthakrishnan is working as a Resident Editor and Media Trainer at DataLEADS. A Science Graduate, he has extensively worked with television channels in the news and current affairs space in his 28-year long career. He has led media training workshops for journalists in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India. He is Google News Initiative India Training Network fact-check trainer and has conducted online verification trainings across India. He was Content Head for the Media Ownership Monitor project which is a part of a global research and advocacy effort to promote transparency and media pluralism.

Ashish Arora

Ashish Arora

Director, Sales

Ashish Arora is Director-Sales at DataLEADS and HealthLEADS. He comes with 17+ years of sales experience across Print, Events and Digital space in media organizations like India Today, Outlook, ABP, BW Businessworld, Entrepreneur India, Chitralekha and Dainik Bhaskar. He was a part of the core team in re-launching Entrepreneur magazine brand in India. He holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration and postgraduate diploma in Business Administration specialization in Sales and Marketing from Apeejay School Of Marketing-Dwarka, New Delhi.



Parul Goswami

Senior Program Manager

Parul is an experienced and well-rounded professional in B2B communications, public relations consultancy, and editorial management. As Project Manager, at DataLEADS, she is responsible for all aspects of a client relationship and account team. She recommends programs and activities that align to clients’ goals; delegate projects and mentor team members and also work extensively on new business development; design and implement strategic training programs; and work across teams and functions in developing creative concepts. When not on the job, she loves playing Tennis.



Jisha Krishnan

Consulting Editor

Jisha is consulting editor at HealthLEADS. She reports, edits and writes a weekly newsletter covering different issues including medical myths and misinformation. With over 15 years of experience in newsroom leadership, Jisha is a thorough planner, methodical writer and editor. She led health reporting at India’s leading news magazine, The Week. She reported on health and lifestyle and was issue editor of SmartLife magazine. She is based in Bengaluru and holds a degree in law, master’s degree in English Literature and post-graduate diploma in Journalism. She is also a member of Google News Initiative India Training Network for fact-checking.


Misthy Sablok

Misthy Sablok

Communications Lead

Misthy, our Communications Lead, comes with a demonstrated work experience of over 7 years in Public Relations and Communications industry. She helps in strengthening the external communication for DataLEADS and works closely on establishing collaborations and orchestrating events. In the past, she has successfully established partnerships and strengthened stakeholder engagement for various corporates and NGOs. Misthy has worked closely with some of the prominent industries and government bodies for advocating public opinion and policy opinion about a particular cause or regulation.



Samarjit

Samarjit Singh Bhandral

Consultant - Research and Training

Samarjit leads the research and social media monitoring team at DataLEADS. He has more than 25 years of experience in broadcast news and television production. He has worked with popular national news networks like Network 18, Star News (now ABP News) and Zee News Network. As an input editor he has worked on setting up the agenda for daily news coverage, selecting stories, and planning execution. As a team lead, he has worked towards mentoring and skill enhancement of his team on a regular basis. In the last few years he has ventured into teaching broadcast and digital content creation in various education institutions in the country.

Jyoti Singh Rathore

Jyoti Singh Rathore

Deputy Programme Manager

As a Deputy Program Manager at DataLeads, she is handling projects for Google News Initiative India Training Network; managing social media outreach, supervising operational & managerial determinants for core ventures at DataLeads; With almost 13+ years of experience across various streams from Print-to-Electronic Media, she has served as a profound photographer & have carried varied projects & ventures at different platforms including a Bollywood-based assignment; and with an advantage of holding dual master degrees in Archeology and Journalism, her experiences can be skillfully utilised for many leading private & public-based projects. Besides,she was awarded a gold medal for her specialisation in Archaeology in 2006.

Riyaz wani

RIYAZ WANI

Deputy Editor

Riyaz has been a journalist for the past 25 years and has received the Ramnath Goenka and Mumbai Press Club awards, India's top journalism prizes. He has worked for The Indian Express, Tehelka and edited the regional newspaper Greater Kashmir, serving as its managing editor. He has also freelanced for various national and international publications like New Statesman, Huffington Post, Stimson Centre, Quartz, Diplomat, Ozy, Telegraph India, Thirdpole etc. As a reporter, he mainly covered politics and security beats. At HealthLeads, he is excited to make a switch towards climate and health journalism.






SHRUTHI MOHAN

Shruthi Manjula Mohan

Deputy Program Manager & Opinion Editor

Shruthi is the Deputy Program Manager at DataLEADS with a special focus on program management, policy and research. She is also building the opinion column for HealthLEADS, with a focus on health leadership. An award-winning Journalist with over six years of experience as a grass-root reporter covering socio-economic issues, her body of work has taken her to 36 Indian districts and three countries. She is a TERI Media fellow, Bookpecker PeaceX fellow & the winner of ‘Regional Techcamp on Good Governance’ led by US Embassy and Kathmandu Living labs. She is passionate to work at the intersection of public policy, and technology to bring impactful stories with a humane lens.

Tariq Hashmat

Tariq Hashmat

Data Analyst- Lead

Tariq, our Data Analyst Lead, works closely with the core editorial team on data research, visualization and data mapping. Tariq is passionate about journalism and wants to use his technical skills to tell the stories hidden in numbers and data. He holds a Bachelors degree in Electronics Engineering from the Aligarh Muslim University in India, and a Masters in Control Systems Engineering from the HAN University of Applied Sciences in The Netherlands. In the past, Tariq has executed R&D projects with stakeholders like the Dutch government, Bosch and Tata Steel Europe.

Bhargavi

Bhargavi Saikia

Junior Data Analyst

Bhargavi works as a Junior Analyst at DataLEADS. She mainly works on data cleaning, data analysis and visualizations. Her interests lie in playing around with large amounts of data and searching for hidden insights. Bhargavi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Tezpur University. She found her interest in this field because she believes that data, when used properly, can tell stories and that data analytics can help us make impactful decisions in this data-driven world.





Fatima Majid

Nishant Attri

Programme Officer

Nishant is a programme officer at DataLEADS. He has completed his B.tech in mechanical engineering from IIT Delhi. The evolution of industry 4.0 and his inclination towards data analysis has inspired him to gain expertise in data-driven business strategies. He has worked with Maruti Suzuki India Ltd on assembly line management. He loves to play football and do yoga daily for mental and physical well-being.







Hashim Hakeem

Hashim Hakeem

Senior Video Producer

Hashim is our Senior Video Producer. He holds a Post-graduation degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from Kashmir University and a Diploma in Visual Journalism from Ateneo De Manila University in the Philippines. He has previously worked as a producer for The Kashmir Monitor, and trained over a hundred journalists on mobile journalism. Food gives him happiness, but he also likes to stay updated with the new trends in visual storytelling.

Aliya Zainab

Aliya Zainab

Assistant Video Editor

Aliya Zainab is the Assistant Video Editor. Her work revolves around editing and developing video content ideas for all the verticals of DataLEADS. She has completed her Bachelors in English from Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi and has a rousing passion for reading and video editing. She chose the field of video editing because she thrives on the feeling of being able to take a bunch of elements and turn it into something focused.

Shashank Raj

Assistant Video Editor

Shashank is a Assistant Video Editor at DataLEADS. He has graduated with a bachelor's degree in Journalism from Christ University, Bangalore. He is passionate about storytelling, be it visual or textual. He believes that storytelling is the best way to make a mark in this crowded world. Shashank loves to go on backpacking trips which helps him explore his creative side.

Yogesh Mundra

YOGESH MUNDRA

Digital Manager

Yogesh Mundra is the Digital Manager at DataLEADS. He comes with more than eight years of Technical experience across Ecommerce, Government and Digital space in IT organizations like IAP Company, Velocis Systems, Rajasthan Livestock Development Board. He was a part of the core team in Launching INAPH (Information Network for Animal Productivity and Health) Project in Rajasthan. At dataLEADS he is responsible for developing digital infrastructure including building and improving the performance of websites. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Information Technology from Maharishi Arvind Institute of Engineering and Technology, Jaipur, Rajasthan.

Md Arshad Reza

MD ARSHAD REZA

UI/UX Web developer

Arshad Reza is a UI/UX Web developer at DataLEADS. As a UI, UX developer he is responsible for applying interactive and visual design principles on websites and web applications for a positive and cohesive user experience. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Sikkim Manipal University and a postgraduate degree from Accurate Institute of Management and Technology. He has a keen interest in web designing and loves to experiment with graphics designing tools. When he is not working he can be seen carrying his bat to a cricket field.






Disha

DISHA NARANG

Programme Assistant

Disha is an MBA in marketing and finance. She started her career in marketing and sales and soon developed an interest in Digital marketing. As a Programme Assistant at HealthLEADS she is responsible for building social media strategy and strengthening the outreach material . Life to her means friends and family who you can trust and who trusts you. She believes any bad day can be fixed by driving a country road with the radio up and windows down. Her ultimate mantra in life, she says quoting Marianne Williamson, is “Atonement means putting love first. In business as well as everything else.



Pratibha

Pratibha

Programme Associate

Pratibha is the Programme Associate at DataLEADS. Her work involves social media monitoring and writing fact-check articles. Her faith in the importance of unbiased information keeps her motivated to keep going. She holds her Bachelors from Delhi University with English and History majors. She has worked previously with organizations such as WWF-India, Global health Strategies and ASM. There’s nothing she loves more than a good mystery.









Tej Kumar

Tej Kumar

Fact Checker

Tej is a fact checker at DataLEADS. His great passion is debunking fake news, particularly related to health and helping readers to understand the consequences of following unscientific and pseudoscientific procedures. His role involves examining the ways people consume information and understanding the paradigms of people’s interface with the information ecosystem in order to develop strategies for change. His vision is to see a misinformation-free, gender equal society where fake news has no place to breed. His educational background includes an engineering degree from the Andhra Loyola College and Master's degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from EFL University in Hyderabad.

Shelly Dembla

Shelly Dembla

Talent Acquisition Associate

Shelly Dembla works as an associate with DataLEADS. Her work involves content creation and media monitoring. She also manages the communication on social media. Shelly is also responsible for handling talent acquisition and supports the recruitment process for various projects. Prior to this, Shelly has worked with Manning Global, Germany, where she has developed the ability of creating strong talent pipelines. She is a voracious reader. In spare time, she loves to paint as she finds it therapeutic. She has completed her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in English from Delhi University. She has also acquired a diploma in German from St. Stephen’s college.


Arushi

Deepak Gautam

Programme Associate

Deepak is a Programme Associate at DataLEADS. He has Bachelor’s degree (B.Tech) in Chemical Engineering from IIT Delhi. He has worked as an Associate in a global IT firm in the field of digital education. In the Research domain, he has published and presented his research on Clean energy focusing on the use of Nanotechnology in Fuel cells, at the International Conference on Advanced Nanomaterials, University of Aveiro, Portugal. His interest in public policy has inspired him to pursue PGP in Public Policy from Indian School of Public Policy, Delhi. He believes in the blend of multidisciplinary approach and human aspect of technology to resolve complex policy problems. Being a public policy enthusiast, he has worked on various government programs with Invest India and National Skill Development Corporation. His area of interest lies in the public policy landscape of energy and climate governance.

Arushi

Sarah Raza

Project Coordinator

Sarah Raza works as the Project Coordinator for the Google News Initiative India Training Network and the DataLEADS Foundation. She has four years of project management expertise. Her work experience spans the not-for-profit sector, sustainable development, and entrepreneurship sectors, as well as the government sector. She has worked with the United Nations Volunteer (UNV), Child Rights and You (CRY), and the Society for the Upliftment of Rural Economy (SURE). She holds a postgraduate degree in social work and is driven to significantly improve society.












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Arushi Soni

Assistant Manager

Arushi works as an Assistant Manager at DataLEADS. She is also a Staff Writer for HealthLEADS, a multimedia health initiative of DataLEADS. She has a bachelor's degree in English Literature from Shiv Nadar University. She brings with her over five years of experience in writing and editing. Prior to this, she worked as a writer and reporter for The Hindu and Firstpost Network18. She is passionate about Media and Marketing and is trying to carve a niche for herself at the intersection of both fields. She is also a hard-core coffee lover and a book hoarder.













Arushi

Surabhi Jajodia

Communication and Outreach Manager

Surabhi Jajodia is the Communication and Outreach Manager at DataLEADS. She holds a masters degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and has over five years of work experience in media. She has worked in prominent media organisations like Times Now, India Today, 94.3 Radio One (Hindustan Times) and has an experience of interviewing various Bollywood celebrities for Entertainment Reports on Youtube. She is an outspoken person who likes to call herself an enchilada of the digital, television, radio and print media profession.



Arushi

Danis Johnson

Events - Lead

Danis Johnson heads the events coordination vertical for DataLEADS. He is a highly skilled experiential adept at events planning and accomplishing high standards for delivering quality services and client satisfaction. With experience of over 15 years, Danis has a well-established track record of organizing and overseeing multiple corporate/government events pan India, from conceptualization to completion. Mr. Johnson has successfully handled projects like Khelo India Youth Games 2022, Auto Expo for Maruti Suzuki, Sunburn, Sahara Force India Launch, Odisha Government Projects (Make in Odisha conclave) to name a few.

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Aakanksha Wadhwa

Assistant Manager

Aakanksha Wadhwa works as an Assistant Manager at DataLEADS. Her work involves communication and implementing outreach activities. She has a postgraduate degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from Amity University. Her work experience spans over three years in Marketing and Public Relations. She has worked with eminent companies like Yakult Danone and Reftact Consulting. In her free time, she loves to travel, watch movies and spent some quality time with her family.






Arushi

Rahi Patil

Research Associate and Fact Checker

Rahi Patil is a Research Associate and Fact Checker. DataLEADS. She has a bachelor's degree in English Literature and a masters degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Savitribai Phule Pune University. Currently she is also pursuing LL.B. Rahi aims to find a career path for herself where she can sustainably merge both law and journalism.






Arushi

Safna Malik

Staff Writer and Researcher

Safna Malik works as a Staff Writer and Researcher at DataLEADS. She has 11 years of experience in the field of investigative business journalism. In addition to her primary job functions, she is also skilled in Fact-Checking, SEO writing, content writing, Coding, Animation and Graphic Design. She holds a dual accreditation Master’s in Business Administration from Brittany University in France and VERN University in Croatia.


Arushi

Sharanya Eshwar

Research Associate and a Fact-checking journalist

Sharanya Eshwar is a Research Associate and a Fact-checking journalist at DataLEADS. She has a Master's degree in Multimedia Journalism from Christ University Bangalore. She also has four years of experience in content writing. Her mission is to be an ally and amplify the voices of the unheard through writing or through art. She enjoys painting and is a novice Ventriloquist.






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