KISS Team

Debendra has been associated with KISS since 2010. He is responsible for overseeing various administrative and operational functions of the institute, spanning across locations in Bhubaneswar, satellite centers, and other districts of the state.

As a key member of the core group, he collaborates with various offices and personnel associated with the Founder’s office, KIIT University, KIMS, KIIT International School, KIIT ITI, Kalinga TV, Kadambini, KIIT Temple trust, and other entities to ensure effective coordination and execution of diverse activities, programs, and visits. His responsibilities also involve liaising with government institutions, corporate partners, and other stakeholders at different levels to address crucial issues. At KISS, he works closely with the Core Committee to ensure the smooth functioning of the institute in all aspects, facilitate guest visits, assist various departments within the institute, and address any issues as needed.

Debendra also coordinates with district coordinators to ensure the successful execution of various activities, including addressing issues related to satellite centers, meeting the requirements and concerns of district administration, and maintaining and updating databases. He works in tandem with the operations, finance, and administrative teams to ensure the effective functioning of district offices and associated personnel. In the realm of research and development, he aids project teams in coordinating with various government stakeholders at the state and district levels, guiding the implementation processes.

During his tenure with KISS, Debendra has successfully completed his M. Phil in Women’s Studies and a PhD in Sociology.

Suraj brings diverse work experience from managing customers in the telecom sectors across the US and UK, operating systems and networking, to backend processing in the IT sphere. Following this, he transitioned into client-based services, further expanding his expertise when he ventured into FMCG, supply chain delivery, and logistics. At KISS, Suraj has spent more than a decade overseeing brand building, logistics, project management, and fundraising. His enthusiasm and dedication to empowering underserved communities are directly influenced by our founder.

Kadey is actively involved in initiatives involving the education of tribal children, primarily with issues including enrolment, mother tongue-based multilingual education and arresting drop-outs. He formerly oversaw the Employability Training Program funded by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), focusing on employability support initiatives among college graduates. Additionally, Kadey leads the Santali Khabar team, benchmarking innovative ways to collaborate with Odisha’s indigenous communities. Besides this, he renders support to KISS’ dynamic district teams. Kadey has also authored a book titled “Rethinking on Tribal Education”. Kadey is also the Convenor of KISS-DU’s Tribal Advisory Committee, wherein he provides strategic leadership and direction on all matters about the welfare and advancement of Indigenous students and the overall institutional development. He has previously worked within the domain of mental health, substance abuse and behavioural modification. Kadey has a Master’s degree in Social Work from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and is currently also pursuing a PhD from KIIT University.

Nizni holds a Master's in Social Work with a specialization in Urban and Rural Community Development from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. She has worked in areas such as gender equality, social inclusion, social safeguards, governance, displacement, resettlement and rehabilitation, Indigenous empowerment, and climate action. Her professional experience includes working with the United Nations and the Asian Development Bank, where she contributed to initiatives on gender-responsive planning and budgeting, ending violence against women, and the resettlement and rehabilitation of displaced communities. Nizni has extensive experience collaborating with state governments

on policy formulation, research, and documentation, with a strong focus on developing and managing programs aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, Nizni has contributed to significant projects such as TIGRESS with Cambridge University, Project Chirag with the University of East Anglia, disaster risk management under JICA during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Empower Her with the U.S. Department of State, among others. She has also played a key role in organizing conferences, workshops, and the development of knowledge products. Nizni has authored several articles and reports for various platforms, sharing her expertise on gender-responsive governance and related topics.

Nizni’s contributions have earned her several prestigious fellowships, including the Chevening Gurukul Fellowship for Leadership and Excellence at the University of Oxford and the Professional Fellows Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. She has also participated in the International School on Climate Migration hosted by SOAS, University of London, and has been recognized as an expert by the UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab.

Sabyasachi holds a Master’s degree in psychology. He has over 22 years of experience on project management skills, particularly with respect to professional skills of Project Planning with Monitoring & Evaluation. . In the past, he has worked with different national and international agencies such as Spanish Red Cross on disaster management and disaster preparedness program, American Red cross on Disaster mental health and psychosocial care and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on life skills and Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive health, Sabyasachi brings his commitment to his current role as Senior Project Manager at Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS). He liaises and coordinates the life skills education program in the institute as well as in the State. He successfully advocated introducing life skills education in the Physical education curriculum. To add, he is a trainer on child rights and protection issues, life skills and Adolescent reproductive and sexual health.

Debendra is a development professional with experience in project management, planning, and capacity building in areas such as decentralised planning, local governance, livelihoods, skill development, migration, and community resilience, among others. He has worked with community-based organisations, international non-governmental organisations, and UN agencies. He supports planning and execution of development projects, SDG initiatives as well as technology-enabled blended skilling efforts at KISS. He also oversees partnerships with UN agencies. Debendra holds a Master's degree in Public Administration and has received training in Result-Based Management, International Organisation Management, and Sustainable Development Goals.

As Deputy Director of Projects, Adiroopa has managed strategic editorial & digital communications & branding for KISS for over seven years. She holds a Bachelor's degree in
English Literature from the University of Minnesota Morris, USA (2015), as well as Double Master's Degrees in Peace & Conflict Studies from Philipps Universität Marburg, Germany, and the University of Kent, UK (2017). Additionally, she is a certified "Compassionate Integrity Training" facilitator by UNESCO-MGIEP (New Delhi, 2020) and a TCS certified trainer for English & Communication skills under its "Free Employability Training Program " affirmative action initiative at KISS (Odisha, 2018). She has briefly taught under the English Department of KISS-Deemed to be University and as a Visiting Faculty at KIIT University’s School of Mass Communications.

Her research interests focus on reducing inequalities and improving equity and access in higher education, by mitigating linguistic barriers to foster Indigenous students’ agency and self-awareness as communicators. She is working on setting up KISS-DU’s Centre for Writing and Communication (CWC), which aims to provide strategic leadership & training on inclusive, multilingual programming & pedagogy, working alongside academic leadership, instructors, campus partners, and students to ensure that Indigenous students have the communication skills they need to succeed in their scholarly activities & future careers. Under its remit, she is teaching a “Foundations of Communication” course focusing on helping students build confident public speaking and writing skills. As an integral part of the organisation’s SDG Centre and International Relations team, she also contributes in various capacities to the organisation and implementation of conferences & programs with KISS’ stakeholders, primarily around Sustainable Development Goals #4, #5, #10 and #17. Adiroopa is also listed as an expert with the UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab.

Aparupa Patnaik is currently serving as the Deputy Director at the Center for American Studies & School of Arts at KIIT & KISS University. She is a sociologist, Indian classical Odissi dancer, anchor, environmental advocate and doctoral student.

Aparupa has expertise in art curation, cultural preservation, and sociology. She has been involved in research and development initiatives to explore the intersection of art, culture, and society through interdisciplinary approaches. She oversees internship and volunteering activities at KISS and manages the India-Bangladesh Study and Cultural Center, a collaboration between the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology and Daffodil International University, Bangladesh. As a committee member of the KIIT Souvenir Gallery, she amplifies the voices of women entrepreneurs by showcasing their remarkable creations and championing their journey to market prominence within the gallery’s diverse and dynamic space.

She is a Gold Medallist in Sociology (Post Graduation - 2019) from Utkal University and an official constituency member of the Children and Youth Major Group of the United Nations Environment Programme. She has received both the Junior and Senior National Scholarships from the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT), New Delhi, Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Aparupa has also been awarded the Mercedes-Benz Fellowship in Germany for her work as a changemaker in the field of climate change and sustainability. She is an empanelled and A+ graded artist with the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC), Ministry of Culture, Government of India, and an anchor for Doordarshan National. Aparupa has been felicitated by various prestigious organizations, universities, and institutions for her contributions to dance and academics.