Vindhya Fernando

Head of Advisory Services

Vindhya Fernando is a senior advisor and a leader in advancing gender equality, social inclusion and conflict sensitivity; with over 20 years of experience, both locally and globally. She combines technical expertise with strong leadership, having managed multi-million-dollar programmes and guided diverse teams across government agencies, civil society and private sector partners to promote systemic change. Vindhya is recognised for her leadership in designing and delivering research and training, managing partnerships and is known for making complex ideas simple, practical and adaptable to any context, helping organisations and partners turn strategy into grounded, lasting change. Currently She heads Chrysalis Advisory Services.

Hashitha Abeywardana

Senior Technical Advisor

Hashitha Abeywardana is a seasoned development professional with over two decades of experience working across Sri Lanka, South Asia and Africa on gender equality, women’s economic empowerment, inclusive governance, conflict sensitivity and peacebuilding. He provides technical leadership on participatory methods, inclusive quantitative and qualitative research strategies, design and implementation of research and data analysis across a variety of sectors. Hashitha is a master trainer in business counselling and trainer of trainers in conflict prevention, prevention of armed violence and training techniques. His work bridges grassroots and policy spaces, with a consistent focus on inclusion, gender justice and system change. Hashitha brings deep contextual understanding, extensive field experience and a strategic approach to development programming, with a proven ability to collaborate across sectors and actors. Currently Hashitha provides his expertise and the Senior Technical Advisor.

Shashika Ekanayake

Project Manager- Co-creating Solutions to Prevent IPV

Shashika Ekanayake is a passionate and results-driven professional with over eight years of progressive experience in Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI). She works in implementing intersectional strategies in both international and national settings and collaborates effectively with governments, NGOs and international partners. Her expertise spans organizational GEDSI policy and safeguarding, as well as the design and delivery of inclusive programs targeting marginalised communities, with a deep commitment to empowering women, persons with disabilities and other underrepresented groups. Shashika works as the Project Lead for the “Collaborative Evidence Building for Impact at Scale: Integrating Intimate Partner Violence into Existing Health System Structures in Sri Lanka”, a groundbreaking project which aims to create evidence on co-creating solutions on intimate partner violence (IPV) prevention. Currently she also provides project oversight and partnership management to the Advisory Team.

Savindrie Jayawardane

CAS - Lead

Savindrie is an international development professional with over seven years of experience across gender equality and social inclusion, programme management, monitoring, evaluation, reporting and learning (MERL), strategic communications, and stakeholder engagement. She combines technical expertise with hands-on programme experience, working across government, civil society, development partners, and communities to strengthen institutions, advance inclusive governance and justice sector reform, while improving programme quality and impact. Savindrie holds a Master of Arts in Human Rights and Democratization from the University of Colombo, a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English from the University of Peradeniya, and a Bachelor of Science in International Relations from the University of London.

Tharanga Premarathna

Coordinator - Programme Operations

Tharanga Premarathna is an experienced Humanitarian and Development Practitioner with over 6 years of proven expertise in project management, community mobilization and disaster preparedness. Skilled in managing donor-funded programs and delivering results across diverse field environments. He has a strong operational background in logistics coordination, administrative management and data management and supports efficient program delivery and reporting. He demonstrates strong experience leading initiatives in women’s empowerment, disaster resilience and mental and social well-being. Tharanga is committed to advocacy, promoting gender equality, and strengthening community participation. Currently he functions as the Programme Operations Coordinator.

Dhanusha Ariyasinghe

MEAL Advisor - Co-Creating Solutions to Prevent IPV

Dhanusha is a Monitoring, Evaluation Accountability and Learning professional with over 11 years of experience across development, humanitarian and government programs in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. His experience covers research and evaluation, data management, organizational learning and capacity strengthening across health and nutrition, economic development, WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) , education , child protection, governance, environmental sustainability and digital transformation. He has provided country-level MEAL leadership for multi-sector and multi-country programs, working with government institutions, development partners, civil society organizations and program teams to strengthen evidence use for planning and decision making. Currently, Dhanusha serves as the MEAL Advisor for the Co-Creating Solutions to Prevent IPV project.