Avinya Foundation

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Board of Directors

Sanjiva Weerawarana

Organization Member, Founder and Chairman

Sanjiva is the CEO and Founder of WSO2, an enterprise technology provider for integrating application programming interfaces, applications..

Vinya Ariyaratne

Director

Vinya is the President of Sarvodaya, and a lecturer in Community Medicine at the University of Sri Jayawardenepura….

Thusitha Perera

Director

Ms Thusitha Perera, a finance professional is the Executive Director and Board Director of Camso Global Business Service Pvt Ltd a company…

Dumindra Ratnayaka

Director

Dumindra Ratnayaka is the immediate past Chairman of the 1990 Suwa Seriya Foundation, which provides island-wide, free pre-hospital emergency care to all Sri Lankans. He was instrumental in introducing the 1990 pre-…

Praveena Kulasinghe Joseph de Saram

Director

Praveena Kulasinghe Joseph de Saram  is a scientist, entrepreneur, and changemaker. She is Managing Director of the Shiranee Joseph de Saram Foundation (SJDSF),….

Sanjiva Weerawarana

Organization Member, Founder and Chairman

Sanjiva is the CEO and Founder of WSO2, an enterprise technology provider for integrating application programming interfaces, applications, and web services locally & across the internet. He is also the Founder and Chairman of the Lanka Software Foundation (LSF). LSF was founded to promote the development of Open Source Software in Sri Lanka. Before starting WSO2 in 2005, he was a Research Scientist at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center in New York.

He was elected to the IBM Academy of Technology in 2003. Sanjiva was the original creator of Apache SOAP, and is an elected member of the Apache Software Foundation. Sanjiva was elected to the board of the Open Source Initiative (OSI) in 2005, where he served for two years. He is a member of the Faculty of Engineering Industry Consultative Board at the University of Moratuwa, where he was a visiting lecturer in the 2000s. Sanjiva also serves on the Board of Directors at Sampath Bank PLC.

Sanjiva has a B.S. and M.S. in Applied Mathematics from Kent State University, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Purdue University.

Vinya Ariyaratne

Director

Vinya is the President of Sarvodaya, and a lecturer in Community Medicine at the University of Sri Jayawardenepura. The Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement is a self-governance movement that conducts comprehensive development and conflict-resolution programs in villages across Sri Lanka. The organization estimates that 11 million citizens are individual beneficiaries of one of its programs.

He was the Chairman of the Deshodaya Development Finance Company (Ltd), the micro-finance and enterprise development arm of Sarvodaya. Vinya is also the founder of the Sarvodaya Institute of Higher Learning. He was the President of the College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka.

Vinya has an M.D. from De La Salle University, an M.P.H. from Johns Hopkins University, and an M.S. & M.D. in Community Medicine from the University of Colombo.

Thusitha Perera

Director

Ms Thusitha Perera, a finance professional is the Executive Director and Board Director of Camso Global Business Service Pvt Ltd a company wholly owned by a Canadian Multinational and Michelin Group. Prior to the present engagement, Thusitha had a successful international career as a finance professional in Senior Leadership roles, working for a Swiss Multinational Holcim Inc over 16 years , spanning South East Asian & Asian countries namely Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam. Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh Sri Lanka, Australia and Switzerland. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Commerce from University of Colombo and pursued postgraduate studies in International Trade at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane. Thusitha is also a Certified Public Accountant in Australia. Thusitha gained valuable exposure and experience by following intense professional development programs in IMD and online programs with Stanford and MIT. Thusitha, in a private capacity, has engaged in empowerment work with persons with disabilities in the Philippines and continues to support local talent to grow in the professional space. Her areas of interest are talent development, life coaching, and spreading wellness messages using yoga.

Dumindra Ratnayaka

Director

  • Dumindra Ratnayaka is the immediate past Chairman of the 1990 Suwa Seriya Foundation, which provides island-wide, free pre-hospital emergency care to all Sri Lankans. He was instrumental in introducing the 1990 pre-hospital care ambulance service in Sri Lanka and served as the Founding Chairman of the Board for two terms, where he helped expand the service to all parts of the island. 
    He has also held the positions of Chairman of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI), the apex agency for foreign direct investment in the country, and Board Director and Chief Executive Officer of Etisalat Lanka (Pvt) Limited, the pioneering mobile telecommunications network in Sri Lanka. 
    Dumindra also served as a Board member of Information Communication Technology Agency (ICTA), the apex ICT institution of the Government of Sri Lanka. Dumindra is a graduate from the University of Moratuwa in Sri Lanka, with a 1st Class degree in Electronics and Telecommunications.

Praveena Kulasinghe Joseph de Saram

Director

  • Praveena Kulasinghe Joseph de Saram  is a scientist, entrepreneur, and changemaker. She is Managing Director of the Shiranee Joseph de Saram Foundation (SJDSF), Sri Lanka’spioneering organization supporting individuals with Intellectual Disability (ID) gain employment and independence.

    Praveena has extensive experience in the non-profit and for-profit sectors. She served as a Trustee of the Princeton-Blairstown Center, an over 115-year-old charity that serves disadvantaged youth in the US for nearly a decade; and on numerous boards at Princeton University, including The Princeton University Store and The Annual Giving National Committee. Prior to returning to Sri Lanka to lead SJDSF, Praveena was the founder of a triple bottom line pet product business; Chief Operating Officer of Optimal Acuity Corporation, a medical device manufacturer, and a Management Consultant with Kearney. She currently serves on the boards of SJdSF and TRACE Technology & Innovation Ecosystem in Sri Lanka.

    Praveena is passionate about access to appropriate education and opportunities for marginalized people. She was named Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2024 by the Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce for her contribution to employment for persons with disabilities.

    Praveena has an M.Phys. in Physics from the University of Oxford and an M.A. in Molecular Biology and Neuroscience from Princeton University.