Our Founders & Board Members

Hekani Jakhalu, is a lawyer by profession. She has an LLM, degree from University of San Francisco, and trained extensively at Harvard University, American University in Washington D.C., Amnesty International- San Francisco and the United Nations Headquarters in New York. An alumnus of Lady Shri Ram College and Law Faculty in Delhi University, Hekani worked both at the Supreme Court of India and Delhi High Court. After quitting as a Partner of a New Delhi law firm in 2005, she returned home to Nagaland to start YouthNet with a group of friends of young professionals, believing in the power of ordinary people to make extraordinary change. She is also a recipient of the Nari Shakti Puraskar Award’ 2018 and the prestigious Schneider Electric Prerna Award in 2021.

Theja Meru is a musician and an entrepreneur. He was part of a band called Blood and Fire, a Chennai based band in the 90s. Today he heads the Rattle & Hum Music Society (www.rattlenhum.com) which aims to network musicians at the national and international levels. He launched a popular and famous hangout for the youth of Kohima called Dream Cafe. He also runs Kohima’s Heritage guest house, a bungalow built by the Britsh around 1947. He is also now the present Adviser to Task Force for Music and Arts (TaFMA) Nagaland. A government body in Nagaland dedicated to the upliftment and promotion of music and arts in Nagaland.

Kuchi Rangkau Zeliang studied International Management at the University of Westminster, London, and has a Diploma in Film Directing, Production and TV Journalism from the Asian Academy of Films and Television, Australia. He has business ventures in the telecom sectors as well as in construction.

Anato Zhimomi is the Managing Director of the Zhimomi Group of Companies. He has a Masters degree in Finance and Account from London School of Economics, MBA from Regent Business School, London and a BBA degree from University of California Berkeley. His companies consist of telecom, constructions, aerated drinks, transports, automobiles, timbers and food processing.

Limaakum Jamir graduated from St.Stephens College, N.Delhi and Masters degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University. He is presently serving as an officer in the Nagaland Police.

Kechangulie (Chabuo) Rio is the Managing Director of M/S Chabou & Co. He has a BBA degree from University of Canberra (Australia), and MBA degree from the University of Canberra (Australia). He did his schooling from St. Johns white hall (Shillong), and Laxman Public School (New-Delhi).

Naro Imchen is an entrepreneur. She is a culinary specialist with trainings from Bangkok and New.Delhi. She also dabbles in clothing and retail. Naro has a Bachelors degree from Shillong.

Angelica M.Chishi went to Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi and has a master’s degree in Clinical Applied Psychology.

Alen Phom after her Master’s degree from Delhi University joined the YouthNet team in building the organization. She joined the crew of Kingfishers Airlines in 2007. She is an alumni of Christ College, Bangalore.

Mr. Joshua Sheqi, a member of the YouthNet Governing Council, is an advocate at District Court, Kohima as well as the Guwahati High Court. Through his advocacy, he has been instrumental in securing job reservations for persons with disabilities (PwD),under the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC). In 2019, the High Court has ruled that - one post of Extra Assistant Commissioner (EAC) and Secretariat Assistant (SA) out of 15 post and 40 post respectively be reserved for disabled or impaired person as per section 33 and 34 of the Right of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016.

Ben Imchen is the proprietor of Elysium Enterprise, a Nagaland based IT business entity involved in providing customized software solutions to various Government entities within the state. He completed his B. Tech and M. Tech in Computer Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi in 2005. Elysium Enterprise works to provide efficient, relevant and innovative solutions that meet the local needs of the Government while incorporating the latest in technology. He is also a Director and one of the Founders of Colosseum Tech Solutions Pvt. Ltd., registered in Hyderabad. With offices in Hyderabad, Nagaland, Pune, Noida, Bangalore and Chennai, and about 7 years of experience in Global Positioning System (GPS) based Vehicle Tracking and Fleet Management, it is one of India’s oldest players in this arena. Colosseum Tech, with its proprietary Falcon AVL Platform (www.falconavl.com), has clients such as Microsoft, Deloitte, Mahindra Satyam, Dell, Cyient, Novartis, Tech Mahindra, P&G etc.

Zaren Odyuo started Tribal Enterprise Pvt.Ltd at the age of 23. Today, after six years it is one of the fastest growing retail business in the State under the name of ‘Gravity’ and ‘Hub’ with setups in three towns, with exclusive showrooms of Adidas and Benetton as well. He is passionate about promoting employment for local youths and employed around 50 youths in his company. He has a B.Com degree from Shillong Commerce.