Our Founder & 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.

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.

Ms. Nuneseno Chase, the Director of YouthNet, is a seasoned leader with over 15 years of extensive experience in youth empowerment, women leadership, learning & development, talent management and related development projects. Her career spans engagements with national and international organizations, academic institutions, government bodies and private agencies.

She holds an MBA in Rural Development & Entrepreneurship and has completed Executive Education programs at both The London School of Economics and Political Science in England and INSEAD - The Business School for the World in France.

Throughout her career, Nuneseno has been instrumental in spearheading various initiatives aimed at the holistic development of Nagaland’s youth. Her expertise lies in policy advocacy, strategy development, program management, research and innovation. She adeptly engages with diverse stakeholders, including community groups, government entities, non-profits, funders, research think tanks, business associations and academia.

Dr. Atoho Jakhalu is the Director, Climate Studies and Knowledge Solutions Centre, Department of Science and Technology, Government of Nagaland, India. The Centre is the Research and Development arm of the State Government to fulfil the objectives and priorities as outlined in India’s State Action Plan on Climate Change, essentially strengthening and bridging the research and policy interface. Highly motivated with over 15 years experience in research, policy and practice in the areas of agriculture, climate change and natural resource management, gained in academia, governmental and non-govt. sectors in India, United Kingdom and Germany.

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 Chairman of 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.

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.

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.