Board of Directors

	Dr. Rahul Prasad, PhD President Rahul President of Butterflies USA and is a scientific consultant in the San Francisco Bay Area. After receiving his PhD in engineering and applied science at Yale, he served on Yale’s research faculty, worked as a research scientist at Physics International,and later Science Research Lab. In 1994 he co-founded Alameda Applied Sciences Corporation. From 2002 through 2018 he worked as a senior physicist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. In his volunteer capacity at Yale, Prasad served as chair of both the Graduate School Alumni Association and the Yale Alumni Association, where he co-founded the Careers Life and Yale (CLY) program in 2015. A long-standing member of the Yale Club of San Francisco board of directors, he currently serves as its president. In other volunteer activity, Prasad heads the Board of a children’s rights organization, Amandla Development which helps chlIdren in Capetown South Africa achieve their potential from cradle to college. He enjoys photography and has garnered several awards for his work.
	Kyra Buchko Vice President Kyra is Vice President of Butterflies USA and has served on the Board since 2014. She is a lawyer and conflict resolution expert with more than 25 years in the international development sector. Currently based in Washington, DC, Kyra is Co-Executive Director of PartnersGlobal, an international NGO advancing locally led peacebuilding and conflict transformation. Kyra joined Partners in 2017 as a technical expert in mediation, access to justice, and human rights issues, supporting initiatives in West Africa and the Middle East. Previously, she served as Senior Technical Director of New Rule, LLC, a woman-owned small business providing global rule of law advisory services. She and her family have lived in South Asia and Eastern Europe, where she worked with national human rights institutions, justice sector actors, and civil society organizations on capacity strengthening, conflict management, organizational resiliency, and peacebuilding. Kyra served as one of the initial directors of the American Bar Association’s international programming and has served on the boards of NGOs in several countries. She earned a JD from Georgetown University Law Center and a BS from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service.
	Shaina Barreto Secretary Shaina is Secretary of Butterflies USA, and is currently working as a Postgraduate Research Associate at the Yale Stress Center, with hopes to later pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology. She graduated from Boston College with a BS in Neuroscience in 2021. She became involved with Butterflies USA in her junior year of high school, as the advocacy for children’s rights resonated with her. She successfully led a fundraiser in 2017 and her passion for the organization was strengthened after visiting the Butterflies NGO’s Dehli headquarters. Shaina continues her involvement with Butterflies through the South Asian Student Association of Boston College. She has served on the board of Butterflies USA since 2019 and aids in outreach and fundraising efforts.
	Madhumita Chakrabartti Treasurer Madhumita is Treasurer of Butterflies USA and a passionate crusader of causes that benefit human beings and the environment. During a 30-year career in corporate finance she has contributed her expertise to a wide variety of nonprofits including the Living Legacy Project Inc; Seeds of Peace; Amnesty International; Clearwater Sloop Inc.; Habitat for Humanity; American Red Cross; Princeton Folk Music Society; Tribes Hill Artists Co-Operative; McCarter Theater; and the Financial Women’s Association, for which she continues to serve as mentor for numerous young women at Seton Hall University. Recently Madhumita’ s focus shifted to more formally supporting nonprofits. In 2021, she joined the Petey Greene Program, Inc as the Director of Finance and Administration and formed Madhumita Chakrabartti Consulting, a financial advisory firm serving nonprofits and independent business owners. Prior to that Madhumita was Director, Financial Planning and Analysis at the not-for-profit Parker Health Group. Her corporate finance career includes executive positions at Covance (now LabCorp); Covidien (now Medtronic); and Starwood Hotels (now Marriott), a hospitality company. Madhumita earned master’s degrees in both Public Accounting and Finance from Pace University, and a BA in English Literature from Calcutta University. She completed the Robin Hood Foundation and Commongood Careers’ Non-Profit Financial Management “LeaderLink” program.
	Janie Ciquera Janie currently serves as a Registered Nurse and Nurse Manager at a San Diego acute care psychiatric crisis center. Prior to beginning her work as a nurse, Janie was the Assistant Director at United States-based NGO Amity Institute, an organization specializing in international education and cultural exchange. Janie earned her BS from New York University cum laude, and more recently became a Registered Nurse after finishing a program with San Diego City College. Janie developed an interest in global health and human rights during her extensive international travels, and became involved with Butterflies USA after a life-changing visit to India. In her free time, Janie also volunteers with refugee populations based in Tijuana, Mexico, advocating for their healthcare needs.
	Crescentia Coutinho Crescentia was the Director of the Conference Centers at Baruch College of the City University of New York for over 20 years, retiring in 2023. After obtaining a degree in Chemistry and Microbiology from Bombay University, Cres came to the United States in 1984 and worked as a textile chemist. In 1986, Cres started her career at CUNY in its Office of University and Community Relations. Cres’s strong tie to Butterflies in Delhi stems from her admiration for, and belief in, the Butterflies’ mission, and from her long friendship with the founders, Gerry Pinto and Rita Panicker.
	George Gerardi George has been on the Board of Butterflies USA since 2008. An attorney, he is currently doing pro bono immigration work for a US non-profit agency, La Fuerza Unida Inc. He holds an LLM in International Law from New York University and has served in numerous capacities with several non-governmental organizations including Hermandad, Technoserve, and CODEL Inc. (Coordination in Development). Locally, George has been an adjunct professor, a school board member, prosecuting attorney for a village and a member of the Justice and Peace Committee of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York.
	Joe Gerardi Joe is a freelance video producer and animator residing in San Antonio TX. An NYU Film grad, Joe’s work has supported a wide array of non-profit as well as private-sector clients. His company Supposium focuses on promotional content creation for businesses, aimed at expanding visibility and market competitiveness in today’s digital economy. With a long-time interest in children’s rights and development, Joe and his wife Bethany Richardson volunteer as CASA workers (Court Appointed Special Advocates) in Alameda County, getting to know kids in group home facilities, and writing court reports regarding their development. Joe is a musician and a traveler who shares, with his wife, a special love for the culture and history of India.
	Carla Latty Carla is a retired lawyer, who practiced civil law before federal courts, state courts and administrative law bodies in the state of New York for 36 years. Carla’s areas of expertise included transactional, contracts, consumer, real estate, matrimonial and family law. Before Carla’s retirement in January 2020, she was a Supervising Attorney at District Council 37 Municipal Employees Legal Services. She assisted union members at DC 37 for over 31 years with a wide variety of legal matters. Carla earned her undergraduate degree at Fairfield University and her law degree at Howard University School of Law. Carla has served on the board of Butterflies since 2005.
	Kristin McDonough Kristin is retired from a nearly 50-year career as a library administrator at two of NYC’s great public institutions, The New York Public Library and the City University of New York. As director of NYPL’s Science, Industry and Business Library, she launched the NY Small Business Resource Center, the NY StartUP! Business Plan Competition. Job Search Central, and Financial Literacy Central, all with pro bono coaches. She opened the William and Anita Newman Library at CUNY’s Baruch College where she founded the Financial Women’s Association’s (FWA) college mentoring program on campus before becoming FWA president in 2008. Working with Butterflies integrates her personal passions and professional experience. Grandparents of three, Kristin and her husband live in New York City where she loves connecting others to global service opportunities that match their passions, too.