Board of Directors
Board of Directors
Board of Directors
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Board of Directors
Kumar Nandur - Founder, Executive Director (Coaching)
A native of Hyderabad, India, Kumar Nandur graduated from the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysore with a Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. He is the founder of the India Association of Fort Myers and helped in the construction of the local Hindu temple. He started free coaching for Geographic Bee about 20 years ago and established the GeoEd Foundation as a nonprofit in 2016. Along the way, children who received coaching from him and the GeoEd Foundation have excelled in Nat Geo competitions - 5 national champions, 5 national runner-ups, 17 top 10 national finishers, 45+ state champions and hundreds of school champions. He initiated coaching programs in 5 cities with the help of local parents, volunteered for the North-South Foundation as a GeoBee consultant and conducted numerous workshops in various parts of the country. His other interests are watching sports, playing tennis, travel, movies and cooking.
"The harder you work, the luckier you get” - Gary Player
Gayathri Chandrasekhar - Deputy Executive Director (Coaching)
Having worked in the IT field for over 10 years, Gayathri is a math tutor. Since 2010 got involved with Geography Bee classes held at USF Tampa. She was an active volunteer till 2015 at Tampa GeoBee, having taught and coached hundreds of kids both at the local and national level. She conducted workshops and trained the coaches for the North South Foundation and participated in the annual retreats conducted by the Tampa GeoBee group. Her other interests are travel, photography, Carnatic music and keeping on top of current Events.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts.” - Winston Churchill
Srinivas Kapaganty - Deputy Executive Director (Administration)
Srini is seasoned IT professional with 25+ years industry experience. He is involved with Geo Bee from last 4 years and helping out with various data mining and IT work to help out the students interested in Geo Bee. He is very committed to giving back to the community and participates in various volunteer activities. Srini loves cricket, working in yard and home improvement projects in his free time.
"If you evolve within you, there will be no pride, no prejudice. You will perform actions out of pure, absolute sense." - Sadhguru (Jaggi Vasudev)
Vijay Narayanan - Deputy Executive Director (AI Liason)
Vijaykrishnan Narayanan received his B.E from University of Madras, securing the University First Rank. He received his Ph.D. from University of South Florida. During his Ph.D. study, he received the University Graduate Fellowship, IEEE Computer Society Richard E. Merwin Award and Upsilon Pi Epsilon Student Award for Academic Excellence. He is the Robert Noll Chair Professor of Computer Science and Engineering and Electrical Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University. His research expertise is in Computer Architecture, Power-Aware Computing Systems and Embedded Vision. He has published more than 500 refereed papers and has more than 23000 citations to his work. He has great passion for involving his students, from post-docs to K-12 students in his research. He has been recognized with several awards for his research, professional service and student mentoring.
"Learning happens every where, every second, so embrace and enjoy it"
Atreya Mallanna - Assistant Executive Director (Coaching)
Atreya Mallanna is a rising freshman at Lexington High School in Lexington, Massachusetts. He was the runner-up of the 2019 National Geographic Bee, and has continued to utilize his passion for the field through contributing towards the GeoEd Foundation’s mission. In addition, he is a two time National Geographic Bee state champion and has also won the junior and senior NSF National Geography Bees. Apart from geography, Atreya plays in competitive soccer leagues and loves to play cricket, participate in buzzer-based competitions such as Science Bowl, and listen to music. He is excited to have this opportunity to spread geographic literacy through the GeoEd Foundation.
"Never say never because limits, like fears, are often just illusions." - Michael Jordan
Aditya Narayanan - Assistant Executive Director (Coaching)
Aditya Narayanan is a sophomore studying Chemical Engineering at the University of Florida. While in high school, Aditya earned numerous accolades such as the Congressional Award Silver Medal and becoming a National Merit Scholar and Presidential Scholar Semifinalist. At university, he conducts research with a focus on semiconductor materials and is involved with various organizations like the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers. With regards to his greatest lifelong passion, geography, he was a three-time National Geographic Bee state champion from Arizona and Tennessee and continues to give back to the GeoEd Foundation as an Assistant Executive Director. Aside from academics, he enjoys playing the violin, playing pickleball with friends, and travelling around the world!
"Nothing can dim the light that shines from within." - Maya Angelou
Aadi Gadekar - Assistant Executive Director (Coaching)
Aadi Gadekar is a second-year student majoring in biology and global studies at Hofstra University. He is also part of Hofstra University’s BS/MD program with the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine. Ever since 4th grade, Aadi has competed in geography competitions. He is the high school division champion of the 2022 International Geography Championship (IGC). He also placed first in the 2022 Junior Varsity and 2023 Varsity National Geography Bee (formerly the International Geography Bee) and the 2022 United States
Geography Championship (USGC). Furthermore, at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers (AAG), Aadi represented Hofstra University in the World Geography Bowl and was part of the competition’s winning team. In his free time, Aadi enjoys serving as a volunteer EMT, learning new languages, and spending time with his family and friends. Aadi is looking forward to pursuing a career in medicine that can also incorporate his passion for geography.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit.” - Aristotle