Shaheen Mistri
As a young girl, Shaheen had the opportunity to travel abroad and get quality education. She studied at Tufts University and at the age of eighteen, returned to Mumbai to do something about the unequal opportunities that children have in India. She graduated from St. Xaviers College, Mumbai, with a BA in Sociology and then did a Masters in Education from the University of Manchester.
Working with children in disadvantaged and underserved communities in the city made her understand the remarkable transformation that could occur if all children were given the chance to realise their potential. She recalls meeting a girl named Sandhya in a large South Mumbai community, who was around her age at the time and generously offered her home. This space became a temporary classroom where she started teaching a small group of children, marking the humble beginnings of the Akanksha Foundation in 1989. She and other passionate college students dedicated their time and creatively utilized their limited resources to educate children living in the slums. It was through her work at Akanksha that she truly grasped the profound power of education and its capacity to alter lives. This understanding remains one of her most significant driving forces.
In 2008, searching for a way to impact more children and inspired by the Teach For America model, Shaheen founded (and is presently CEO of) Teach For India with the audacious vision of providing an excellent education to all children across the country. She aimed to do this by building a movement of leaders committed to ending educational inequity in India. Today, 1000 Fellows teach 33,500 students directly in classrooms across eight cities. 5000 Alumni have gone on to establish or co-create organisations that are able to impact 50 million children across India.
But the impact of TFI has gone far beyond classroom walls. 5000 alumni of the fellowship now work across sectors as school leaders, policymakers, social entrepreneurs, and change makers carrying forward the mission of educational equity. Apart from the coveted Teach For India Fellowship, under Shaheen's leadership, the organization has also incubated several groundbreaking initiatives. Firki, a digital teacher training platform, is helping educators across India enhance their teaching practice. TFIx nurtures social entrepreneurs looking to replicate the TFI model in rural and underserved areas. And Kids Education Revolution empowers students themselves to be agents of change, reimagining the education system from the inside out. InnovatED, an incubator for early-stage education entrepreneurs, supports fellows and alumni in piloting and scaling bold, innovative ideas that address critical gaps in the education system, further amplifying TFI's impact across the nation.
More than a decade since its founding, Teach For India has become a powerful force in the national conversation about education. It is not just a fellowship program it is a movement built on hope, leadership, and an unwavering belief in the potential of every child. Shaheen Mistri's journey is a testament to what's possible when empathy meets action and vision is backed by perseverance. From a single classroom to a nationwide network, she has proven that change is not just necessary it is entirely possible. And it often begins with one person daring to ask: "What if every child had the opportunity to succeed?"
