MEET OUR BOARD OF ADVISORS

Rebecca Parekh

Jyothi Rao

Priya Singh

Alka Joshi

Manisha Bharti
Rebecca Parekh
Rebecca Parekh is the CEO and co-founder of THE WELL — your one-stop shop for wellness. Prior to founding THE WELL, Rebecca was the COO for Deepak Chopra Radical Well-Being and a Director at Deutsche Bank Securities where she held various positions including Head of Cross Product Sales and Head of the US Private Institutional Client Group. She is on the Board of Directors for Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation and an Advisor to the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Entrepreneurship Program. She is also a certified yoga instructor and serves on the board of several non-profit foundations including Breakout Foundation and LIFE Camp, Inc.
Current Position:Co-Founder & CEO
Company:THE WELL
Jyothi Rao
Jyothi Rao is the former CEO of INTERMIX, having taken over leadership of the company from the fashion brand’s co-founders in 2014. She is responsible for crafting the vision for the brand and for developing the overall business strategy. Her path to this point is a wonderful story of pure perseverance: Raised in Africa, India, and Europe, she immigrated to the United States as a young adult.
Prior to joining INTERMIX in 2014, Jyothi served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of Gilt.com where she was instrumental in growing the business into a leading digital fashion site. Before Gilt, Jyothi served as Senior Vice President and General Manager at Calvin Klein, where she launched the Specialty Retail division. Previously, Jyothi spent 16 years at Gap Inc., where she held several leadership positions and was responsible for successfully growing domestic and international businesses for both the Gap and Banana Republic brands. After working her way through college in Texas, she got a job at Gap Inc., and climbed the corporate ladder for 16 years, growing Gap and Banana Republic both domestically and internationally. She went on to hold executive positions at Calvin Klein and Gilt Groupe, and along the way also took on the title of Mom—her daughter Lily, is now 8.
Current Position:Director
Company:J.Jill
Priya Singh
With nearly 30 years’ experience as a leader of brand strategy and marketing, Priya Singh has both launched and managed complex initiatives around the world.
As Chief Strategy Officer of Stanford Health Care and Senior Associate Dean of Stanford Medicine, she advises a team of over 60 leaders and C-suite executives, developing the school’s key strategic priorities and building data-driven campaigns to raise Stanford Medicine’s profile globally. Priya is passionate about her work and deeply invested in Stanford Medicine’s Precision Health vision, a transformative approach to medicine focused on predictive and preventive care.
From building an educational program for entrepreneurs operating in seven global cities to cultivating a workplace culture of discovery, she continually seeks out opportunities to advocate for innovators. As a leader, Priya strives to create a diverse community by mentoring others and encouraging diversity of backgrounds and perspectives.
Current Position:Chief Strategy Officer & Senior Associate Dean
Company:Stanford Medicine
Alka Joshi
Born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India, Alka Joshi has lived in the U.S. since the age of nine. She is the author of the bestselling novel The Henna Artist (Harper Collins, 2020), which was a Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick and a New York Times Best Seller.
Vivid and compelling, the novel portrays one woman’s struggle for fulfillment in a society pivoting between the traditional and the modern. The Henna Artist opens a door into a world that is at once lush and fascinating, stark and cruel. Of Joshi’s debut, author Sujata Massey says, “Romantic, old-time Rajasthan leaps to life in the skilled hands of Alka Joshi. The Henna Artist brims over with richly drawn customs, locations, and characters. I can hardly wait for Alka Joshi’s next masterpiece.” And the Historical Novel Society notes, “The determination of women to transform their lives and make something of their gifts is a theme that underscores Joshi’s novel.”
Joshi graduated from Stanford University and worked in the fields of advertising and PR before starting her own marketing consultancy. In 2011, she obtained her MFA in Creative Writing from the California College of Arts in San Francisco, California.
Current Position:Author
Books:The Henna Artist & The Secret Keeper of Jaipur
Manisha Bharti
Manisha Bharti, MPH, MBA, is the first CEO of Pratham USA and Global Executive and brings over 25 years of professional experience in global development. A seasoned executive, Manisha has demonstrated a keen ability to build partnerships, support diverse teams of wide-ranging talents, steward significant growth, and deepen impact for a range of India-focused and global organizations. Manisha was chief of strategy and programs at GHR Foundation, one of Minnesota’s largest philanthropic organizations, where she oversaw a grant portfolio within health, education and international development. During the pandemic, she significantly deepened GHR’s international partnerships and helped establish its racial equity program in Minneapolis/St. Paul. She also served as secretary and board member of the Global Solidarity Fund.
Manisha has also worked for the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), McKinsey & Company, UNICEF, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, FXB Foundation, and the Canadian and Ontario governments. She is the youngest person to have served on a Canadian royal commission, having been appointed to the Ontario Royal Commission on Learning in the mid-1990s. Her current work is informed and inspired by her early professional experiences living in the Volta region of Ghana and the Pali district of Rajasthan. She graduated with honors from Harvard University, earning an interdisciplinary undergraduate degree in social studies. She also earned two master’s degrees with honors, in business administration and public health, from Johns Hopkins University. She is soon to be certified as a Racially Conscious Collaborator, is an active participant in the 2021 Class of the GEO Change Leaders in Philanthropy Fellowship and has a lifetime appointment as the secretary of her graduating class at Harvard.
The title she values most is that of “mom” to her triplets: Ayrton, Avantika and her angel daughter Asmi. Her children teach her daily about the importance of humility, compassion, presence, patience, gratitude, and grace. Manisha and her family reside in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Current Position:CEO
Company:Pratham USA