Dr Anita Patil-Deshmukh is the executive Director of PUKAR and she brings a wide variety of talents and expertise to the organization. A physician by profession, Anita received her Masters in Public Health from Harvard University and worked as a faculty Neonatologist in a teaching institution in Chicago for 20 years.

During her tenure she was also the Director of the Pediatric Residency programme and Director of Continuous Medical Education for the Department of Pediatrics. During her stay in the USA she played a major leadership role within India Development Service (IDS) a pioneer organization in United States which supported multiple, small scale, socio-economic development projects across India.