LEADERSHIP
PRASAD CDHP Leadership
Board of Trustees
Swati Desai
President
Swati Desai is a practicing general dentist with a private office in Yonkers, New York. She has provided dental care to a diverse Westchester County, New York patient base for over 30 years. She is a graduate of the New York University School of Dentistry and a member of the American Dental Association.
Swati was born and raised in India and started volunteering with the PRASAD in Ganeshpuri, India, at the age of fifteen. Since then, she has always been involved with the PRASAD’s philanthropic activities in various capacities.
She currently serves as President and a member of the Board of Directors of PRASAD Children’s Dental Health Program (PRASAD CDHP). Through her professional expertise and vast experience in dentistry, Swati has provided necessary guidance to PRASAD CDHP in decision-making to successfully run its mobile dental clinic in Sullivan County, New York.
Swati lives in Briarcliff Manor, New York, with her family.
Reiko Gomez
Treasurer
Reiko is a feng shui expert, interior designer, and author. She formed Reiko Design Inc. in 1999, a design firm blending ancient Eastern principles of space and placement with modern design techniques. She has worked with corporate and private clients worldwide.
She holds a BA in Political Studies from Pitzer College in California and was a recipient of the Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs. Reiko is certified by the American Feng Shui Institute and trained at the Parsons School of Design.
Reiko has been committed to charitable work from a young age. In high school, she helped start a nonprofit organization aimed at reducing the number of drunk driving accidents by teenagers at her school. The program eventually spread to over 30 schools in Southern California. She later worked as a manager at Teach for America, a program that trains recent graduates from top colleges to become teachers and places them for two years of service in some of the most underserved schools in the country.
Shortly after college, Reiko had the opportunity to serve on the staff of The PRASAD Project, focusing on fundraising and supporting new projects, including the launch of the PRASAD Children’s Dental Health Program, where she now serves on the Board of Trustees.
Reiko lives with her husband Peter in Amagansett, New York.
Ronald Brent
Trustee
He is an entrepreneur and philanthropist with a long history of working to better the lives of others. Ronald brings a uniquely diverse set of skills and expertise with a background that runs the gamut from global special projects to marketing, documentary film production, meditation training, and community development.
Ronald is currently a Partner at Freak & Genius Productions, a Television Production Company. Previous positions include M3 Films, Executive VP, Insight Enterprises, President Heroic Leadership (a leadership training company), Partner/Adjunct Lecturer at US Naval Academy, Annapolis, Asia Arts & Culture, Partner, Wapner & Brent Books, Partner (Publisher and Editor) of Dao De Jing: The United Version.
He currently lives in Woodstock, New York.
Officer
Katy Wyckoff
Secretary of the Board
Katy Wyckoff has a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy from Pomona College in Claremont, California. Katy has dedicated most of her life to working for philanthropic organizations.
From 1979 – 1983 she volunteered for the SYDA Foundation, working and traveling in the United States and India. In 1984 she joined the staff of Direct Relief International, Inc., a nonprofit, humanitarian aid organization in Santa Barbara, California. Working as the Export and Disaster Relief Coordinator for many years she helped to facilitate the donation of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies to charitable hospitals and clinics throughout the world and India, including PRASAD’S medical mobile hospital and clinics in the Tansa Valley in Maharashtra, India.
From 1993 – 2005 Katy was employed by The PRASAD Project, Inc. in New York and in California helping to support its growth and development.
In 2006 she moved to Arizona where she was employed by Child Parent Centers (Headstart) in Tucson, Arizona, a non-profit organization which provides comprehensive early childhood education services in center-based classrooms, home-based settings, and family childcare to more than 2000 children in Southern Arizona.
Katy has served as Secretary to Board of Trustees of The PRASAD Project, Inc. from 1994 – 2005 and of PRASAD Children’s Dental Health Program, Inc. from 2000 until the present.
Program Administrator
Dr. M Cecilia Escarra
Dr. M Cecilia Escarra is originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and holds a Master’s Degree in Health Administration. She worked as an orthodontist and also has expertise in medical auditing and health administration.
Dr. Escarra arrived at The PRASAD Project in 2002 to work as administrator of the PRASAD Children’s Dental Health Program in New York State. In 2012, she was appointed Executive Director of The PRASAD Project.
Under her leadership the PRASAD Children’s Dental Health Program has received numerous awards from local, state and national entities, and PRASAD’s work has been recognized in numerous national and international publications.
Our Community Advisory Committee Members
Bruce Ellsweig, MD
Dyan Campbel
Carol Ryan
Amanda Langseder
Carl Santos
Rebecca LeClaire
Larry Schafman
Gail Bolte, RDH
