aBOUT US
Headquartered in Meghalaya, Avenues is North East India’s pioneering life coaching and personal excellence training social enterprise. Over the course of 21 years, we have been committed to creating, initiating and deploying high-impact interventions that contribute to wellbeing, confidence and personal growth for everyone.
OUR VALUES
Team AVENUES is young at heart.
We are ‘people’ people who love ideas, are inspired by the spirit of children and are driven to add value to people’s lives. We do this by starting strong, and finishing even stronger. As a team, we’re more than just work, we are a family – and work hours are happy hours too. We are constantly inspiring each other to grow our abilities and our talents to achieve the impossible with integrity, creativity, professionalism and love. When you step through the door at AVENUES, you can expect some engaging twists and turns because we are a dynamic group whose work is in progress.
Disruption is a good thing and we embrace it with patience and agility. One thing's for certain - if you care deeply about the future of our region, you will find a home with us.
Join our Team!
MEET THE FOUNDER!
M A R K
L A I T F L a n g
s t o n e
Mark Laitflang Stone is the founder and entrepreneur behind North East India’s leading personal development enterprise, Avenues. His entrepreneurial journey began at the age of 17 and has traversed spaces as diverse as technology, events, hospitality, telecom, skilling, youth engagement and citizen support. Over two decades of building meaningful partnerships in the youth empowerment space with government, and pioneering successful ventures in citizen services, what has remained closest to Mark’s heart is his belief in the transformational impact of young teams and values-driven enterprises. Under his leadership, Avenues has touched the lives of thousands of youth across Northeast India through soft skills and personal development interventions. Mark also leads Avenues’ Business Consulting division that provides niche services in survey operations, big data and impact assessment to government, civil society and community stakeholders. He is a sought-after keynote speaker and trainer and has addressed audiences in over 150 events in India, Europe and South East Asia. He is also a published author, with a chapter to his name in the popular "Coach Wisdom" series that are bestsellers on Amazon. His past engagements have included a Founding Curatorship for the Global Shapers community with the World Economic Forum as well as Co-Chairmanship for the "Adult Literacy" vertical of the India@75 Foundation. He has represented India internationally at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Milan in 2015 and was selected to be part of a 15 member delegation of young Indian leaders at the 10th edition of the Australia-India Youth Dialogue held in Sydney and Melbourne in 2022.
For his pioneering work in life coaching and employability interventions for tribal youth, a regional panel of peers and leaders felicitated him with the first-ever Northeast Young Heroes Award for Education in 2020. In recognition of his contributions to youth empowerment and leadership, Mark was also felicitated with the inaugural edition of AsiaOne’s Asian Youth Empowerment Leader Award 2O2O-21 at the 15th Asia-Middle East-Africa Business & Social Forum Summit held in Dubai in 2021.
MEET THE team!
Daphi leads our human resources division and campus partnerships. Her efforts and leadership prowess lend their way into mobilising our large scale youth interventions for soft skills development and career readiness across Meghalaya and Northeast India for over 12 years now. With a master's degree in Sales & Marketing and a natural knack for seeing through local nuances in communities that we serve, Daphi is a figure of exemplary professionalism with a passion for inspiring youth.
Raj’s career spans 20 years across domains as diverse as Banking & Finance, Telecom, Web Tech, Content Curation & Design. His extensive experience weaves its way into each of our projects to deliver meaning, relevance and impact. He succesfully led Meghalaya’s flagship soft skills intervention for tribal youth, Aspire Meghalaya, which has been recognised as a benchmark project by the State Government covering over 5,000 beneficiaries.
Jasmine’s presence and personality weave into the very fabric of Avenues. Her quiet intellect and natural confidence are her most brilliant traits. Her passion for sharing knowledge has always been a major influence in her life, and this is evident from her choice of education to her place of work. A gold medallist in B.A. Philosophy and an internationally certified Life Coach in Wellness from Symbiosis Coaching, USA, Jasmine has spent over 10 years in non-formal education and training.
Dari infuses the Avenues team with his dynamic personality and good-natured humour. He began his professional journey in the world of finance in the national capital after graduating from college in 2010. He moved back to Shillong to supervise Bajaj Capital's operations in financial planning as the Branch Head. Driven by a strong desire to give back to society, he found his way to Avenues and, over the years, has emerged as an inspiring trainer and life coach.
Pompy is our human machine. From manpower administration to logistics, housekeeping, assets management and vendor liaising, she ensures that all our operations run smoothly at the office and on the ground. One of the longest serving members on the team, her commitment and tenacity are her most inspiring values. Her steadfast presence is always calming and reassuring to each of us. A loving wife and mother, she enjoys winding down with some music and gardening.
Mankhraw has a commanding presence and, as a trainer, he has a way of owning the room that is powerful. Man came to us with a background in international banking and finance. He had pursued a Master's degree in Business Administration from International Institute of Business Studies in Bengaluru. He had also worked with JP Morgan Chase for over two years, learning and mastering the intricacies of the finance world.
Della, as we love to call her, is one of our longest standing trainers, having been with us for over 16 years. She also leads our events management services and, currently, our helpline services for mothers in the state. Della brings to her role crucial professional traits like organisational skills and discipline. She holds a bachelor's degree in Commerce (Honours) and a master's degree in Music.
With over 15 years behind him with multiple MNCs including Facebook, IBM and American Express, in various roles under Training and Operations, Gaurav has travelled extensively throughout the State to impart learners and working professionals with foundational life skills and soft skills.
Kara is our hospitality expert. She is an invaluable example to our youth transmitting the authenticity, professionalism and characteristics required to succeed in this industry. Driven by her love of travelling, Kara pursued her degree in Hotel Management from Advanced Information and Management Studies, at Durgapur, West Bengal. With her degree in hand, Kara then proceeded to gain knowledge and experience in various industries ranging from the ITES sector to the hospitality division.
Mac, as his friends call him, was born and brought up in the foothills of Shillong Peak. Driven by a deep conviction that teaching and learning cannot occur without involving feelings and emotions, Mac has meandered and delved in various facets of spirituality and education. He strongly believes that apart from information and knowledge, learning is a shallow mission if there is neither intent nor feelings in the process.
Preeti’s approachable and pleasant demeanor along with her gift of imparting knowledge by simplifying complex concepts make her a sought-after coach and mentor. Her passion for training and coaching began with her 3-year teaching stint at Auxilium Girls' Higher Secondary School and Army Public School in Shillong. Armed with a bachelor’s degree in Education from SMCTE, Preeti has been training with Avenues since 2016 and lends her efforts towards moulding our young trainers on the team.
Under Kenny’s leadership and his penchant for detail, the Skills Development Division of Avenues has seen through several work orders covering over 20,000 beneficiaries over his tenure. Armed with the Rector’s Gold Medal for his Master's Degree in Business Administration from the North Eastern Hill University, Kenny plays a key role in leading, managing, formulating and deploying seamless data processes for client-facing and citizen services operations.
Saphira is one of our senior soft skills trainers. A woman armed with confidence and a sharp wit, Saphi enjoys bringing out positive changes to the lives of the people she meets. In her spare time, she enjoys dabbling in art and craft, and listening to music.
As the Administrative Officer based in our centre at Tura, Biju runs our operations that cater specifically to the Garo Hills. His knowledge of and experience with working amongst the local communities lend valuable contribution towards our efforts in reaching the interior pockets of the region. For Biju, every day offers potential ground for growth and self-improvement. In his down time, he enjoys reading and playing games.
With over 8 years of experience in Helpline and Counselling processes, Rila has had hands-on involvement with human resources management, team management and liaising with multiple stakeholders across levels of operations. Her ability to think on her feet and quickly devise alternate solutions make her an invaluable asset. As Senior Human Resource Executive, she has been playing a key role in identifying and onboarding talent across our processes.
Om is an established photographer with a master’s degree in Mass Communication and Journalism, and an experience spanning over 2 decades. His fascination with and appreciation for the beauty of the world we live in have had him pack up his gear and chase scene after scene across Northeast India. He began his career as a wedding photographer, fresh out of college and his work has helped transform the landscape of photography in the region to what it is today.
Karen's journey with Avenues started out in 2020 as a Copywriter following a 6-year content marketing stint in Bangalore-based start-ups across fitness, wellness and ed-tech sectors. She found her medium for expression in writing as a child and has, since then, been learning and improving the art of storytelling. Her experience over the years learning from content creators, brand designers and creative directors have led her to fall in love with the fascinating and demanding world of advertising
Ban is a seasoned cinematographer with over 18 years of experience in the field. He specialises in short films and has produced works that have been recognised on both regional and national levels. During his impressive career, Ban has travelled the length and breadth of the country and left traces of his passion and skill wherever he has gone. He is a creative thinker and exceptional leader on the field with vast knowledge of television and motion picture production.
Eva started her journey with us as our front-desk counsellor and admissions processes. Over the years, her confidence and diligence have seen her emerge as one of our trainers and administrators on the ground. More than a pleasant and reassuring presence, Eva continues to inspire us with her grit and resilience, powering through every challenge with courage.
With a critical set of unmatched skills and expertise coupled with over 5 years of experience in MIS and Data Management operations, Dap plays a key role in analysing, formulating and deploying seamless data processes for our citizen services division. His penchant for detail and creative flair in report designing adds invaluable clarity, helping our clients and stakeholders easily comprehend complex data assessments before arriving at strategic decisions.
Lakyntiew is a Counselling Psychologist with an experience of over 15 years in the field. She has facilitated and coordinated workshops and seminars that range across career guidance, teachers' training, parenting skills, wellness programmes for children and adolescents, substance abuse, suicide prevention, mental health awareness and wellbeing programmes for working profesisonnals. She leads our in-house counselling interventions and wellbeing programmes for campuses and communities.
Habbie is our Senior M&E Associate whose data management skills help streamline our M&E processes. He also works behind the scenes to set up for our various events at different locations, an aspect of his role that he enjoys. When not travelling and handling data responsibilities, he likes to catch up with politics and current affairs.
Chewan manages our helpline team that caters to maternal health and early childhood development in the state. Since she started out as one of our Process Associates in 2020, her commitment towards seeing things through with precision and tact has seen her rise through the ranks as one of our helpline warriors. She is a quick learner and a versatile professional who loves a good hug, music and books.
Melarilang is our senior Designer & Video Editor whose gifted and experienced eye lend a powerful touch to our branding collateral and storytelling imagery. A quiet presence, Mel creates magic that speaks loud through his well-honed editing skills. When he’s not at his editing station, Mel enjoys watching and playing football.
Melius’ prowess as a photographer is a reflection of his love for the art and his 5-year experience in the scene. Since he received his diploma in Photography, Videography and Editing from Don Bosco Technical School in 2018, he has experimented with a wide range of photography styles – long exposure shots, landscape, fashion, street, sports, wedding, indoor & outdoor photography. On top of being a gifted photographer, Melius is a disciplined and exemplary professional.