Meet the Yoga Alliance Boards of Directors

Chandana Achanta is a kids yoga teacher and mental health advocate. She holds a deep commitment to expanding the accessibility of yoga, conducting free workshops in the United States and in India for young children, teens, and adults. Her writing is published in the Baltimore Sun and OM Yoga Magazine. She served on Loudoun County Public Schools’ Equity Committee for two years and was a speaker at several mental health conferences. As a civil servant for the U.S. government, Chandana has been solving public policy problems for seventeen years. She holds a Master of Public Policy Analysis from the University of California, Berkeley.

Jo-Ann Bance's yoga journey began with her first yoga class in 1999 during which she felt an instant knowing that there was so much more to learn. In 2013, Jo-Ann completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training program, leaving with an even greater knowing of what was still left to discover. Having graduated from a 300-hour training, she has been teaching ever since, finding opportunities to practice, teach, and grow via a student of yoga.

Jo-Ann has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and a Master’s in Human Resource Management. She has worked in various senior management roles for both government and post-secondary institutions. Jo-Ann has over 20 years of experience as an administrator, which is combined with her solid financial and human resources background.

Kristoffer Carter (“KC”) is passionate about applying timeless yogic teachings to the demands of modern leadership. As the CEO and Founder of Epic Leadership, a coaching and training organization for conscious leadership, Kristoffer’s teachings have helped thousands create a daily meditation practice. Kristoffer has coached executive leaders and taught meditation professionally since leaving his career in learning and development in 2015. His first book, Permission to Glow—A Spiritual Guide to Epic Leadership has been featured in Men’s Health, Success Magazine, Good Morning Washington, and on numerous news programs for NBC, ABC, and CBS.

KC has been a disciple of the teachings of Paramhamsa Yogananda through Self-Realization Fellowship and their lineage of masters since first reading Autobiography of a Yogi in 2011. Kristoffer is also a professional songwriter, kirtan artist, TEDx speaker, and international retreat leader. He is currently writing his second book (Permission to Chill, Spring 2024) and preparing to make his teaching debut at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in 2023.

Nisha Devi is an Eastern Medicine practitioner dedicated to remedying the deepest of human conditions by enhancing chi flow through movement modalities, including yoga. Raised in Sri Lanka and the USA, Nisha Devi’s understanding of eastern and western medicine permeates true health into all facets of one’s life. Grounded in 20+ years of apprenticeships, her study includes time in Shaolin Temple and on Wudan Mountain. The pioneer of Medicinal Movement™, her methodology is rooted in this ancient lineage of medicinal masters. In 2012, she founded KALA Wellness. Four years later, she was inducted into the Asian Martial Arts Hall of Fame for promoting healing arts globally. Currently, she works with the CA State Government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Jordan and conducts lectures world-wide on internal alchemy fueled through Medicinal Movement™. In 2022, Governor Newsom appointed her to the CA Advisory Council on Physical Fitness & Mental Well-Being.

Prior to joining Yoga Alliance and the Yoga Alliance Foundation, President & CEO Shannon Roche’s career has centered around driving social impact by bringing mainstream institutions’ strengths to bear in support of initiatives that bring communities and coalitions together for the greater good. She led stakeholder engagement for the U.S. Commerce Secretary to forward the Obama Administration’s top economic policy priorities and also served on the founding leadership teams of three innovative non-profits, including the Democracy Alliance. Shannon has Bachelor of Arts Degrees in Sociology and Women’s Studies from Duke University and a Master's in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband and her most enlightening and humbling teachers of all, their two children.

Siddharth Kulkarni is an economist and researcher with more than a decade of experience in the economic development and technology sectors. Yoga has been a presence in his life from a young age through instruction and guidance from his mother, a dedicated yoga practitioner and teacher. Her influence started Siddharth on his own journey to explore the physical and spiritual traditions of yoga, which he has rediscovered as an adult and continues today.

In addition to yoga, Siddharth is also a passionate student of martial arts, training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Siddharth completed his undergraduate studies in Economics and Politics at UC San Diego and holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Economics from Johns Hopkins University. Siddharth lives in San Diego, California with two of his favorite yoga partners, his wife Avani and his dog Twix.

Yoshi is a mindfulness visionary, company builder, musician and humanitarian, whose mission is to bring high-level presence and consciousness into global entrepreneurship and community. Through his passion for music and communal wellness, he has participated in various social impact projects around the world. His humanitarian work has led him to Africa, Haiti, Cambodia, Thailand, Peru, India, Bali and Louisiana. He has coordinated and led tent city aid distribution projects along with leading teams into disaster zones.

Yoshi is the founder of the Hanuman Community (Festival, Academy, and Adventures). Throughout his professional career, Yoshi has served as CEO for various mid-sized companies, with his deep understanding of vision and brand development, strategic road-mapping, and investor acquisitions helping pave his way for impact and success. He is a 43-year student of the guitar and self-motivator. Yoshi joins the Yoga Alliance Board of Directors to help support the organization’s continued growth and yoga community support.