Safari Kid Leadership Team

Shy has been involved in the field of education since her college days. After moving to California in 2000, she maintained relentless focus in skillfully educating children in very diverse areas as a math tutor, swimming instructor, dance instructor, and fashion show coordinator. She later founded Safari Kid for preschool and after-school students in a modest location in Newark with five children enrolled.

Since then, through her consistent vision, enterprise, and sterling leadership, she grew Safari Kid to a global chain of international preschools, maintaining the highest standards for the program. Through all this growth, Ms. Shy has been like a best friend to all of her teachers, directors, and students. Ms. Shy is an active philanthropist through her non-profit organization. Shy has a bachelor’s degree in Business Studies and a bachelor’s in Law from India.

After completing his Bachelor in Business Studies and Law degree, Deepak moved to the US in 1997 and studied Computer Science at UC Berkeley. He later joined BMC software and worked there for 15 years. While working at BMC Software, he also co-founded Safari Kid in 2005 with Ms. Shy, where his focus was on accounting and finance. With the tremendous growth of Safari Kid and Safari Kid Franchising, he decided to pursue his career with the company full time. He realized that his passion for making a difference in every child’s life was completely aligned with Safari Kid’s vision.

He is a proud father, and both of his children have been attending Safari Kid since preschool. He enjoys working with children and teaches chess and computers at Safari Kid as a hobby.

With over 15 years of experience in the field, Mr. Narayan has a proven track record of building and leading many cross-functional global teams from the ground up. He mentors and guides the Safari Kid team to adhere to best practices and processes and motivates them to take ownership and accountability. Mr. Narayan has a bachelor’s degree in Physics and a diploma in Software Engineering.

In a “previous life” she was a state-level chess player and athlete who won many awards and recognitions. She completed her master’s in Commerce and has taken several units related to child care and Montessori education. Miss William discovered her passion for teaching in a high school, where she taught underprivileged children. Her love for teaching brought her to Safari Kid, and she cannot wait to see it grow and establish itself throughout the world as a preschool that helps and cares for children. She considers Safari Kid an opportunity to pursue her dream of bringing world-class education and care to children around the world.

Monisha stands apart as a consummate preschool expert. She is an internationally experienced educator and planner with nearly 20 years of experience in space and design, curriculum development and brand management for the company corporate communications. Monisha headed a prestigious pan-India teacher-training module, personally training over 300 teachers. She has designed, set up, and marketed over 30 international preschools, heading one and bringing it up to the top rank across all preschool best practice categories.

In her current role at Safari Kid, SFO, Monisha heads the Strategy and Planning suites, lending her expertise to their business expansion plans, adding quality and best practices to enhance the existing Safari Kid environment space design, curriculum development, and design and brand management for the company corporate communications. She has taught at prestigious schools in India (Bangalore, Pune) and the UK (London) and has received extensive Pedagogical Leadership training in the IB Early & Primary Years Program. In addition, she has attended training at the Reggio Emilia Conference at the Eton House programs in Singapore.

Aparna comes from a family of educators. Soon after completing her post-graduate studies, she started teaching as a lecturer at various graduate and post-graduate colleges, leading to her appointment as a Lecturer of English Literature at the prestigious IKSV University in India. Aparna pursued early childhood education with passion, completing over 50 units in the field and earning the California Program Director Permit. She took on roles of increasing responsibility as a preschool teacher, director of preschool and after-school programs, regional director, and member of the Safari Kid corporate team.

In her current capacity, she oversees administration, regulatory compliance, quality, and summer-camp readiness for Safari Kid. She enjoys guiding new franchise owners through their bootstrapping process and putting them on a glide path to success. In addition, Aparna is passionate about organizing inter-Safari competitions. She is proud to have contributed to the rapid growth of Safari Kid and to its recognition as a leader in quality childcare education.