Shashikant Gupta
Co-Founder and Board Chair

A strong sense of social justice inspired Dr. Shashikant Gupta to establish the Gupta Family Foundation (formerly “the Apex Foundation”) over 30 years ago. Dr. Gupta also co-founded Apex CoVantage, a global IT services company in 1988 and sold the firm in 2021. Throughout his career at Apex, he guided the company based on a set of core values – integrity, human dignity, and excellence – that he firmly rooted into the fabric of the company’s existence. He also provided strategic direction for the company and oversaw the development of numerous trailblazing technologies in diverse markets such as digital content creation, geographic information systems (GIS), and smart metering for utilities. Dr. Gupta continues to serve on the Board of Apex CoVantage.

Dr. Gupta is also Co-Founder of WinVirginia and WinDEM, political PACs dedicated to strengthening our democracy and encouraging civil dialog in American society. He holds an MBA and Ph.D. from Michigan State University.

Margaret Gupta
Co-Founder and President

Margaret Gupta is an entrepreneur, social activist, and philanthropist. Driven by her passion to improve the lives of others, Ms. Gupta serves as President of the Gupta Family Foundation, a private foundation that supports organizations around the globe that are dedicated to helping disadvantaged people become self-reliant. She also serves on the Boards of the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, Global Camps Africa, and is a member of 100Women Strong. She also co-founded WinVirginia and WinDEM, political PACs dedicated to ensuring a strong democracy.

Ms. Gupta is Chair of the Board of Directors for Apex CoVantage, a global technology company which she co-founded and sold in 2021. She holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Texas at San Antonio and an MA in Political Science from the University of Michigan.

Michael Kettles
Board Member

Michael Kettles currently serves as the Executive Director for Cure Glaucoma Foundation after spending several years as a volunteer board member.

Upon graduating from college Mr. Kettles joined the Navy where he flew S-3B Vikings from NAS Cecil Field and from aircraft carriers based on the East Coast. In August of 1987 during a flight physical, it was discovered that he had glaucoma. This spurred Mr. Kettles lifelong commitment to helping underserved populations in the US and Africa to gain access to proper screening and treatment for glaucoma.

Mr. Kettles met his wife Michele, a Navy physician, in Jacksonville, FL. In 1998, they settled in Dallas with their two children Jack and Sophie. Mr. Kettles holds a BS in Computer Graphics from Eastern Michigan University.

Michele Kettles
Board Member

Michele Kettles, MD, MSPH, is Chief Medical Officer and a Preventive Medicine physician at Cooper Clinic in Dallas, Texas. She received a Bachelor of Arts from Washington and Jefferson College, graduating summa cum laude, and a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Kettles earned a full military scholarship to medical school and after graduation she completed her internal medicine internship at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. She then served in the U.S. Navy as Medical Department Head on the USS Canopus in King’s Bay, Georgia, and as Director of Clinical Services at the Naval Air Station Branch Medical Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida.

After completing her military service, Dr. Kettles earned an MS in Public Health from the University of Kentucky where she also completed a residency in Preventive Medicine. She is double board certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine in General Preventive Medicine/Public Health and Clinical Informatics.  She has an interest in health care IT and its application to both clinical care and research. In her free time, Dr. Kettles enjoys anything athletic, time with family, cooking, reading and writing. She co-authored the book, Women’s Health and Fitness Guide (Human Kinetics, 2007).

John Kuranz
Board Member

John Kuranz has volunteered with charitable organizations at home and abroad throughout his life, most recently with Habitat for Humanity where he participated in work projects in the U.S. and India. Mr. Kuranz has over 30 years of experience in electronic publishing and internet applications in research and content creation. He has served as CEO of Access Integrity, Vice President and Managing Director of Chemical Information Services Vendome, and Executive Vice President, Global Business Strategy at Apex CoVantage. Mr. Kuranz holds a BS in biochemistry from Texas A&M/St. Mary’s University and an MBA at Northern Illinois University.

Karen Kuranz
Board Member

Karen Kuranz has been a part of the Gupta Family Foundation since 2007. Mrs. Kuranz was born into a service-oriented family. When she was young, her father ran The Weekend Work Camp, a program that brought young people from middle-class backgrounds and underprivileged city dwellers together to rebuild slum dwellings in inner-city Philadelphia. During her teenage years, Mrs. Kuranz participated in this program and as an adult, she became involved in her area’s literacy program, teaching English to a young Mexican mother and helping her obtain her U.S. citizenship. She also volunteered for many years at The Kennet Friend’s Home, helping seniors maintain interesting and dignified lives. In 1995, Mrs. Kuranz and her husband, John, began volunteering for Habitat for Humanity which took them on three international blitz builds in the Philippines, South Korea, and Mexico. Mrs. Kuranz has also participated in various Gupta Family Foundation-sponsored work projects in the U.S. and abroad and holds a BA in English literature from Widener University.

Radhika Murari
Board Member

Radhika Murari is an entrepreneur and social activist. While taking a break from her corporate career, Radhika started and ran Supply Our Schools, a non-profit organization that provided school supplies, library books, and sports equipment to over 500 teachers with 85,000 students in public schools across the United States. Radhika’s company, OmMade Peanut Butter, has received awards for its focus on climate sustainability practices and support of the local economy, including Virginia peanut farmers. Radhika holds a BA from the College of William & Mary and an MBA from Georgetown University.

Melissa W McQuade
Corporate Secretary

Melissa W McQuade has been the corporate secretary of the Gupta Family Foundation for over a decade. In this role, she handles interactions with grantees on all levels, including initial review of grants, distribution, and tracking funding to grantees. Ms. McQuade joined Apex CoVantage in 2007 as Office Manager and leverages 35 years of administrative experience managing the US offices. Prior to joining Apex, Ms. McQuade spent 16 years as Legal Assistant and Office Manager at the law firm of Snead & Mims in Fairfax, Virginia. Ms. McQuade attended Draughon Business College in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and volunteers as a blood drive coordinator for the American Red Cross.