Mentors
Punit Gandhi specializes in the convergence of urban development and climate change, demonstrating a distinguished five-year tenure collaborating closely with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. During this period, he played a pivotal role in shaping key policies pertinent to climate sectors within the Ministry. He has been instrumental in fostering collaboration among quadruple helix stakeholders – Government, Commercial entities, Academia, and Citizens.
Preeti Chauhan is a social development entrepreneur by profession, a civil engineer by qualification, an environmentalist by belief, and a zero-waste practitioner by passion. She worked in the corporates for 7+ years before realizing her urge to work in the environmental field. She pursued Sustainable Environment Management and Entrepreneurial Leadership courses to build her credibility in the environmental sector.
Narayan Adhikari is a social entrepreneur and leader for global accountability, governance, and environment, with decades of experience across issues of governance, accountability and organizational growth. Narayan serves as Co-founder and South Asia Representative for Accountability Lab Nepal, Integrity Icon and Civic Action Teams, and an experienced advocate and practitioner for positive social change.
Anoka is a social entrepreneur, environmentalist and educator. Her work revolves around community, equity, conservation, justice, and youth empowerment. Her work in the community sector has resulted in over 20,000 people especially to empower women and vulnerable communities across the Asia-Pacific region gaining additional income as well the ability to gain up-skilling through environmental conservation, learning and development.
Sikander Bizenjo is a development economist and a global advocate for climate adaptation. He co-founded Balochistan Youth Action Committee (BYAC), a youth-led movement to help communities in remote villages of Balochistan, Pakistan. For his work in creating opportunities with limited resources, he was mentioned as an ‘unsung hero of pandemic’ by Bill Gates. Sikander co-authored the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Youth Recovery Report which was presented to world leaders at the 2022 Annual Meeting in Davos.
Dr. Fozia Parveen is an assistant Professor at the Aga Khan University, Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED) in Karachi, Pakistan, where she focuses on mainstreaming climate change and environmental sustainability education from k-12 and early years. She is also teaching courses relating to environment and climate change in higher education and teacher training. Before joining IED, she was a post-doctoral fellow and an adjunct faculty member at the Centre for Water Informatics and Technology at Lahore University of Management Science (LUMS) where she worked on interconnected issues such as microplastic pollution and also explored the role of informal waste scavengers in plastic pollution reduction.
Ratul Dev grew up in an urban neighbourhood of Dhaka city. Opting for a career in development, Ratul is dedicated to fostering sustainability and inclusivity. With a passion for combating climate change, he is equally committed to building just, peaceful, and tolerant communities. Recognized as a Young Leader by Women Deliver, USA, a Youth Fellowship recipient by JENESYS, Japan, and an SDG Talent awardee from UNLEASH Innovation Lab, Denmark, Ratul has also earned a Professional Fellowship from the U.S. Department of State & Swedish Institute. Currently, he serves as a GERIS-EU and ACWAY Fellow, concentrating on interfaith harmony and tolerance.