Swapnil has over fourteen years of experience leading conservation and development programs in South Asia, Hindu Kush Himalaya, Eastern Africa, and Europe. Having served in different capacities at national, regional and international levels, his work focused on climate change adaptation, biodiversity conservation, ecological restoration and transboundary cooperation. He has managed complex multi-partner, multi-country programmes from design, development, implementation to monitoring and evaluation, which have contributed to several policies issues in Asia. He is an alumnus of University of Cambridge Conservation Leadership Program, Inlaks Foundation, Salim Ali School of Ecology Pondicherry University, Bharati Vidyapeeth, and Ecological Society of India.

e: swapnil@groundupasia.com

Radhika has been working in the Himalayan region for over twelve years. Having worked with several NGOs/CSO’s, she specialises in community-based conservation and developing grassroot capacities. She is an alumna of University of Cambridge Conservation Leadership Program and a recipient of the Robert Sansom Scholarship and Shared Cambridge Commonwealth Award, LEAD Fellowship, and the Dalai Lama Fellows program.

e: radhika@groundupasia.com

Bhuwan is a cultural enthusiast with interdisciplinary research and field experience. He is interested in employing ethnographic techniques, particularly into conservation, livelihood, and education program design and implementation. One of his notable projects is the state-wide study of 110+ last mile schools across 3 districts in Uttarakhand impacting ~1Million school students.

e: bhuwan@groundupasia.com

Preety is a mixed-race individual with an indigenous background working towards community-based conservation initiatives in IPLC territories. She has spent time in the field working on sustainability and conservation issues with tribal women of trans-Himalaya, potter communities of different regions in India and tribal communities of western ghats. She has also worked on understanding the country’s education and skill development landscape through her experience as an education fellow in Rajasthan, a consultant for a government advisory consultancy and managing the donors and projects for an education scholarship organisation. She is developing holistic conservation initiatives in her home state and north-eastern region of India, using her learning in conservation, entrepreneurship and education.

e: preety@groundupasia.com