Dr. Aditya Bahadur is the Director of the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre. Previously he was Principal Researcher at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), London, UK. Prior to that he served as Regional Programme Development Manager at Oxford Policy Management and as Research Fellow at the Overseas Development Institute. Aditya has published widely on climate change and development in peer reviewed academic journals and contributed to IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report. He completed his undergraduate studies at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University and has an MA and a PhD from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK. He completed his Postdoctoral Research at the NASA Goddard Institute of Space Studies at Columbia University, New York where he wrote 'Resilience Reset: Creating Resilient Cities in the Global South' (Routledge 2022). 

An award-winning and dynamic Business leader, Marketeer and Strategist with 25+ years of diversity of experience across domains, Kavita is a Board Member and serves as an Independent Director on the Board of two public companies - Blue Dart Express Limited & Savita Oil Technologies Limited. She runs her Strategic Advisory practice where she advices early-age start-ups & participates actively in the gig economy. Apart from this, she is an Advisor to couple of large Impact organisations and mentors young individuals esp women to unleash their power in the world of business.

A telecom industry veteran, Kavita spent over 22 years in what is now Vodafone Idea and held leadership roles in diverse functions across Consumer and Enterprise, Retail, Digital, Data and Customer Experience & Operations. Her last assignment was as the Chief Digital Transformation & Brand Officer for Vodafone Idea. She was the driving force behind Vi – a brand that emerged with the integration of two of the iconic brands – Vodafone and Idea. She has a strong track record of building some of the most admired telecom brands of the country and Vodafone’s iconic Zoozoos were born during her tenure as the Brand Head at Vodafone India. Her areas of expertise include marketing, digital, retail, pricing, product management, channel and customer operations. Her talent and success have been acknowledged at several prestigious forums - Economic Times included her in its 25 Rising Women Leaders of India Inc. in 2015; Business Today voted her as one of the Hottest Young Executives to watch out for in 2011 and Brand Equity named her amongst the 8 Marketing Premier League Icons in 2009. Kavita is an alumnus of the Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), M S University, Baroda where she did her MBA in Marketing and has also completed Senior Leadership Programs from London Business School and IIM Ahmedabad.

A seasoned Chartered Accountant with over 15 years of experience, specializing in Statutory Audits, Tax Audits, Incorporation and Registrations, Internal Audits, Tax Representations, Forensic Audits, and Due Diligence. Proficient in setting up systems and procedures, drafting opinions, overseeing Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), and establishing robust internal controls. Demonstrates specialized expertise in FEMA-related matters, Forensic Auditing, and Due Diligence. Currently serving as the Vice President of Devsristi Group, responsible for evaluating business models, securing statutory approvals, managing budgeting processes, and overseeing daily operations.

Gayatri Menon is a sociologist who works on the political economy of development, focusing on urbanization, displacement, and questions of home. She has a PhD from Cornell University in Development Sociology. She has taught at the graduate and undergraduate levels and in India and the US.  She also has extensive experience in the NGO sector, having worked on rural livelihoods and indebtedness in Maharashtra, on agricultural practices and politics in Garhwal, and on land tenure and housing rights.  She is currently working on a project on urban health with the Public Health Foundation of India's Ramalingaswami Centre on Equity and Social Determinants of Health.

Dr. Sonajharia Minz is a Professor of Computer Science at Jawaharlal Nehru University, India. For three years (June 2020 - June 2023), she served as Vice Chancellor of Sido Kanhu Murmu University (SKMU), Dumka, Jharkhand, a region densely populated by Santal Adivasi (indigenous) community. During her term as VC, she was the only tribal woman Vice Chancellor in the country. She hails from the Oraon tribe. Dr. Minz is trained in mathematics and computer science. Her research areas include Spatial Analytics, Geo-spatial Informatics, Data Mining, Big Data, etc.  However, she actively engages with issues of the Marginalized, Women, Dalits and Adivasis. In response to undermining of the Indigenous culture, languages and knowledge by mainstream Indian society and academia, as Vice Chancellor she initiated a Master's program in Santal Culture Studies at Sido Kanhu Murmu University to foster research on Santal language and literature, art and culture, region, philosophy, knowledge systems, agricultural practices, etc. Presently intellectual property rights of the tribal (indigenous) knowledge, and ethical guidelines for research on tribes are her foci.