Our Team
Central Coordinators
Ekta Kothari, Co-Founder
Ekta Kothari is an Environment Documentary Film Maker and has many films to her credit including – www.WhyNewCoal.com , The Rising Tide and Droughts, Debts and a Death. She was the Asia Team Leader for Project Survival Media – A youth journalist network at COP 15. Ekta reported on the front lines for the youth movement that was building up in Copenhagen at the time. She has also co-founded www.SwitchON.org.in – A grassroot initiative committed to Sustainability and Equity and she has specialized in Direction from Film and Television Institute of India. Ekta is a musician and can play keyboards, flute and currently learning the violin. She has represented her collge and won many awards at various college fests and events.
Vinay Jaju, Co-Founder
Vinay Jaju is a Renewable Energy entrepreneur and extremely passionate about sustainability and equity. To demonstrate solutions and decentralised distributed generation of energy as alternatives to fossil fuel , he has co-founded a renewable energy company – www.ONergy.in , Vinay is also co-founder www.SwitchON.org.in . He studied management from SP Jain, Mumbai and St Xavier’s College, Kolkata. He has led international projects in AIESEC, and recently worked with GE in Australia and interned with Grameen Shakti in Bangladesh. Vinay is a cycle enthusiast and cycled across india (www.WhyNewCoal.com) and ladakh. He also holds a bronze medellion in surf life saving.
Pratik Mandreker
Pratik is passionate about using technology in building sustainable systems. He has been a part of a youth journalist network and reported on the frontlines of the Copenhagen COP15 climate summit. He has also been actively involved in establishing and leading journalism and media activities in his college. He is pursuing B.E. (Hons.) in Computer Science from BITS Pilani, Goa Campus (Class of 2010). Having done internships at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (Mumbai), Univerty of Augsburg (Germany) and Yahoo! Research and Development (Bangalore), he has an exposure to a diverse set of practices that could be modified to incorporate sustainable practices into our daily lives and the environment we live in.
Editorial and Content
Kabir Arora, New Delhi
Kabir is doing his Graduation in Geography (In final year) from Jamia Millia Islamia, was associated with Pahal (for past five years); the search took him to Rural Litigation Entitlement Kendra (in Dehradoon-for a month) and Sadhana Forest (Auroville, Tamil Nadu-for a month). Center for Science and Environment is a milestone in life. He has done two months summer certificate course (Agenda for Survival-08) from there. The literature penned down by Late Mr. Anil Aggarwal mentored him and prepared his ideology for the way forward. At present, he is volunteering with Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN) and recently got Gandhi Fellowship.
Swati Hingorani, Mumbai
Swati Hingorani works with Sanctuary Asia, a wildlife and conservation magazine, as an Assistant Editor and with the Indian Youth Climate Network. She is particularly interested in the umbilical connections between preserving wildlife and maintaining national security and social issues and climate change. In her spare time she works with an animal welfare organisation as a first-aid volunteer and is studying the application of Bach Remedies for animals. If she wasn’t worrying about misplaced commas and skewed wildlife laws, she’d be working for a human’s rights organisation and eating obscene amounts of labneh in the Middle East.
Raghavendra Rao, Kolkata
Raghavendra is an Engineer by education, a project manager by job, and a movie, theatre, music and sports enthusiast by hobby. He has grown up in the quiet part of Hyderabad where he did his schooling. Raghu was a very restless kid dabbling in quizzes and sports. Moved to Chennai to complete a dual degree (BTech and MTech in five years) in Electrical Engineering. He was restless here again, trying his hand at Robotics, Hobby Clubs, and managing technical and cultural festivals. Joined ITC after that and has been working there for about two and a half years now.
Anjulee Patkar, Pune
Anjulee is a M.Sc. Part-II student of the Department Environmental Sciences, University of Pune, Pune. I am a B.Sc. graduate with a Bachelors degree of Education (B.Ed) degree. Anjulee has worked on “Stabilization of Hazardous waste – with special reference to Copper in the waste” at MWML, Taloja, Panvel as a part of summer training. Presently working on “Comparative study of the Sewage Treatment Plants in Pune City” under Dr.Deshbhratar, Scientist, EIRA Division, National Environmental Engineering research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur. Presently heading an Environmental Awareness Campaign on behalf of the Department of Environmental Sciences, UoP, Pune.
Website, Partnership & Promotion
Gurmehar Singh, Ludhiana
Gurmehar is a 19 years old, Civil Engineering student from Ludhiana. Brought up in small town of Hoshiarpur (Punjab), studied from St. Joseph’s Convent School and passed out ICSE matriculation in 2006. After his senior secondary, he selected Civil Engineering at Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhiana. He has keen interest in pursuing Environment & Highway Engineering. As a part of his interest and hobbies he loves photography, web-designing & CAD. Still in 4th semester of his studies he was selected in the team to make village Gill as the first village in India to be mapped via GPS. In addition to this he has worked hard to make his college “India’s first carbon neutral campus.”
Rohit Prakash – Delhi
Rohit did his graduation in electronics engineering from Jamia Milla Islamia, New Delhi followed by MBA in marketing from Management Development Institute, Gurgaon. Post his MBA he worked for a year in Marico selling Parachute Oil and Saffola in Goa, Karnataka after which he worked for 6 months in Mumbai doing Marketing. After 1.5 years, he moved on to start i-dream, an organization working in the field of environment education for schools and colleges under which he develop interesting content and also deliver the same through innovative mediums.
Photographers and Bloggers
Sudershan K, Chennai
Sudershan is a Graduate of Media Studies from Loyola College, Chennai, working as a travel and documentary photographer. In 2005, a small team of them drove along 600 kms of the coastal stretch in South India, filming and documenting the state of tsunami victims, a year after the natural disaster, as part of a Round Table India project. For the past two years, he has been working with a fashion and documentary photographer based in Bombay. His work covered Bollywood, Bombay’s fashion industry and reportage for Getty Images. In December 2009, his photo-commentary on Taj terrorists attacks and the national media response, Smoke and Terror – The Bombay Episode, was exhibited in The Madras Terrace House, Chennai. Currently, based in Chennai, I am working on two photo-journalism projects: Slum Rehabilitation and Development in Chennai, and Recycling and Waste-Disposal in Tamil Nadu.
Piyush Jaju, Kolkata – Reporter
A graduate in B.Sc. Economics Honours from St. Xaviers College, Kolkata (Calcutta University topper). He has 3 years experience in financial services having worked in India and Abroad. His work experience is in the field of Investment Banking, Finance, Strategic Development and Corporate Sales. Piyush is Co-founder of ONergy (renewable energy venture) and also a co-founder of Switch ON. He has been involved with other NGOs, actively participated in social/charity events and helped in building energy consciousness and following sustainable practices at work place.
Arunav Dutta, Varanasi
Arunav is a M.Sc final year student from Banaras Hindu University with major in Botany. He graduated from St Xavier’s college Ranchi and grew up in Dhanbad,one of the most environmentally polluted places in the country. Consequently he became very sensitive to these issues from the very beginning and inculcated the urge to work for the betterment of the environment. He am member of Tarumitra,an NGO working with school and college students to spread awareness about environmental issues. He participated in various youth environmental conferences and has visited schools to create awareness among the children and has been active part of tree plantation drives during the rainy season at the school and college level. His hobby is photography and is especially interested in issues related to Biodiversity, Air-Water Pollution, and climate Change. He is planning to do a PhD in ecology .
Ranga Prasad, Hyderabad
A resigned B.Tech Graduate with 4.6 years experience in Web Technologies with keen interest on implementing environmental, social and health issues. Currently operating as regional coordinator with Indian Youth Network, Andhra Pradesh Chapter. He operated as Training coordinator for Ybrant Software Technologies and architected Ybees Club concept [Health, Sports, Knowledge Sharing, Entertainment ] at Ybrant and worked as manager for the clubs. Ranga is also an expert in Internet Marketing, Search Engine Technologies, Web Technologies and leads the Health Club at Ybrant and has Teaching Experience in Yoga and Diet.
Chitra Pandita, New Delhi
Chitra is in her final year of engeneering in Biotechnology from GGSIPU. She is also doing dual degree MBA course from the same university. She is also an artist and is working as an art editor in her university magazine, AADAMYA. She has immense interest in nature and hence she is pursuing her final year project in plant tissue culture. Her course subjects help her in better understanding of the senstive environmental issues and thsu generate her interest towards mother nature. She is associated with all the environment campaigns and eco club of her university. She is working as an event manager in Save Loktak lake campaign organised by NECEER
S. Mahender – BloggerPhotographer/Designer
Mahender is pursuing his Bachelors in Electronics and Communication Engineering at Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College (Bidar, Karnatka). He has keen interest in working for environment and aspires to become a journalist and fight against climate change. He has organized several environment activities and is presently a apart of Indian Youth Climate Network. Presently he is working towards starting an Eco Club in his college and turn it into ECO campus.
Mithun Das – Blogger/Photographer
Mithun has done his schooling from the Kendriya Vidyalayas. He was working in an MNC which he left 1 month ago. Now he is on a break. He is also a Cycling Fanatic. He was is in Mumbai to attend a 300km endurance ride in a day. He also likes Music, Dance, ice-creams and chocolates and Nature -photography.
