Aparna Uppaluri is a global executive and a senior philanthropy advisor. Recently she founded Antara Advisory, a specialised strategic philanthropy impact advisory. She is Chief Advisor to the Grow for Climate Fund and serves on the global advisory body of Equal Measures 2030, and the Sustainable Futures Collaborative, and the boards of global foundations.  Until recently, she was the Chief Operating Officer, leading philanthropic programs at the Tata Trusts with operational and strategic planning oversight over all thematic areas including livelihoods, health, nutrition, WaSH as well as Arts & Culture.  In her previous role, she served as Senior Global Program Officer for Gender Justice at the Ford Foundation and acting Program Director of the Foundation’s India, Nepal, Sri Lanka office.  Her global work has included nurturing philanthropic collaboratives, intergovernmental partnerships, and strategic field building.  She led the Science and Society Program at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), India and founded a performing arts collective which she ran for 10 years.  She is an epidemiologist and public health professional by academic training.

Fareeha Iftikhar is a seasoned journalist and Assistant Editor at ThePrint, based in New Delhi, India. With extensive experience in education and policy reporting, Fareeha brings a sharp analytical lens to critical issues shaping India’s socio-political landscape. Her work has been featured across leading platforms, including MSN India, Mint, Hindustan Times, DNA India, and HT Syndication.

Prior to joining The Print, she held impactful roles at Hindustan Times and DNA India, where she honed her expertise in investigative reporting and storytelling. Fareeha is committed to uncovering stories that matter, often spotlighting systemic challenges and advocating for solutions through her incisive writing.

Smita Sharma is an award-winning senior multimedia journalist with 21 years of experience reporting on diplomacy, politics, social issues, conflicts, and natural disasters in Hindi and English. She has held prominent roles, including Foreign Policy Incharge, Contributing Editor, and Anchor with DD News, Network 18, India Today TV, TV9 Bharatvarsh, India Ahead, and Deputy Editor at The Tribune.

Her work has been featured in Deccan Herald, TOI Plus, The Hindu, Hindustan Times, Huffington Post, Quint, Dainik Bhaskar, and international outlets like DW News, TRT World, VOA India, and BBC World Service. A visiting faculty at the Kautilya School of Public Policy, she is an IVLP fellow to the US, John Doherty Fellow to Australia, and an alumna of DKI-APCSS, Hawaii. Smita has also authored chapters on international affairs and digital journalism for leading publications by Pearson and Springer.

Priyanka Tupe is a senior correspondent and Lead – Gender based violence at Behanbox- a web portal dedicated to gender journalism. She is deeply committed to reporting on law, human rights, policies and socio-economic inequities, particularly poverty along with leading a vertical of GBV where she ensures comprehensive and intersectional coverage of the issue. Her reporting on gender, human rights and marginalized groups uncovers India that is invisible and stories that have often been sidelined in mainstream media. Her reportage offers you deepening insights and gives you a bird eye view of India from a gender lens with unexplored aspects, compelling narratives and thorough research.

Apart from this, In her 9 years of experience in journalism and media she has worked with prominent news organizations such as Sakal, Loksatta, Maharashtra-1(one) TV, Indie Journal, Including her contributions as an Independent journalist to The Wire – Marathi, Weekly Sadhana and several other publications.

Her two notable translations ‘Caste Matters’ by Suraj Yengde and ‘The Real Face of Facebook in India’ by Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and Cyril Sam are widely read Marathi books.

Harsuchetun Kaur is the State Program Coordinator for the National Mental Health Programme and Substance Use Disorder Treatment Counselling and Rehabilitation in Punjab, where she leads initiatives to improve mental health and addiction treatment at a state level. She is also a dedicated Ph.D. scholar currently enrolled at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. Her doctoral research involves working with youth in conflict with the law and young girls in need of care and protection.

With over eight years of experience in the development sector, her academic and professional journey has been deeply rooted in social work, mental health, and arts-based therapy. She has worked with children in shelter homes and adults across a wide age range, and has worked on multiple research projects including one approved by the Chandigarh Commission for Protection of Child Rights, focusing on how arts-based therapy affects school participation, anger expression, and group cohesion in children.

Shaman Gupta is the co-founder of Misfyt Trans Youth Foundation. He is the former CEO of TWEET Foundation and over the last 8 years, has supported thousands of trans youth with shelter homes, skilling and employment opportunities. Shaman has been recognised as an Echoing Green Fellow, a Dalai Lama Fellow for his work. He is also a member of the grant making panel for the International Trans Fund and continues to contribute to the global discourse and building of the trans movement. Shaman has a degree in engineering and is passionate about equitable education and educational technology.

Dr Alok Sarin, MBBS and MD (Psychiatry), is a practising clinical psychiatrist in New Delhi, with an active interest in medicine, psychiatry, ethics, society, history and literature. He has been in active clinical practice since 1985 and is currently attached as an Honorary Consultant to the Sitaram Bhartia Institute, New Delhi.

He has been active in various non-governmental organisations including the Richmond Fellowship Society and the Chittaprakasha Charitable Trust.

He is the founder and moderator of the psychiatry mailing list, Indian_Psychiatry@yahoogroups.com, the first e-community for Indian psychiatrists.

Dr Sarin has been the recipient of the Senior Fellowship by the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, for research on the mental health aspects of history. He is presently working on a project in continuation of this, funded by the Wellcome Trust.

He is the conceptualiser of the Canvas Askew, a public forum for addressing mental health and illness issues. This is a series of talks and discussions on various aspects of psychiatry that is now in its third year and has become a popular platform for public debate on mental health. He is presently a member of the Task Force on Mental Health Policy set up by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Dr. Gayathri Swahar is Senior Director, Social Entrepreneurship at The/Nudge Institute, where she leads its incubator and accelerator programs for social enterprises addressing livelihood challenges. The/Nudge is committed to building resilient livelihoods and a poverty-free India through partnerships with governments, markets, and civil society.

Before The/Nudge, Dr. Swahar has co-founded YCook India, and led Nielsen’s Consumer Neuroscience practice in India, bringing over a decade of experience in consumer behavior and brand building. She holds patents in consumer research and has contributed significantly to advancing this field.

Tarun is a dedicated child counsellor with a passion for integrating art therapy into his practice. Armed with a Master’s in Applied Psychology and a Post Graduate Diploma in Child Guidance and Counseling, Tarun brings a holistic approach to supporting young minds. He firmly believes in the innate capacity of individuals to heal themselves, and he strives to be a compassionate anchor on their journey. Alongside counselling, he finds joy in expressing himself through writing and poetry, and he is particularly drawn to the transformative power of art therapy.

Subuhi Safvi is a Trauma and Resilience Coach. Over the last 17 years she has worked in different roles in NGOs, corporate sectors, and social development initiatives. She holds a Master’s in Social Work and a Master’s in Conflict, Security, and Development, alongside certifications in Trauma and Resilience Life Coaching and Student Wellness Advocacy from the Arizona Trauma Institute. Subuhi is passionate about learning and empowering individuals to navigate trauma and build resilience, drawing on her personal and academic experience to support personal and professional growth. Her work is led by her values of feminism and peace.

Polina is a Community Development Lead for Think Collective initiative at the Centre for Exponential Change (C4EC). Think Collective aspires to build a community around the ideas of exponential change outlined in the Think books (Think Scale, Think Speed, and Think Sustain), bringing partners together to explore these concepts and imagine possibilities for scalable impact.

Earlier, Polina has been involved with organizations such as Ashoka, UNDP, and various non-profits. Her work spans multiple stages of social change initiatives, including research, program design, monitoring and evaluation, implementation, and reporting. She believes that a structured approach and interdisciplinary partnerships are critical to the success of social initiatives.

Sandhyaa Mishra is currently serving as Senior Director, Government Partnership & Strategic Alliance, at Miracle Foundation India.  She is also the Co-convener and Steering Committee member of the India Alternative Care Network. With a Master’s in Social Work and a postgraduate diploma in Human Rights, Sandhyaa has been pivotal in developing and strengthening partnerships with multiple stakeholders, including governments, to amplify narratives and influence the ecosystem around Family-Based Alternative Care and Family Strengthening. She has led Miracle Foundation India’s programs across more than 10 states, supporting children without parental care and promoting sustainable changes that reduce reliance on childcare institutions. With 26 years in the social development sector, Sandhyaa has worked on projects for refugees with UNHCR, children living with HIV, and children of prisoners and has a deep understanding of children in need of care and protection.

Subir Shukla works on improving the quality of India’s education system, beginning in 1986 when he lived in a tribal village for 6 years while working on primary education with Eklavya, MP. He has worked extensively with government systems, as Chief Consultant (DPEP, 1995-98) and Educational Quality Advisor (SSA) to MHRD (2009-11), and led the development of the Quality Framework for the Right To Education. He has consulted for most state governments in India and several national governments in Asia and Africa. Subir is also the co-author of a recently released book Child Development and Education in the Twenty-First Century. He has also authored and translated a large number of children’s books, many of which have seen more than 20 reprints.

Sharmila comes with around 16 years of professional experience. She began her career in the corporate sector and while she enjoyed it immensely, she also believes that she found her calling after she joined the development sector in 2014. During her tenure at UNICEF, she has worked within the Child Protection program in different capacities across three different field offices including Bihar, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Before this role, she worked as the Child Protection specialist in the UNICEF Gujarat office.  Before joining UNICEF, Sharmila has worked with Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA); SOAS University, London; Bharti Enterprises (Airtel HQ); and a few high-energy start-ups.

Satyajeet Mazumdar is a development sector professional with a background in law. He currently serves as the Director – Advocacy at Catalysts for Social Action (CSA). His work focuses on the organisation’s research, capacity building and system strengthening initiatives. CSA partners with government and non-government stakeholders across five states to improve rehabilitation outcomes for children in institutional care and those transitioning out of care and is presently also working on enhancing foster care systems in Maharashtra.

Puja Marwaha, Chief Executive – Child Rights and You, believes that children are the very foundation of every nation’s growth and development aspirations. It was this belief that fuelled her passion for children’s rights and inspired her to become a full-fledged part of the social sector in 1994.

For the past 29 years, Puja has helped build an organisational framework for CRY that best captures the essence of justice and equity. Her work is focused on creation of an organizational character that attempts to foster a passion for children, a high degree of individual accountability to children and a belief in every person’s potential to bring change for children. She currently also serves on the board for VANI – Voluntary Action Network India – in an endeavour to strengthen public mobilization for social causes.

Puja is a TedEx speaker and serves on the academic advisory board of XIMB school of Sustainability.)

Brian Hayes KC (born July 1944) is a prominent Australian lawyer specialising in public and administrative law. He was appointed as South Australia’s strategic adviser to India in 2008. Brian studied at London University, where he completed a Bachelor of Laws with honours. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1986. Hayes is also a Distinguished Fellow of the Australia India Institute, Australia’s only national center for research and analysis on India.

Kiran Khalap, Chairman of Protsahan’s Board, took a path less travelled. At 18, while others were chasing careers, Kiran was seeking Truth. Inspired by philosopher J. Krishnamurti, he committed to advancing the cause of education. After graduation, he joined Rajghat Besant School in Varanasi as a teacher, where he spent four years learning as much as he taught. A brand consultant by day, rock climber by the weekend, and author by night—Kiran’s journey defies convention. He’s also been a consultant for UIDAI, always driven by a singular question: “How can we solve problems outside while dissolving the ego inside?