Indrani Gupta is Professor and Head, Health Policy Research Unit (HPRU) which was set up by her in 1998 at the Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi.
Her work experience includes teaching and positions at academic institutes, the World Bank and the Government of India. Her areas of interest cover a wide range of topics in health economics and policy including demand for health and health care, health insurance and financing, poverty and health, costing and cost-effectiveness, economics of diseases, and international agreements.
She has a PhD in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park, USA and a Masters in Economics from the University of Delhi.
Dipa Nag Chowdhury was Deputy Director of the India office of the MacArthur Foundation. She led MacArthur’s grantmaking on Population and Reproductive Health in India and for the international portfolio. She was also Program Officer for the Foundation’s grantmaking on girls’ secondary education. Prior to joining the Foundation in 1998, Dipa worked with the Naz Foundation Trust in India, the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, and the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington D.C. Dipa has Masters Degrees in Political Science from Mumbai University, India, and Public Administration from Syracuse University.
Akhila Sivadas, Managing Trustee is a founder member of the Centre for Advocacy and Research. Aa an expert on community engagement, she has led the organisation since 1998, and brings with her rich and varied experience as a researcher, visionary and communication expert on issues related to gender and development and its impact on marginal communities. With acumen in strategic planning and advocacy, she has assisted national and regional institutions in preparing policy briefs, strategy documents, papers on gender and intersectionalities, child rights, reproductive health, community media engagement, urban sanitation, climate and disaster management, networking and leveraging government programmes and schemes for the benefit of the poor.
Sumant is a Scenographer, Designer, Installation artist and Theatre person. He was initially trained in visual communication at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. He has since then been a constant innovator and has developed multi-disciplinary skills to express creativity in different fields. His first opportunity to broaden his horizons was through travelling and working in the UK, and in Europe. Sumant builds in various elements such as audio-visual, video, calligraphy, lighting, performance and other dynamic inputs within the mode of theatrical performance, whether for Theatre, Dance, Film, Fashion or the world of Events.
Sumant is deeply concerned with cultural issues related to the contradictions of Local Identity and Global Universality. He thereby attempts through his work to interpret and reflect on values and attitudes that currently dominate our lives. He has been a recipient of the Charles Wallace India Trust Arts Award in 1994 (a British Council Arts Grant), the Sanskriti Award in 2001, and the Fulbright Arts Fellowship in 2002.
After studying physics at St Stephens College in Delhi, Saurabh Kirpal read law at the University of Oxford and did his Masters in law at the University of Cambridge. He did a brief stint working with the United Nations in Geneva before returning to Delhi. He has been practising law at the Supreme Court for well over two decades and has appeared in a range of matters involving fundamental rights. He was the counsel for Navtej Johar, Ritu Dalmia and others in the case that led to the reading down of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. He is the author of the book ‘Sex and the Supreme Court’.
Rajiv Whig is a Medical Graduate from the prestigious Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi University. He is a general physician by profession who was Trained at Hospital Broussais, Paris (France) in Clinical Management of HIV and AIDS. Besides more than 14 years of Managerial and HR experiece with corporate entities such as De Core* Group, Ranbaxy, Som Datt Group, he also has 9+ years Clinical and Teaching experience in Community Health, Reproductive Health, STD/RTI’s, HIV and AIDS, and Adolescent Health.
Rajiv was one of the early medical practitioners (since 1995) to have worked with the MSM community in providing medical advice and services. He has conducted trainings with medical fraternity, social workers, school/college students and community workers in various areas and worked with Adolescents in the areas of Health, Risk reduction and well being. He is a trained Counsellor in areas of Adolescent Issues, Family Issues, HIV and AIDS. Rajiv has served on committees/task force/boards of premier bodies such as the Confederation of Indian Industry, the Indian Medical Association and Naz.
Anusha is an Advocate practising in the Supreme Court of India, Delhi High Court and courts and tribunals across Delhi. Over the last 12 years, she has had the opportunity of working with some of the largest law firms in the country and chambers of Senior Counsel. As an independent practitioner, she regularly represent individuals and corporates in a wide range of civil, constitutional and commercial litigation and arbitration. Apart from handling disputes, she also advises corporate clients on labour welfare, good governance policies, gender justice within the organization and related issues.
