Scholars

Aléré Kouakou is an education development practitioner and an innovator in the phone repair sector. He also graduated with a Master’s degree in Science of Education from ‘’ENS’’ (Institute of Education). After working for over four years in the education sector, he set up his NGO called ALeREAI, which stands for: Aid and Leadership for Rural Education Access Initiative. Currently, he works in civil service as a teacher and is the Country Director of Orion Edutech, an Indian training center. He committed to practicing education development for vulnerable people over the past two years due to two gap academic years in schools and COVID-19. He has been promoting access to vocational training, such as phone repairing courses, on the mission of reshaping quality education in Cote d’Ivoire.

Daniela Toda has a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, a Master’s degree in Education, and twelve years of experience in education, especially in teacher training. She lives in Rondônia, Brazil, and is interested in sustainable development, education and inclusion.

Ilika has received her education from eleven schools and had the opportunity to grow up experiencing the extraordinary cultural and social diversity across the length and breadth of India. She has completed her Bachelor’s degree in Economics with Honours from Shri Ram College of Commerce, New Delhi and is inclined towards issues related to development and economic inequality. She slowly developed an interest in Human Rights and went on to pursue her Master’s degree in that field. She wants to work at the intersection of human rights and global politics to address the legal, economic and political challenges in the realization of basic human rights worldwide. For this, she has completed her postgraduate diploma in Human Rights Law. She has two years of experience in the field of research as a Research Assistant in the Politics Initiative at Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi. Here, she developed the India Manifesto Project and undertook research related to elections, democracy, complexity of voters, and identity politics. She is currently working as a Banyan Impact Fellow with American India Foundation. Ilika has chosen to work in the field of prison reform and restorative justice with Turn Your Concern Into Action ‘TYCIA’ Foundation, New Delhi. She has a strong aptitude for qualitative research and is currently honing her project management skills. She is passionate about human rights, and wants to build a career in this field by gaining experience with international organisations. She eventually wants to pursue further specialised studies in this domain.

Jeanne Tai is based in Singapore and has a decade of experience in content, communications, and digital storytelling. She currently serves as the Head of Brand & Content Advocacy at Singapore’s National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), a national non-profit that advocates a more other-centered culture. Her strengths are in writing, storytelling, and corporate branding. After graduating as valedictorian from the National University of Singapore with top honors in History, Jeanne worked as a features writer at Singapore’s most established women’s magazine where she rose to Deputy Editor. She later worked as a content strategist at Southeast Asian startup Grab. The experience helped her appreciate how technology can be used for good to drive a region forward. It also reinforced Jeanne’s desire to use her talents for a higher purpose and drew her to the non-profit sector. Jeanne has always had a passion for women’s empowerment which was deepened during her time in journalism when she covered social issues that impact women and interviewed inspiring women across different walks of life. She has mentored female students and volunteered in women-focused organizations. Driven to excel, Jeanne is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Communication Management at Singapore Management University on a Leadership scholarship. Her current academic interests revolve around how diversity, equity, and inclusion can help organizations better engage and communicate with their stakeholders.

Michelle Chong is skilled in Product Management and User Experience (UX) Design, and currently works at a technology-based rental marketplace start-up that promotes sustainability. With over six years of proven track record in the aviation industry and public sector, she has worked with C-suite executives and multi-level stakeholders in domains such as project management, strategic planning, marketing strategy formulation, and e-commerce. Proving to be resilient and versatile, Michelle overcame numerous challenges and made a successful career transition when aviation was affected by COVID-19. Having found a new direction in life, Michelle has been passionate about going above and beyond to lead a meaningful life and to impact others positively. An aspiring social entrepreneur passionate about women’s empowerment, she has played a pivotal role in building a ground-up initiative to help low-income women and their families to reduce inequalities faced, by bridging opportunities for them to sustain their employability and achieve progressive income growth through two core themes of community building and knowledge sharing using technology as an enabler. A firm believer in the importance of mentorship and nurturing the next generation, she serves as a mentor to undergraduates at her alma mater where she provides tips and guidance on navigating student life and building a strong foundation for a future career. A well-rounded individual who hopes to spread the importance of physical and mental wellness, she is also a certified Yoga Teacher with over three years of teaching experience.

Prakriti Chawla is a Social Designer, currently serving as an AIF Banyan Impact Fellow. She has spent most of her childhood on the campus of Muskaan, a world-renowned training institute for persons with intellectual disabilities (PwIDs) in India. Over the past four years, she has worked towards the inclusion of marginalized people in the mainstream workforce through multiple path-breaking projects through partnerships with governments and nonprofits. Prakriti completed her Master’s degree in Social Design from Dr. B. R. Ambedkar University in Delhi, where she led various projects on migration, disabilities, gender, self-advocacy, and education. She has a certification on disability livelihoods from EnAble India. She has had on-ground experience in the mainstream hospitality industry and has worked with Lemon Tree Hotels, one of the first companies to hire people with disabilities on a large scale. While there, she directly worked with the Head of Diversity & Inclusion to help develop inclusive policies for the national chain of hotels. Along with India’s Skill Council for Persons with Disability and Muskaan, she has also helped in the creation of a standardized curriculum on vocational training for PwIDs for national dissemination. In her most recent project with Muskaan, she conducted a research study on the experiences of family members of people with intellectual disabilities. As a continuous learner, Prakriti believes in expanding her horizons and therefore has learned basic sign language and is also a budding clay artist. Prakriti has been recognized as a Rising Star by Wedu Global.

Dr. Sheena Ramazanu is a distinguished nursing alumna from Nanyang Polytechnic in Singapore. She pursued her nursing degree at University of Manchester – Singapore Institute of Technology and attained a first-class honor. She was presented with an Outstanding Dissertation Achievement Award. Sheena has a Master’s degree in Clinical Research from the University of Manchester, after which she was awarded the prestigious and competitive Hong Kong PhD fellowship and became a Fellow of the Young South East Asian Leaders Initiative Academy (Fulbright University Vietnam), She served as a Registered Nurse in Singapore for 7 years. During her service in the hospital, she has been recognized as a service champion in recognition of excellent service annually. In addition to that, she embarked on the role as a preceptor and guided student nurses and registered nurses in their professional development. In the clinical setting, she has conducted both quantitative and qualitative research studies to improve patient-family caregiver outcomes. She has been invited as a speaker at regional, international conferences and academic institutions. She is currently a peer-reviewer of an international refereed journal.

Simarjeet Nagpal has been actively engaged in the nonprofit sector for the last twelve years, and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from GGS Indraprastha University, New Delhi. As part of the 2020-21 cohort of the Banyan Impact Fellowship, Simar has been working on regenerative land use ecosystem design and development. Simar is investigating how native dense forests could rejuvenate rural communities by providing economic benefits in an equitable manner. Prior to the Fellowship, Simar served as the National President of the National Association of Students of Architecture, India, and was on the Executive Council for three years. During his stint at NASA India, the organisation overhauled its operations to achieve higher and more effective grassroots engagement, increasing its portfolio of activities and modes of delivery to suit architectural students’ varied aspirations and requirements across the nation. Simar formed a volunteer group called Better Bharat which soon formalised into Axes Charitable Trust with a vision of the welfare of the society. He coordinated all the trust’s programs for seven years, including plastic-free city drives, plantation drives, and a free computer education program for the underprivileged. Working extensively with these organisations, Simar has demonstrated experience in Project Design and Management. The nature of his engagement in these organisations helped him develop partnership building and team-leading skills. Simar is extremely passionate about sustainability and inculcates its tenets in his professional and personal life.