Scholars

Aishani Jaiswal is a New Delhi based research analyst. Having graduated from the University of Delhi with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, her areas of interest lie in gender, minority rights, and public health. She has previously worked in research and media spaces focusing on South Asian issues and tackling online hate speech. In addition to her professional goals, she is also passionate about mental health issues.

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.

Amana Parveen has developed extensive industry knowledge and academic experience in the social impact sector through her involvement over the last three years. She is a Political Science honors graduate from the University of Delhi, India. Along with her Bachelor’s degree, she completed a diploma in Women Empowerment and Development. She also holds certifications in Human Rights and Legal Literacy. She has worked in a diverse range of impact environments, including education, livelihoods, fundraising, relief, communications, corporate engagement, and advocacy. As part of her currently Fellowship with the American India Foundation, she is developing a communications and branding strategy along with other deliverables for a European Union funded project on the revival of livelihoods for the indigenous and marginalized women artisans across India with Fair Trade Forum – India. Previously, she has worked on a project named “Let’s Reach Out Kerala,” which aimed to offer psychosocial support to guest workers stranded in and outside the state of Kerala, India, during the first phase of the pandemic. After that, she went on to work on a vaccination project to provide Covid-19 vaccines to 200 guest worker families in Delhi-NCR, India. Through her various experiences, Amana acquired considerable skills, such as project management, communications, graphic designing, development of concept notes, collaboration, and research. Amana is a self-motivated and passionate individual who envisions an empathy-driven world.

Jean Roberto Luz da Silva has two years of experience in the nonprofit sector. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from the Federal University of Pará (UFPA) in Brazil. As an assistant researcher, he created a virtual self-access learning center that reached more than one hundred thousand language learners in digital settings under the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) program. Then, Jean was acknowledged with an Academic Laureate from UFPA. He works with two community-based organizations to advance education, culture, and youth leadership. Jean is a volunteer in Mapa Educação—a social movement that enables young leaders to promote changes toward education needs and quality while acting closely with representatives elected by the people. He is also the vice-coordinator of the US-Brazil Exchange Alumni Association in Pará, where he works to spread American initiatives on education, culture, and social entrepreneurship to foster new perspectives for young people in Pará’s capital, Belém City. Jean has volunteered as a peer educator on teacher training initiatives promoted by the US Department of State in Brazil. Through these experiences, he developed strong project coordination, youth mentoring, and consulting skills. Jean enjoys focusing on the topics of language learning and teaching, technological development, and teaching development. He has a strong commitment to underserved people’s empowerment.

Kian Chong has years of experience in the for-profit sector. He earned a Master of Philosophy in Management from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Imperial College London in the United Kingdom. He is an entrepreneur and has activities in the tech, education, cybersecurity, F&B, and industrial gas industries. His work includes increasing accessibility to improving security awareness maturity for companies and individuals as well as upskilling in emerging technology areas. For work in lifelong learning and digital transformation, one of his companies was awarded the SkillsFuture Employer Award 2021 which is presented by the President of the Republic of Singapore. He is passionate about education and youth empowerment. Currently, he serves as a Global Shaper, an initiative of the World Economic Forum, where he is the Impact Officer of the Singapore Hub and driving impact for community projects. He also serves as a committee member of the Oxford and Cambridge Society of Singapore (OCSS), the Imperial College Alumni Association of Singapore (ICAAS), and Canberra Secondary School in Singapore. He is also a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA). Through these experiences, he has developed skills in technology, partnerships, partnerships, and training.

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.

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.