Our Team
Board of Trustees
Ekta Shekhar
Director
Ekta Shekhar is the founding Director of The Climate Agenda. Her work spreads across Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh. Multi-tasking is second nature to Ekta since she is a mother, a wife, and the director of The Climate Agenda. Creative tactics to influence regional media and political establishments is the key area of her work. She has worked tirelessly to form a CSO network to build a clean air movement under the leadership of local communities in 40 cities of the region, including 16 non – attainment cities in Uttar Pradesh.
Since the inception of TCA, she has engrossed herself in the proper and effective functioning of the organization. While maintaining fruitful partnerships with 300 + civil society organisations, through her strong will, Ekta has ensured sustained and heightened efforts in sparking conversations and actions upon continuously degrading air quality and its associated health impacts. She holds a postgraduate degree in Political Science and has worked in the development sector for over 15 years. Her main focus has been on the environment, human rights, and public health ever since she began working in the field.
Through her unwavering spirit and determination, she continues to inspire the team to ensure everyone has access to clean air.
Mr. Avaneesh
Founder Trustee
Dr. Dhananjay Tripathi
Founder Trustee
Ms. Avantika Srivastava
Founder Trustee
100% UP Network's Steering Committee
Saniya Anwar
Project Lead - Inclusive Urban Mobility
Saniya Anwar heads the Secretariat for the 100% Uttar Pradesh Coalition. As part of her efforts to strengthen Clean Air & Clean Energy debates at the local and policy levels, she has formed an alliance of 350 organizations from 40 cities in Uttar Pradesh under the banner of 100% Uttar Pradesh Coalition. Her areas of expertise include capacity building of different stakeholders, political & media mobilization, and advocacy. As part of the Administrative Management team, she also contributes to research, strategy development, and on-ground execution of campaign activities.
In addition to her Master’s degree in Political Science, Saniya is recently submitted her MPhil, CIAS, School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University. In her six years of working for Uttar Pradesh’s Climate and Clean Air campaigns, she has amassed a deep and varied experience. As a result of her climate campaigning, she believes each citizen has the right to a clean and healthy environment. In addition, she believes that people have the right to raise their voices on climate rights to save the future.
Ms. Sangeeta Kushwaha
Founder, Saras Foundation
Mr. Hemant Nandan Ojha
Secretary, Gyan Vigyan Samiti
Mr. Manoj Kumar
Chief Executive Officer, Jan Vikas Kendra
Mr. Rajdev Chaturvedi
Head, Gramin Punarnirman Sansathan
Mr. Virendra Kumar Rai
Secretary, Centre for Environment & Rural Technology
Team
Ravi Shekhar
Ravi Shekhar is a passionate advocate for human rights and environmental justice, with over a decade of experience in various social movements. His journey began in grassroots activism, focusing on Human Rights Movements, Forest Rights Movements, and supporting Tribal and Peasant Unity. His unwavering dedication to civil liberties and the protection of marginalized communities has been a driving force throughout his career.
As a co-founder of The Climate Agenda (TCA), Ravi brought his deep understanding of how fossil fuel-based energy production devastates the lives of tribal communities, peasants, women, and other vulnerable groups. At TCA, sustainable energy consumption and equitable energy production lie at the heart of his work. With his bottom-up approach, Ravi seeks to create climate strategies that not only mitigate environmental harm but also empower those who bear the brunt of climate change.
Ravi’s commitment to climate justice has seen him collaborate with national and international organizations, earning him recognition as a mentor for emerging climate groups. His vision has helped shape TCA into a key player in the climate movement, focusing on creating scalable, inclusive, and transformative solutions for a sustainable future. Ravi continues to mentor and guide his team at TCA in setting ambitious goals and driving impactful change.
Ashutosh Srivastava
Accounts Officer
Ashutosh Sriastava joined The Climate Agenda as the Accounts Officer in 2017. Began heading Finance, Accounts and Quality Cell at The Climate Agenda. His work involves developing project implementation techniques to ensure maximizing impact while minimizing costs. Inaddition to being the Accounts Officer at Climate Agenda,
A Bachelor of Commerce by education also PG Diploma in Computer Application ALMA Computing college Indore, Ashutosh Srivastava is responsible to ensure that we put our resources to the best use. Ashutosh Srivastava had stints in audit and corporate finance with a Chartered accountant and worked as a MIS officer in Naandi.
Shivam Singh
Graphic Designer
Shivam Singh is the graphic designer at The Climate Agenda. His area of expertise include graphic designing, video editing, website & other digital management.His work involves all social media posts, newsletters, videos, posters, banners, templates etc.He is all set to add creatives to the campaigns through his graphics skills.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in B.Sc (Animation and Visual graphics) during his studies he worked as an intern at Bhoomika Media Initiatives.In addition to this he had done graphics and audio/video designs from ZICA. In his free time he likes to enjoy surfing on the internet. He is very fond of movies, web series. Along with this he has a great expertise in digital arts and he loves to do so.
Deepika kathayat
Junior Researcher
Deepika Kathayat recently joined Climate Agenda as a Junior Researcher, where she Conducts research and provides support for inclusive urban mobility reform projects, analyzing data and proposing policy recommendations for sustainable transportation systems. She holds a Master of Science in Environmental Science from the Central University of Haryana, where she gained a strong foundation in environmental science and sustainability. Deepika’s expertise lies in Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS), an important aspect of climate change mitigation. She was involved in a research project focusing on the socioeconomic aspects of CCUS technology in India, allowing her to gain insights into social reactions, environmental concerns, and economic factors related to this technology. Her responsibilities also include handling and analysing climate data using GrADS and CDO. At Climate Agenda, Deepika assists the Research Lead in primary and secondary research, data collection, and analysis in thematic areas such as Gender and Urban Transport, Urban Planning, and Decarbonization. Her dedication and expertise in environmental science make her a valuable addition to Climate Agenda, as she significantly contributes to advancing the organization’s research objectives and promoting effective and sustainable environmental practices.
In addition to her professional pursuits, Deepika enjoys reading novels, dancing, and painting in her free time.
Naba Usmani
Social Media Manager
Naba Usmani, a professional specializing in digital marketing, content creation, and strategic meta campaign management. With a successful track record in Delhi campaigns and notable freelance achievements, Naba drives business growth with a strategic mindset. Her creative storytelling talents, featured in Miranda House magazine, captivate audiences. Recognized for excellence, Apart from institutes Naba holds a Google Digital Marketing Certificate, showcasing her commitment to staying at the forefront of industry trends.
Since 2018, Naba has been working digitally with international companies, contributing her skills to a global landscape. As a Content Marketer for Certonce in New Jersey, she brings a wealth of experience.
Manish Kumar Sinha
Engagement Specialist
Manish Kumar Sinha, the Engagement Specialist at The Climate Agenda. With a robust background spanning over 8 years, Sinha has honed his skills in Social Spheres including Script Writing, Content Research, and Photography. Holding a distinguished Master’s degree in Journalism from Banaras Hindu University, he brings a profound understanding of communication and storytelling to his role.
Sinha’s professional and personal voyages reveal a rich experience, offering a diverse set of perspectives that can be seamlessly applied to the multifaceted demands of institutional responsibilities. His goal is to engineer solutions in the social arena, addressing immediate challenges while simultaneously charting a course for future generations to cultivate a more inclusive, sustainable, and progressive environment.
In his pursuit, Sinha embodies clarity, creativity, and professionalism in the ever-evolving landscape of social change.
Kuldeep Singh
Research and Development Lead
Kuldeep Singh Is Heading the Research and Development department at Climate Agenda, Responsible for conducting and documenting the Research related to different projects of The Climate Agenda. He is an accomplished researcher, specializing in decarbonization, Just energy transitions, Just technology transitions, socio-ecological models, and climate risk assessment, and expertise in Remote sensing and GIS-based assessments. With a strong academic foundation from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences Mumbai, where he completed his MSc. in Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainability Studies, Kuldeep possesses deep knowledge of environmental sustainability and climate change issues. His expertise spans diverse areas including technology transitions, green jobs, analyzing the socio-economic impacts of climate change, RS-GIS, and developing holistic strategies for equitable decarbonization and SBTi provisions across industries. Kuldeep has undertaken specialized courses on Climate Change, Carbon Capture and Storage, ESG (Environment, Social, Governance), and Data Science/Analytics, Quantitative and qualitative research, and possesses more than five years of experience as a researcher in formal, informal, and freelance settings.
Rashmi Kala
Manager, Work Culture & Operations
Rashmi is a seasoned gender and development communications expert with over 17 years of experience in the development sector, driving social and behavior change (SBC), leading impactful advocacy campaigns, fostering strategic media partnerships, navigating government relations, and fostering meaningful community engagement.
She has unparalleled prowess in across diverse themes including Gender Equality, Food Nutrition Health and WASH (FNHW) and Farm Livelihood, NCDs, Health Entitlements, Capacity Building and Training, Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal, Child and Adolescent Health, Nutrition, Family Planning, Polio and Routine Immunization, Convergent Programming, Malnutrition, Newborn and Child Survival, Gender Justice, Essential Services, Economic Justice, Urban Poverty, Youth Engagement, Humanitarian, Women’s Health and Rights, Youth Sexual Health and Rights, and Women Empowerment, resulting in profound social impact and transformative change.
Rashmi has crafted innovative and inclusive programs targeting diverse audiences in urban and rural areas, encompassing children, adolescents, youth, men, women, media professionals, SHG members, and government officials, facilitating impactful engagement and transformative outcomes.
She has achieved remarkable success in capacity building and knowledge management on diverse thematic areas for different stakeholders including school children, adolescent girls, institutions for local governance, Self Help Group members, frontline workers, government officials from departments like health, education, police, etc
Rashmi holds a Masters degree in Women’s Studies, Masters in Mass Communication and certification in Executive Project Management Programme.
