Team

Manvita Baradi has over 25 years of technical experience in developing and administering programs to local governments in the areas of service delivery, local governance, urban planning, heritage management, citizen participation, capacity building of local government associations, development of urban indicators and performance measurement and international development. She has served as Director-South Asia for the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), been technical consultant for United Agency for International Development (USAID) and served as an expert on World Bank funded programs for local governance, association development and urban planning programs in post-conflict regions like Afghanistan, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. In her role as director of UMC, she provides expert guidance to the various projects undertaken by the organization. She is the Gujarat State Convener of Indian National Trust of Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). Manvita is an alumni of the senior executive institute, Darden Business School, University of Virginia, USA. And has done a summer course for local government management from University of Illinois, USA. Manvita is passionate about theatre and is a renowned name in Gujarati theatre. She has been actively involved in developmental communication using street theatre as an effective medium for communication. She has guided over half a dozen video productions on urban issues. She effectively uses her knowledge of city planning, design and theatre to work with people across age groups and knowledge skills. Manvita also serves as the Dean of School of Habitat Management at CEPT University. manvita@umcasia.org

Meghna Malhotra has been working in the fields of urban governance and urban management across sectors including urban health, performance measurement, urban water and sanitation and in supporting local government associations’ development. Over the past 18 years, she has provided extensive technical support to programs in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Afghanistan. She supported the operationalisation of local government associations in India and has been the technical facilitator for several USAID supported programs for Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

Meghna currently manages the convergence program between the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) and Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). She also leads the team supporting SBM in Gujarat. She has facilitated climate change and urban health programs and city specific action plans. She has managed city partnerships programs which UMC-ICMA facilitated between Indian and US Cities. Well aware of the role of communication in local urban governance, she is actively involved in designing Information Education Communication and Behaviour change communication plans for local governments. She is also a visiting faculty at CEPT University.

Meghna is a graduate in Architecture and holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Planning. She is passionate about sustainable solutions which local governments can implement and has been involved in several capacity needs assessment exercises for state and local government institutions. She also took the lead in writing a manual for local governments to prepare their disaster management plans. Meghna has assisted in compiling and designing books documenting built heritage in Surat and Ahmedabad; a manual on Documentation of Best Practices, the role of an association in the transfer process and a Starter Kit on formation of Local Government Associations. meghna@umcasia.org

Xerxes Rao is an architect and urban planner with over 15 years of experience in the field of architecture and urban planning. His experience spans the area of urban planning, urban governance, project management, community participation, capacity building, training and monitoring &evaluation of projects. Xerxes has a diversified skill-set developed over time and spanning from macro to micro management. Having gained experience in Germany and South Asian region in urban planning and management his work in India and Afghanistan has given him the technical experience in managing projects related to master plans, local area plans, capacity building, urban development policy, monitoring and evaluation of programs, project management support to various governments.

Xerxes has worked with various USAID projects in India and Afghanistan. He has been instrumental in leading the projects related to preparation of master plans for Mysore, Amritsar, Srinagar, Puducherry, Bharuch, etc. He has successfully led a team of 10 Urban Planners and GIS experts who are working with Naya Raipur Development Authority to implement the development plan and smart city proposals for Naya Raipur.

He has a wide and varied experience of working with projects funded by various multilateral agencies like World Bank, USAID, ADB and various national & international government organizations. He has actively participated in training of urban planners at the SIUD, Mysore.

Xerxes has completed his architecture from Vallabh Vidyanagar following which he attained his master’s degree from University of Stuttgart, Germany. He has also done his diploma in project management from IIMA. He is passionate about sustainable solutions for cities relating to land use plans, micro level plans, local economic development, environment issues which can be implemented and replicated by cities. Xerxes is an avid runner and an enthusiastic cyclist. xerxes@umcasia.org

Anurag Anthony has 10 years’ experience of working in association with local governments. His key areas of expertise include statutory master plans, sanitation, transport and heritage. Anurag has contributed in various capacities for preparation of city sanitation plans, SWM Master Plans and DPRs, heritage documentation and management, urban design plans, municipal data management and improvement studies, urban poverty schemes, policies under the Swachh Bharat Mission and industrial area planning.

Anurag has academic exposure and professional experience in India, USA, UK, Italy, Pakistan and Libya. A graduate in Architecture, Anurag has a Master’s degree in Architecture (Urban Design), MSc in International Trade & Transport, London, MBA in International Business, Pondicherry and is currently pursuing Environmental Law from NLSUI Bangalore. anurag@umcasia.org

Abhijit, a Masters in Labour Studies and Social Protection from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, and Bachelors of Commerce from Maharaj Sayajirao University is working as Project Associate in EMBRACE, Surat. His area of interest are Industrial relations, Labour Markets, and Occupational Vulnerabilities. abhijit@umcasia.org

Abinash Bairiganjan is working as Coordinator, TSU- CB, Odisha. He was born and brought
up in Bhubaneswar, Odisha and has completed his Masters of Business Administration from
Regional College of Management, Odisha. He has over 11 years of experience in the
development sector mostly in livelihood promotion and empowerment of marginalized
sections through their institution building and capacity building. He worked with
PRADAN, Livolink Foundation and NABCONS in the remote part of Odisha and Jharkhand.
He likes cooking, especially Odia food and loves to explore other cuisines. abhinash@umcasia.org

Professional with specialization in Social Policy and rich experience of working on social policies in urban & tribal poverty alleviation, nutrition, financial inclusion and conditional cash transfer domains, he had been associated with a diverse set of organizations including apex think tank of the Govt. of India (NITI Aayog), Govt. Ministries (MoWCD & MoHUA), International agency (GIZ), microfinance industry association (Sa-Dhan) and a grassroot NGO (DHAN Foundation).

Master degree in public policy from Duke University, USA; Rural Development from IGNOU, New Delhi; PG Diploma in Development Management from Tata Dhan Academy, Madurai; and bachelor’s degree in Political Science Honors from Ranchi University, Ranchi.

Alok is passionate about working on conceptualization and implementation of appropriate social policies based on rigorous research, data driven evidences and understanding of the ground realities. He is a strong advocate of deploying concurrent monitoring mechanism in all social programs for its constant monitoring and timely course correction. alok.dubey@umcasia.org

Anil is a audio video editor with over 12 years of experience at various news channels and Ed-tech companies. He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Audio-Visual & Television Production from Gujarat Vidhyapith. Anil@umcasia.org

Arham is a development practitioner with a keen interest in migration and urbanisation. A masters in Development and Labour Studies from JNU, she has worked on-ground with migrant communities of Gurugram for the past two years. She has developed the processes and managed the program for rights and entitlements of migrant workers ranging from getting them linked to various government schemes to capacity building of community members.
Arham is also a theatre worker and believes that theatre is a great way to bring reform into the society and engage people in critical thinking. Arham@umcasia.org

Arvind Kumar Singh is a development professional with over 20 years of work experience in the water and sanitation sector. He has significant experience in implementation of community based, demand driven state/national programs on safe drinking water and sanitation in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. He has worked with various state governments, national and international agencies.

Arvind coordinates and provides technical support to ‘Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban’, Gujarat, aids documentation and dissemination of innovative practices. He is an expert facilitator for local government training for the national flagship programs. He specializes in training grass root communities and SHGs/CBOs/ NGOs, district officials and senior government officers. A post graduate in Social Science (M.Sc, Applied Geography), he has a Master degree in Urban and Regional Planning. He also has a post graduate diploma in Human Resource Management from Pondicherry University. arvind@umcasia.org

Beena has more than 35 years of work experience with Capacity Building, Project Management & Coordination, Volunteers/ Team Training & Management, Business Management, Leadership & Networking. beena@umcasia.org

Dhairya is an Architect and Urban Management professional from CEPT University, Ahmedabad. She has worked with the local government to develop strategies for improvement of urban and rural service delivery. Her key interest areas include water sanitation and hygiene, solid waste management, water conservation, urban governance and community engagement. At UMC, Dhairya works in the National Urban Livelihood Mission programme.

Dr. Riddhi is a Medical doctor and a public health specialist. She has worked extensively in DRTB and HIV through patient centered care helped her in bringing in an holistic approach towards treatment and public health at large. Her experience in different health sectors inspired her to work towards strengthening health systems. She is a passionate advocate of community care and planetary health. In her free time she enjoys crocheting, travelling and reading about sustainable living choices.riddhi@umcasia.org

Eilaaf Fatima is an architect and an urban planner. She has experience of working on projects both in the private and government sector in the field of architecture and planning. She has worked on the Pilot on Formulation of LAP and TPS for Aizawl and Dehradun under the AMRUT mission and further prepared guidelines for the implementation of TPS in Dehradun while earning her Masters in Urban planning from CEPT University. Public policy, urban planning and management, governance, and all other aspects pertaining to the growth and development of the public domain are areas of great interest to her. eilaaf@umcasia.org

Jagriti Singh is an Urban Management & Governance Professional from XIMB, Bhubaneswar. She has 3 years of experience working in the JAGA Mission project of Housing & Urban Development Department of Government of Odisha. She has worked closely with slum communities for providing Land Rights to the slum dwellers, housing projects and also on slum upgradation. She has also worked with local government as well as state government to develop strategies for improvement
in urban areas of Odisha. At UMC, Jagriti works in the MUKTA project of Odisha.
jagriti.s@umcasia.org

Jayshree Bhavsar is associated with UMC from last 10 years. She assists Accounts and HR team in addition to maintaining the data entry and organization’s library. She is a commerce graduate with 22 years of experience in handling office operations. She has previously worked as clerk and accounts assistant with an architectural firm. She has the knowledge of voice mixing, editing and providing voice-overs due to her stint with the radio station of Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) Ahmedabad. jayshree@umcasia.org

Dr. Jeeban Jyoti Mohanty is an enterprising professional dedicated towards making the financial system work for the deprived section and the entrepreneurial communities. He has worked for over 14 years in areas, viz. development finance (Microfinance, micro pension and micro insurance), microenterprise development, digital financial services, research and analysis.

Previously, Dr. Mohanty was associated with Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) overseeing the Technical Assistance (TA) component of the bank. He has also worked with E&Y LLP as a State Mission Manager – Financial Inclusion and Micro-enterprise in National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM); NABARD Rural Micro Pension Programme in Odisha at Invest India Micro Pension Services (IIMPS); and DHAN Foundation on SHG Bank Linkage Programme.

Academically, he holds a Ph.D. in Economics, PG Diploma in Development Management and MA in Rural Development. Additionally, he holds a Diploma in United Nations and International Understanding from Institute of U.N. Studies and Project Management for Managers from IIT, Roorkee. He has published more than 20 research papers and articles on financial inclusion, microenterprise development, micro pension and microfinance in both National and International journals. Jeebanjyoti@umcasia.org

Jhanvi Shah is an urban planner with a keen interest and strong dedication towards achieving
equitable development and attempting to reach sustainability goals. She worked closely with slum communities on housing, sanitation, and urban homeless shelter projects, where she was responsible for coordinating a team, monitoring and evaluating, communicating, and meeting critical time deadlines. At UMC, she works on sanitation workers safety project.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Planning and pursued a Post-Graduate in Urban
Infrastructure Planning from CEPT University. Jhanvi@umcasia.org

Kaninik Baradi is an engineer exploring ways in which better management and technology can scaffold each other and build better cities. He graduated from the 2019 batch of the Faculty of Technology undergraduate program at CEPT and since then has taught at CEPT, and IIT-Gn. He has contributed to program design, social mobilization, institution building, municipal data management, e-learning, urban poverty schemes, and heritage documentation projects. His key skills are communication for diverse audiences, bridging the gap between designers, engineers, and end-users, and data analysis and interpretation. Kaninik has received international academic exposure in the United States of America, Australia, and the United Kingdom. kaninik@umcasia.org

Karunamoy Agnihotri has been an integral part of the UMC team since 2007. With core specialization in finance, accounts, procurement, logistics, general and contract administration, he has over 20 years of experience in financial management and administration of donor funded programs. He has vast experience of working for non-governmental organizations, including prominent organizations like Janadhar.

He has also worked for the Indian School of Micro Finance for Women (Ahmedabad), Mott MacDonald (UK), CARE India etc. Karan’s key tasks include setting up budgets, monthly forecasts, cash flow, financial planning and analysis, accounting and administrative systems for monitoring and control of day-to-day transactions, FCRA and donor reporting overseeing banking functions and interacting with donors. He is CWA from the Institute of Cost and Works Accountant of India. He has cleared inter-CA of the Chartered Accountants of India. karan@umcasia.org

Krishna is a passionate social worker with strong grass root exposure. She holds a Masters’ in Social Work and Bachelor’s degree in Arts from Gujarat University. At UMC she is actively engaged in community related work and ensures data accuracy for the USAID supported project MISAAL. Krishna’s core area of interest includes water and sanitation. krishna@umcasia.org

Lopamudra Das has joined as the City Co-ordinator for Bhubaneswar for the convergence program of SBM & NULM. She has almost 11 years of experience in both Private and Government sector. Prior to this, she was working for the AMRUT project as the Team Leader\Urban Planner for Cuttack Municipal Corporation and then moved to the State level and monitored for the all 9 AMRUT cities of Odisha. Related to her qualification she completed 5-year integrated MBA(HR & Mkt) from Utkal University, Odisha in 2004 and then moved to Bangalore. There she worked with Wipro Technologies as Training Associate for 3 years and again moved back to Bhubaneswar and worked for a software company as Asst.Manager HR for 3 years. She loves to work in areas where one can connect more closely to the group of people for whom we are working. lopamudra@umcasia.org

Mansi is an Urban designer from CEPT University, Ahmedabad with experience as an architect. At UMC, she is a part of the Ahmedabad World Heritage City Trust projects, and is keen to improve quality of life for people with a bottom up approach and people oriented design solutions. She has also assisted in framing the Gender sensitive affordable housing guidelines for the Asian Development Bank. Her interests lies in betterment of public life, observing people and their interaction with the city.  mansi@umcasia.org

Mrinalini is working under USAID supported MISAAL in Sambalpur, Odisha and provides technical assistance to the urban local body. Prior to UMC she has worked as a consultant in Jharkhand under the ‘Zilla Swachh Bharat Prerak Program’. She graduated with a Bachelor’s in Architecture from School of Planning and Architecture and Master’s in Urban Regional Planning from CEPT University. mrinalini@umcasia.org

A Master’s Degree in Social Work from Utkal University, Odisha has diverse experiences. Ability to conduct assessments and provide help to wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic,
cultural, ethnic, educational and other diversified backgrounds, utilize community resources and provide education to those in need. Also has experience in different projects of Govt of Odisha & international
organization. narendra@umcasia.org

Nikita is a development sector professional with about 4 years of work experience in WASH sector. A graduate in Engineering, Nikita has a masters’ degree in Urban & Regional Planning with specialization in Infrastructure planning. She has contributed in various capacities in preparation of WASH assessment tools, preparation of city based WASH improvement plans, worked as technical consultant in Swachhta Sarvekshan, Swachh Bharat Mission, and supporting innovations in WASH. nikita@umcasia.org

Post Graduate in Social Work course from Killing University, Raipur, India. Have a total 5 years of experience in the social work sector including an experience in the field of Women empowerment role of Health and
Livelihood facilitator in the NULM project of SUDA conducted by VISHWA JEVEEN SEVA SANGHA, Bhubaneswar. Also have an experience of working in different slums of Bhubaneswar. Worked in Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) as block coordinator at Ganjam for 2 years, facilitated different youth and women specific programme committee and 2 years experience at SOPVA, Bhubaneswar in women hygienic related programme.pitambar@umcasia.org

Dr Pooja is an Urban Planner with a Doctorate in Economics. She has worked intensively as a Developmental sector Professional in India and in the UK. She has a multidisciplinary background with a Master in Geography from JNU, New Delhi and Town and Regional Planning from the University of Sheffield, UK respectively. She has a PhD from Sorbonne University,Paris and her Doctoral research specialized in Heritage Economics, probing particularly the financial viability of conserving urban heritage.
Her area of interest and expertise spans the area of urban sustainability, socio-economic development, management of old historic cities; tangible and intangible heritage, poverty and inclusive urban planning. She has more than 10 years of experience as an academic researcher and in industrial positions. She has worked in various capacities, providing technical support for heritage documentation, preparation of Heritage Resource Management Plans (HRMPs) for southern cities, developing heritage modules, training and capacity building and socio-economic studies.

Pratyusha holds a master’s degree in Urban Housing and is an Architecture graduate. She has experience in managing and consulting architectural and conservation projects. She has also worked extensively to comprehend the trade-offs involved in today’s urban difficulties that cities and their inhabitants face. She has always been drawn to the gravity of metropolitan centers and the dynamics of urban edges. She conducted research for “Smart Cities and Academia Towards Action and Research (SAAR),” a collaborative project of NIUA and SCM, during her post-graduation. At UMC, she is working on Project Implementation Manual (PIM) and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Climate Resilient and Environmentally Sustainable Health Care Facilities.

Prerana Somani has more than 7 years’ experience of working in the field of Public Health. Her key areas of expertise include WASH including Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM), maternal child health and nutrition. She has a diverse experience of working with multilateral organizations like UNICEF and The World Bank, Government, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), academia and Corporate bodies. She has provided technical support to community-managed health & nutrition program in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, facilitated implementation of Swachh Bharat Swacch Vidyalaya in the states of West Bengal and Gujarat. She has also supported Government o Gujarat for developing and implementing Safe Menstrual Hygiene Management Program and State Action Plan for Comprehensive School Safety Program.

At UMC, Prerna coordinates with national, state and city level stakeholders for ensuring safety, equity and dignity of sanitation workers. Passionate about environmental issues, Prerna is a graduate from London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine where she pursued MSc Public Health (specialisation in Environment & Health) and was awarded the Chevening Scholar by Foreign and Commonwealth Office, UK. Prerna also holds an MBA degree from the prestigious Institute of Rural Management, Anand. Prerna has also volunteered with WaterAid UK to undertake a ‘Study on ssessing user-friendliness of existing Personal Protective Equipment for use by sanitation workers in hot tropical countries.’ prerna@umcasia.org

Priyabrata is a development professional with 4.5 years of experience in diverse sectors like Sanitation, Skill Development, Financial Inclusion, Community Mobilization, Capacity Building, livelihood in various roles ranging from Monitoring & Evaluation, Team Handling etc. He has worked with Ministry of Drinking water and Sanitation towards implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen in Uttar Pradesh & Odisha .He was a part of core team of state consultants who contributed to achieve Uttar Pradesh ODF .His strategy and team management also helped Mayurbhanj district of Odisha to achieve ODF. He also worked in Rajasthan with State Rural Livelihood Mission for Poverty eradication by empowering women through SHG. During the tenure of SRLM, he has played a major role as a District Manager & State Resource Trainer of convergence project with MGNREGA. Priyabrata is an Engineering graduate and also holds an MBA from Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB). Now he is working under USAID supported MISAAL in Sambalpur, Odisha and provides technical support to the urban local body. priyabrata@umcasia.org

Priyambda is a Ph.D. and Masters in Social Work from Tiss, Mumbai. She has more than 15 years of experience in Government Advisory, Social Research, and Project Management. She has worked with diverse organizations and her research interests include Collective Action Models such as grass root organizations (FPO, Self Help Groups), Social Exclusion, and Public Policy
priyambada@umcasia.org

Purva is an architect – urban designer. At UMC she is a part of  Ahmedabad World Heritage City Trusts project (AWHCT), which focuses on making Heritage zonal plans and framing urban design guidelines for the walled city. She is also working on assembling publications related to the heritage of Ahmedabad. Her background in designing has taught her to approach issues in a multidisciplinary manner. She is fascinated by cities for their history and culture, environment and people that define them, and is keen to broaden her understanding in similar lines of thoughts.  Purva@umcasia.org

Rabindra has 19 years professional experience in the development sector for Program & Project Management, partnership management, and Community development. He has provided technical support to Govt. of Odisha for the reform initiative of MGNREGS, PDS, Skill development, Land Rights and Livelihood. Extensive experience of working with Government at state and district level for execution of development projects like health & nutrition, disaster response, safe Migration, and Capacity building of Govt. Officials, service providers of government, Staff, NGO partners, SHGs & PRIs. A Masters in Social Work and MBA-HR from Eiilm University. rabindra@umcasia.org

Rakesh Vasavda has been maintaining the accounts and finance reports since the inception of UMC. With 15 years of experience in accounting and finance management, he assists the senior finance manager in preparing financial MIS, budgets, setting out financial and administrative procedures. He is also responsible for book keeping, file maintenance, issuing cheques and vouchers for the organisation projects and programs. Rakesh holds a first-class degree in Commerce from the Gujarat University. rakesh@umcasia.org

Ramachandra has over 14 years of experience in field of Adolescent Health & Nutrition, Menstrual Hygiene Management(MHM), Child Health & Nutrition, Primary & secondary Education, Child Right & Protection program with national & international funding and implementing agencies in state of
Jharkhand and Odisha.He holds Master degree in Social Work, Post graduate certificate in Ambedkar Philosophy and Development of Weaker section and Certificate in Human Rights from IGNOU.
ramchandra@umcasia.org

Rashmita is a development professional with more than thirteen years of experience working with the Government of India, different state governments and with national and international development organisations. She has worked across sectors of urban management, with a focus on gender mainstreaming, social Inclusion and inclusive sanitation.
Rashmita holds a post-graduation degree in English language and social work and a MBA in rural management from Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar. She has also worked in areas of water-sanitation in Srilanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. rashmita@umcasia.org

Rishika Srivastava is a lawyer exploring ways to make our cities more equitable and sustainable. She graduated from the 2020 batch of the Institute of Law, Nirma University and has practiced with senior advocates and law firms to better understand how laws and organisations intersect. At UMC, she has contributed to program design, social mobilization, institution building, policy implementation, and governance. She is currently managing UMC’s education projects and capacity building and training vertical. Her key skills include communication for diverse audiences, bridging the gap between policy design and implementation. Rishika has also received certificate from the London School of Economics for completing their professional development course on Public Policy Analysis. Rishika@umcasia.org

Riya is an architect holding a postgraduate degree in Urban Management from CEPT University. Her interests are aligned with the SDGs of the UN and have been keen on working towards achieving these goals. She has participated in graduate-level research studying the effectiveness of various participatory spaces in local governance in Kochi, Kerala, and developed guidelines for other states to adopt their model. Riya was a founding member of the ICMA Student Chapter at CEPT and has served as its Chief Operating Officer. She has also received ICMA’s Local Government Early Career Service Certificate for her demonstration of a strong commitment to local government. At UMC, Riya works with the Technical Support Unit of the National Urban Livelihood Mission in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Delhi. Although a passionate professional, her spirit is nomadic and she loves to travel and hike. riya@umcasia.org

Ruchita is a sustainable urban development practitioner with strong background in delivering urban quality and people centric cities through inclusion, equity and human centered design. She is an architect, planner and have over 12 years of experience in urban planning, policy making, implementation of projects, urban governance, project management, community participation, capacity building, training and monitoring & evaluation of projects. She has gained experience in working with Asian and African cities on sustainable policy and advocacy. Major part of her work experience includes research and advocacy on promoting sustainable mobility measures and improving air quality sufficiency in the cities of India, thereby contributing to transition towards sustainability of all modes. She completed my architecture from Punjab Technical University and masters degree from School of Planning and Public Policy, CEPT university.Ruchita@umcasia.org

Sakshi is an Architect and Urban Planner, keen to explore towards building better cities and challenges faced at Urban level. She has specialized in Urban Infrastructure Planning from CEPT University, Ahmedabad. Her major interests are inclined towards Climate Change and Sustainable Development. Prior to Joining UMC, she has been a part of Climate Smart Cities Project and iNUMBER Project i.e. iNtegrated Urban Model for Built Environment Energy Research, (supported by Department of Science & Technology). At UMC She is contributing to preparation of Climate Action Plan for Chennai. She also has exposure to work on various residential & Institutional projects as an architect. sakshi@umcasia.org

Samikshya is an urban planner with a passion for creating communities that include equity, innovation, and a sustainable environment. My interest areas broadly includes rural & urban development, biodiversity & climate change and urban governance. She recently earned her Masters in Urban Planning from the Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women in New Delhi in 2022.
samikshya@umcasia.org

Sarbeswar is a development professional over 18 years of experience in the sector in a progressive
responsible capacity, specialized in project management, monitoring & evaluation,
networking and partnership building, training and advocacy.
He has worked with various national and international organization with the projects
focused on empowering youth and women about their rights and entitlements, land
rights, livelihood, Natural Resource Management, child education, nutrition, skill
development training. Sarbeswar@umcasia.org

Shashwat is an architect and holds a masters’ degree in urban planning from CEPT University Ahmedabad. At UMC, he contributes in providing support to Jodhpur ULB with a focus on WASH, sanitation mapping and heritage management.

He has worked on urban development projects with the ULBs in the states of Chhattisgarh and Telangana for their respective State Finance Commissions. He has also worked on National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) along with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and has assisted on projects of UNICEF and MHRD looking at WASH compliance in schools. He has worked as an architect professionally in Hyderabad and Auroville and has also been associated briefly as a faculty with JNAFAU in Hyderabad. shashwat@umcasia.org

Simanchal Pradhan has 12 years professional experience in the development sector for Program & Project Management, Monitoring & Evaluation, Livestock based Livelihood Promotion, Sustainable agricultural practices, Capacity Building of Producer group, Micro Enterprise, Financial Inclusion, Market linkage in goat and Poultry, Women Empowerment, Community Mobilization, Community Engagement, addressing rural health issues. He has provided technical support to Govt. of with coordination to district administrations for the reform initiative of MGNREGS, Skill development and Livelihood. Extensive experience of working with Government at state and district level for execution of development projects like health & nutrition, disaster response, safe Migration, and Capacity building of Govt. Officials, service providers of government, Staff, NGO partners, SHGs & PRIs. simanchal@umcasia.org

Snehal is an urban planner and holds the degree of Bachelors in Planning from COEP, Pune with a specialization in Urban Infrastructure Planning from CEPT university, Ahmedabad. During her academics she has done research on Vulnerability Assessment to Flood risk in the slums of Pune and GHG Reduction from Effective Municipal Solid Waste Management for Surat city. Her major areas of interest include WASH services, waste management, climate change, land use planning, and public policy.

Soumya Darshan Mohanty is associated as City Coordinator for Garima Scheme at Cuttack. He has overall 10 Years of experience working with Corporate as well as Development Sectors. Managed projects such as SBM(Gramin), DDUGKY, Jaga Mission; SBM(Urban) at ULB, District; State Level capacities. He holds Post Graduate Degree in Planning & Entrepreneurship from Indian School of Business & Economy, Bhubaneswar. He was also part of the Zila Swachh Bharat Prerak Fellowship. soumya.m@umcasia.org

Soumya Mishra, has 12 year experience of working in areas of academics, research and as a development professional. Previously, she has been engaged with diverse communities including informal settlements, Transgender, Persons with Disabilities, elderly, adolescent girls and boys and has contributed in bridging the gap between the policies and the implementation in respective communities. Has rich knowledge of project planning, development, documentation, overall project coordination and management in securing support from decision makers and duty bearers, to tracking the activities for development of the community. She has worked closely with Govt Departments, particularly, Corporations, Women and Child Development and Health and family welfare Department as a vital component in her previous assignments. These also included – association with the IBI group, working as the interface between the urban planning agency (Bhubaneswar Development Authority) and the local citizen forums (wards, associations, societies, clubs, etc.), enabling community engagement through micro-level planning.  Her education has been in Rural Management and Sociology.

Soumya currently is a part of State team for managing the Garima scheme as a part of TSU with Housing and Urban Development Department, Bhubaneswar. soumya@umcasia.org

Suchismita is associated with the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) and Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana (DAY) convergence program at UMC. She is responsible for implementation of DAY-NULM convergence in Paradeep, Odisha.

Prior to UMC, she has worked with Gram Vikas Organisation as village coordinator in Mayurbhanj district, Odisha for two years. She has Master’s in Social Work from RTM University, Maharashtra and Bachelor’s in Social Work from Utkal University. suchismita@umcasia.org

Sweta Delwadia is an urban planner with keen interest in the field of urban development and urban governance. She has worked on governance of small and medium towns of Gujarat during her academics and has understanding of functional and financial framework of urban local bodies. She has explored the ways of assessing financial performance of small and medium sized towns of Gujarat. She has worked on a research study of urban transport for MoHUA prior to joining UMC.

She holds a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from CEPT University, Ahmedabad. Her major interest areas include infrastructure development, land development, urban governance and spatial data analysis and management. sweta@umcasia.org

Vaidehi is a learning professional having an inclination towards urban planning and infrastructure development. She has specialised in Infrastructure Planning from CEPT University, Ahmedabad. She has extensively worked with government at various levels to develop strategies for improvement of urban and rural service delivery. During her engagement with CEPT Research and Development Foundation, she participated in preparation of Integrated Cluster Action Plans for selected clusters in Gujarat as a part of the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission. vaidehi@umcasia.org

Qualification – B.Com Graduate from Gujarat University.
Work Experience – 16 Years in UMC, Ahmedabad.
Area of Interest – Always wanted to learn new things, which is useful in skill Development.
vinay@umcasia.org

Vinay Patel is an expert in municipal accounts, finance, income tax and auditing, Vinay has more than 16 years of experience in the field of urban finance and accounts. His key areas of expertise include municipal accounts (conversion of cash to accrual), assessment, finance, FOP preparation and taxation. Vinay assists to capture financial information from the field. He has assessed the municipal finance for the City Sanitation Plan and Solid Waste Management Master Plan for Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation; and prepared a financial operating plan for the City Development Plans for 7 cities of Madhya Pradesh.

He worked as program assistant at City Managers’ Association Gujarat (CMAG) where he worked for the Gujarat Municipal Accounting Reform Project. He was involved in working with 159 urban local bodies of the state to prepare Balance sheet on accrual based double entry accounting system. He has supported in financial operating and modeling for Jodhpur Heritage Management Plan (HMP).

He has also gained technical expertise in WASH through working in this sector since 10 long years. Moreover, he has acquired wide knowledge on local governance as he is involved in supporting Government of Gujarat for Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban for solid waste management; providing guidance and support for ODF, ODF+, ODF++ to ULBs. He is also a part of the technical support and program management unit at Commissionerate of Rural Development, for Swachh Bharat Mission-Garmin in ODF Sustainability and preparing Solid Liquid Resource Management (SLRM) plan for 14,057 GP and 18,000 villages of Gujarat.

He has completed a certification course in Malaysia on FSSM and has gained international exposure through his recent visit to Pearland and Houston in United States of America for study tour under city to city partnership program under MISAAL project. vinay.p@umcasia.org

Vinod Kumar is a professional social worker with 17+ years of experience. His experience spans across livelihood, education, WASH and disaster risk mitigation / response sectors and specializes in end-to-end project cycle management that includes project design, implementation, monitoring and donor/stakeholder relations. Vinod has earned his Masters in Social Work (Community Development) degree from Loyola College, Chennai and Bachelors in Humanities from the same college . He is certified as community-based micro financing professional by COADY international institute, SA8000 social auditor by Social Accountability International, Advanced Diploma in Software Technologies by Boston Computers and master trainer for Defensive Driving by NEBOSH. He can converse well in Tamil, Hindi, English and Telugu languages.

At UMC Vinod is the State Programme Manager and part of the Technical Support Unit (TSU) of the Govt. of Tamil Nadu that supports the ‘Safety and Dignity of Sanitation Workers’ Project.

Vinoth is a highly skilled professional with more than seven years of strong experience in Solid Waste Management, Wastewater treatment and Management, Faecal Sludge Management, Biogas technologies, WASH, Waste to Energy & Resources, Policy Making and Documentation. He has worked as a State Consultant at Directorate of Rural Development, Tamil Nadu. where worked on effective implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) under Ministry of Jal Shakti, and in Solid & Liquid Waste Management Schemes of Tamil Nadu providing guidance and support for ODF, ODF+, ODF++ in rural areas of Tamil Nadu with the activities of preparation of State Annual Implementation Plan, providing technical support to the State and Districts on SLWM, Organizing and Conducting Capacity building Workshops on WASH, ODF Plus, and SLWM for officials and Field Functionaries
kumar@umcasia.org

Vivek is an IT Manager having experience of more than thirteen years in oversees technology deployment and maintenance. He has led IT staff members in support of hardware, software and networking infrastructure. He also actively works with executives to determine and implement tech needs. vivek@umcasia.org

Yashika is an Architect – Planner, specialized in Regional Planning and Infrastructure. She has a diversely comprehensive experience in both architecture and planning disciplines. She has worked on development plans in Rajasthan and climate resilience in Gujarat. She has a keen interest in policy framework for inclusive and sustainable cities. As part of her academic curriculum at SPAD, she has also worked on health, education, tourism and infrastructural aspects in rural development for Sanis Block, Wokha, Nagaland and City Region of Varanasi, UP. At UMC, she is contributing in Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI) and Health Plans for districts in UP. In architecture, she has worked for Hungary, Indonesia and Ghana Embassies on residential and commercial projects at Delhi. Apart from these projects, she has also worked for defense and naval projects at Chennai, Kochi, Port Blair and Mumbai. She is also associated with several organizations such as COA, ITPI and IIA.yashika@umcasia.org

Munindraji worked with Gujarat State Archaeology Department for 32 years in a variety of roles ranging from exploration assistant, technical assistant, superintendent archaeology, head of office (Saurashtra region), assistant director, head of office (North Gujarat Circle). At UMC, his field experience and expertise provide guidance to the team involved in the heritage survey projects. Munindraji holds a Master’s degree in Indian Culture from the Gujarat University. munindra@umcasia.org