OUR
TEAM
Meet the team making it all happen
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Heeta is a climate educator and entrepreneur dedicated to empowering vulnerable groups in intergovernmental decision-making and taking climate action. With a Masters in Environmental Studies from TERI University, she is dedicated to nurturing change-makers who combat the climate crisis with knowledge-based action. Heeta was introduced to the United Nations Climate Change (UNFCCC) process at COP21 in 2015 and served as the Global Focal Point for YOUNGO during 2020 & 2021, playing a pivotal role in elevating youth voices on the global stage. She co-founded the Youth Negotiators Academy in 2022, to promote inclusivity in national delegations by training youth to be effective negotiators in the UN intergovernmental processes.
HEETA LAKHANI
Founder & Managing Director
DEVDATTA TENGSHE
Devdatta is a Geospatial specialist, with experience in Designing and Developing Geospatial Software along with Satellite data. He is the founder of a company that helps organizations unlock the spatial potential of their data, and builds softwares which use GIS based tools, techniques and processes. He actively promotes the applications of GIS and open-source data, including OpenStreetMap, and is passionate about using these tools to support environmental sustainability.
Director
TEAM
VIVEKA JANI
Viveka is an environmentalist with 10 years of experience in the fields of education, communication, capacity building, research, and policy advocacy for climate change and sustainable development. Aside from her association with TCI, she also works independently as an educator, trainer, and knowledge consultant on sustainability, environmental preservation, and climate change. Additionally, she works as a science communicator, distilling complex scientific research into more comprehensible content, including plain summaries, infographics and animated videos. Throughout her experience in the climate education space, Viveka has worked with different stakeholders and organisations from India and internationally, including the Centre for Environmental Education (CEE), Germanwatch, and UNFCCC.
Programme Lead
SHIVANI SAHOTA
Communications Associate
Shivani is a communications professional with experience in digital content creation and strategic storytelling for non-profits across diverse thematic areas such as education, skill development, gender, climate, research and policy. With a background in liberal arts and a postgraduate diploma in management from the Indian School of Development Management (ISDM), she brings together creative communication, social impact, and an interest in the systems shaping people's everyday lives. Her work spans developing digital content across platforms, documenting grassroots stories, and translating complex development issues into accessible, engaging narratives.
At The ClimAct Initiative, Shivani works at the intersection of programme communications and storytelling, supporting the Climate Leadership Programme (CLP), Earth Talks, and emerging initiatives.
​ANITA FUXMAN BASS
Communications Lead
Anita is a Communications Strategist and Creative Director with 18+ years of experience developing communication strategies, storytelling, and campaigns for global organisations and brands. Throughout her career, she has worked with more than 100 organisations, including Google, Amazon, McDonald’s, L’Oréal, Oracle and FedEx, contributing to over 300 campaigns reaching audiences around the world. Today, she brings that experience to the climate and conservation sector, helping organisations transform complex environmental issues into clear, compelling stories that inspire understanding, participation and action. At The ClimAct Initiative, she leads communications across strategy, storytelling, content and audience engagement, helping strengthen the organisation’s visibility and amplify its impact.
RIYA SINGH
Earth Talks Lead
Riya is an educator and researcher working at the intersections of climate, gender and development. She studied Urban Design at CEPT University and holds an MSc in Environmental Change and International Development from the University of Sheffield, where her dissertation explored the impacts of climate change on menstrual health. She brings global experience across design and planning, gender justice, communications and research, having worked with organisations and teams across India, the UK, Europe and Africa. Riya has published her research with Springer and writes on the gendered impacts of heat through her Substack, The Geography of Heat. She currently works as an Associate at Earth Warriors Global and volunteers with TCI, supporting the development and collaboration of Earth Talks.
Abhinav Parewa is a climate justice activist based in New Delhi, India, pursuing history honors at St. Stephen’s College. With a strong academic background in research and sustainable development, he strongly believes in climate literacy as critical tool to combating climate change and designs capacity building modules for students. His interests include education, sustainable development and innovation for climate action. He is currently the Founder’s Associate at TCI and the Hey Campaign Ambassador 2025.
ABHINAV PAREWA
Executive Assistant
GARIMA RAJPAL
CLP Lead
Garima is a young professional who works at the intersection of Climate Change & Gendered Vulnerabilities. With a background in International relations & Gender studies, she works closely to build curriculum, design workshops & deliver training sessions for capacity building & youth mobilisation. Over the years, she has partnered with prestigious organisations such as Institute for Global Negotiation, Switzerland and UNCCD Youth Caucus for negotiations for peace, and climate justice respectively. Additionally, she serves as an educator & mentor for young children at Team ImpleMentors, driven by the belief that true change begins with holistic education & empathy in our heart.
NYAGUTHII NYORO
Communications Associate
Nyaguthii is a Kenyan based brand storyteller and sustainability advocate passionate about shaping narratives that spark community impact and creative connection. At NCBA Bank, she has led projects in digital marketing and customer experience, bringing creativity and strategy into financial services while advancing sustainability initiatives that drive measurable impact for communities across Kenya.
With a degree in Global Challenges in Environmental Conservation from ALU Rwanda and certification as a professional barista, she blends conservation, creative strategy, and coffee culture. A lover of nature and African heritage, Nyaguthii is driven by the belief that climate action must center communities inspiring belonging, resilience, and meaningful change.
PADMAAKKSHI CHAKRAVARTTY
Programmes Associate
Padmaakkshi is an independent researcher working on conservation and sustainability challenges, with a focus on Northeast India. Born in Guwahati and brought up in Delhi, she is passionate about environmental issues and strives to create grassroots impact through community-led approaches to sustainability. Under the Greenhub x Royal Enfield conservation grant, she worked with BERE at Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam, creating awareness among communities for sustainable fishing practices to promote habitat conservation. Padmaakkshi holds a bachelor’s degree in Life Science and a master’s in Environment Studies and Resource Management from TERI School of Advanced Studies (TERI SAS). She is pursuing a PG Diploma in Urban Environmental Law and Management from WWF and the National Law University Delhi (NLUD), where she is researching sustainable urban development instruments in urban and peri-urban landscapes and forest fringes. She also enjoys experimenting with new recipes, crocheting, photography, and watching anime.
MAITREYA SATHE
Maitreya Sathe is a content creator, photographer and student from Mumbai! He is currently pursuing my bachelors in mathematics and economics from Mumbai University. He has a travel content page where he documents all the little adventures he goes to here and there, across the world whilst collaborating with several brands.
He has also been a sustainability and climate change enthusiast since a while, and is keen on making a change and impact on the world through his creative approach!
Communications Associate
DAVID BOYD
Dr. David R. Boyd is a professor at the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (University of British Columbia). From 2018-2024, Boyd was the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, presenting dozens of reports to the UN, filing amicus briefs in 15 landmark legal proceedings, and making more than 500 speeches in a successful effort to advance the recognition and implementation of the right to a healthy environment. His work on this fundamental human right has been cited by courts around the world including the International Court of Justice, Inter-American Court of Human Rights and European Court of Human Rights. He is also a father, nature lover, Canadian age-group ultramarathon champion, a four-time Ironman, and the recipient of an honorary doctor of laws degree from Nelson Mandela University. Among his 10 books are The Rights of Nature (ECW Press, 2017), The Optimistic Environmentalist (ECW Press, 2015), The Right to a Healthy Environment (UBC Press, 2012) and The Environmental Rights Revolution (UBC Press, 2011).
Former UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment 2018-24
COUNCIL OF ELDERS
VANCE G. MARTIN
Vance G. Martin created and built-out the WILD Foundation over 40 years as its President and on its board. In that capacity he served as International Director of the World Wilderness Congress, and initiated and deployed international wilderness-related programmes that integrated science, human communities, policy, business, and culture. He is Founder/Co-Chair of the Wilderness Specialist Group (WCPA,IUCN), and serves on NGO boards and advises projects in many countries in his capacity as President Emeritus of Wilderness Foundation Global, an international alliance based in South Africa.
President Emeritus, Wilderness Foundation Global
BITTU SAHGAL
Bittu Sahgal, Editor Sanctuary Asia, Head of the Sanctuary Nature Foundation, and India's one million strong Kids for Tigers program, is a strong voice for nature conservation, climate mitigation and biospheric health.
He has made it his life’s mission to direct world leaders away from short-term development objectives that could compromise the ability of India to sustain its population of 1.4 billion people. He believes that the ecological foundations of all nations are the bedrock on which global economic and social foundations rest.
Believing that climate change poses the greatest ever threat to humanity, he is a strong Nature Needs Half advocate who works with young adults and policy makers, arguing that rewilding Planet Earth is critical to the long term survival of Homo sapiens
Founder, Sanctuary Nature Foundation