Abhishek built and leads The Council’s practice on Energy Access, where, along with his team, he focuses on provision of modern forms of energy for all, especially the deprived. He leads CEEW’s flagship research effort, ACCESS survey. He holds an MPhil in Sustainable Development from the University of Cambridge and a BTech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Roorkee.

At The Council, Sasmita works on access to energy for cooking and livelihoods, with a focus on gender and social inclusion. Sasmita holds an MSc in Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and a postgraduate diploma in Rural Management from Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB).

Ananth’s career spans over two decades in technology development, product R&D and more recently, deployments of technology-driven social impact programs. He was responsible for the creation of SELCO Foundation which looked into the use of renewable energy and sustainable technologies. Ananth has an Engineering degree from Bangalore University and was a fellow with Said Business School, University of Oxford.

Gowtham has worked with the founding team of Teach For India, Bengaluru as Alumni Impact and Fundraising Associate. He was also a Teach For India Fellow at an Affordable Private School in Hyderabad and has also been with Infosys as a Systems Engineer. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Amrita School of Engineering, Coimbatore.

Shaily works on access to clean cooking energy and livelihoods with a focus on gender and social inclusion. Her research interests lie in understanding how deeply rooted social structures like caste, class, gender, tribe, religion and location play a critical role in determining access to energy. Shaily holds a postgraduate degree in Disaster Management from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and an undergraduate degree in Geography from Miranda House, University of Delhi.

Shankha's includes project management and operations of renewable energy projects. He has been deeply involved in business development and market linkage for micro-enterprises operating in rural India. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from W.B.U.T and a Masters degree in Energy Management from I.I.S.W.B.M, Calcutta University.

An economist-turned-development professional, Wase’s work at The Council focuses on energy access and rural livelihoods. He is engaged in programmes supporting commercialisation of clean energy innovations for livelihoods. Wase holds a Masters in Social Work with specialisation in Livelihood and Social Entrepreneurship from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, and an undergraduate degree in Economics from Jamia Millia Islamia,Delhi.

Shruti’s work at The Council involves access to energy for rural livelihoods. She is passionate about creating sustainable livelihoods. She holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Sustainable Management from the Indian Institute of Management Lucknow and B.Tech. from Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee.

Jenaan is a development professional with over a decade's experience in strengthening small to medium-sized NGOs, CSR advisory, and women's health. At Villgro, she looks after operations and leads the organisation's Diversity & Inclusion efforts. She holds an M.A. in Development Studies from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), UK.  

 Anubha supports social entrepreneurs at Villgro in building gender-inclusive business strategies across their value chains. She is a development professional with prior experience of promoting entrepreneurship in rural areas at Kudumbashree – National Resource Organisation. She also serves as a board member of Vitamin Angels, India. She holds a Master’s degree in Women’s Studies from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and is an alumnus of Initiatives of change (IofC), Switzerland. 

Pratim has almost six years of experience in the development sector in the energy access space. His key areas of interest include the intersection of innovation, energy & entrepreneurship.  Prior to this, at SELCO Foundation, he was involved in R&D of decentralised renewable energy-based technology and business models. Pratim is an Engineer by training. He holds a Masters degree in Public Systems Management with Energy specialisation from Indian Institute of Social Welfare & Business Management (IISWBM), Kolkata.