Ms. Bijal S Brahmbhatt

Ms. Bijal Brahmbhatt is the Director of Mahila Housing Trust (MHT). She is a recognized expert in habitat improvement through women’s empowerment, community development, climate resilience and housing finance. She has worked extensively at the intersection of urban development, women in informal economy and climate change. She is a finalist for United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction, women champions for 2021. She supervises the MHT’s operations at the national level and has proven experience in conceptualizing planning, and managing slum up-gradation programs across India. Her professional experience has focused on a range of poverty alleviation issues, particularly with women, entrepreneurship, slum up gradation, Water and Sanitation, climate resilience, urban planning, housing finance, housing technology etc. Bijalben guides and leads climate resilience program, promotes a community based resilience model that is women-led, integrated, evidence based, and focuses on innovative communication strategies to promote a culture of resilience action. Under her leadership MHT has received UNFCCC award in the year 2019 https://unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-for-change/women-for-results/mahila-housing-trust and United Nation Sasakawa Award in 2019 https://www.undrr.org/news/un-recognises-excellence-protecting-vulnerable-communities-disaster-risk for climate change.

Ms. Priya Smita Biswas

Priya Smita Biswas is an economist, chartered accountant and sustainable development specialist with over twenty five years of international development experience. Since July 2015 she is a self-employed consultant specialising in programme design and impact monitoring - particularly in the infrastructure, housing and manufacturing sectors. Previously, Priya Smita Biswas was the Development Advisor for the Private Infrastructure Development Group (www.pidg.org), heading the PIDG results monitoring and development impact team from 2007 to 2015. PIDG is a global infrastructure focused poverty reduction programme aimed at encouraging private sector led infrastructure investment in the poorest developing countries. Prior to this, she was a Technical Director – Social Development at IMC Worldwide from 2003-2008 where she undertook social impact assessments and designed gender mainstreaming/livelihoods activities, especially for the infrastructure sector in selected countries of Asia and Africa. From 1997-2001, Priya Smita gained five years of grassroots experience in India working with a trade union of informal sector women workers (SEWA and MHT), supporting their micro finance (particularly infrastructure/housing finance) activities. During 1999, Priya Smita spent a year at the World Bank’s Water & Sanitation Programme (WSP), New Delhi, researching the potential of micro finance on urban infrastructure provision and the social and economic impacts of improved infrastructure on the lives of the informal sector poor. Priya Smita holds a Bachelors in Economics (2:1) and a Masters (with Distinction) in Social Policy & Planning for Developing Countries, both from the London School of Economics. She is a first time qualified Chartered Accountant, having trained with Ernst and Young, London between 1993-1996.

Nathanial Mattews

Nathanial Matthews is Chief Executive Officer of Planetary, a nature tech company that delivers a comprehensive end-to-end solution bringing together the private and public sector, scientists and local communities to protect biodiversity and build resilience. Nate has over 25 years’ experience managing, scaling, and monitoring resilience, water, ecosystem and agricultural programs in partnership with governments, NGOs, communities, and the private sector across more than 50 countries. This experience includes serving as CEO of the Global Resilience Partnership, and in leadership roles with the CGIAR, UNEP, various Non-profits, and the private sector. Nate’s expertise has been recognized through contributions to various global networks including as an Expert Integrity Council Member of Science Based Targets for Nature (SBTN), Lead Author in The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), an Obama Foundation Mentor, and a Munich Re Risk Award Judge. He holds numerous board and advisory council positions including as a Board member of the Alliance for Global Water Adaptation, the Climate Development Knowledge Network and Climate Resilience for All. He holds a Ph.D. in Geography, with certificates in finance from Yale and London Business School. He is a Visiting Professor at King’s College London, a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society and a Fellow of the Explorer’s Club. He has published two books and over 85 scientific papers and reports.

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