Team

Staff

Samit Aich

Chief Executive Officer

Samit Aich

Samit P Aich is the CEO of the Small Scale Sustainable Infrastructure Development Fund (www.s3idf.in), since early 2016. He has over 25 years of extensive experience in international development, management advisory consulting and also in the corporate sector. His earlier corporate work was associated with Indian multinational conglomerates like the Tata Group, Arvind Mills and Sify Technologies.

Prior to joining S3IDF, Samit spent more than 10 years with Greenpeace India, including about 8 years as its Executive Director and was instrumental in making the organization not just financially self-reliant but also a prominent environmental campaigning player in the country. He was a key member of Greenpeace International’s Global Leadership Team (GLT) in Amsterdam, the highest-level strategic body within Greenpeace worldwide. He also sat on the International Steering Committee of the Global Initiative on Fiscal Transparency, hosted by the International Budget Partnership, Washington, DC.

Samit sits on advisory boards of select non-profits and is also a member on the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) subcommittee on CSR and Affirmative Action. Earlier, he had been a regular invitee for four consecutive years to the Indian Union Finance Ministers’ Pre-Budget Consultations at New Delhi as a social sector expert to input into country-level budgets. He has also been invited and deposed in front of Indian Parliamentary Standing Committees of the 15th Lok Sabha, on Energy and Agriculture matters. He is and has been a prominent speaker, panellist, observer and moderator on various high level national and international fora including at the United Nations COP 11-Convention on Biological Diversity (UNFCCC-CBD-COP), Social Capital Markets (SOCAP), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and many others. He has been widely interviewed on national and international media, including BBC London, NDTV, India Today TV, German TV network DW, Financial Times New York and several other prominent media houses.

His personal pursuits include practicing the ancient meditation technique-Vipassana, exploring a myriad of interests including Buddhist philosophy, world history, environmentalism, development economics, campaigning and cookery. He is a professionally certified baker, and an amateur collector of vintage mechanical watches, clocks and fountain pens. Samit is a sporadic blogger on contemporary socio-economic issues ranging from entrepreneurship, developmental issues, livelihoods and non-profit governance. He is associated with several prominent business schools as guest faculty and conducts professional coaching and strategic advisory interventions at the senior management level.

Samit has several post-graduate qualifications – he has an M.Sc. in Environmental Sciences and also an MBA in Marketing. In addition, he has studied Strategic Management at the Harvard Business School in Massachusetts, US.

Gopal B.

Assistant Manager – Finance & Compliance

Gopal B.

Gopal has worked in financial and accounting capacities for close to 20 years within the international development and nonprofit sectors. His professional capabilities include monitoring company funds, managing organization accounts and creating and disseminating financial reports. Gopal has extensive non-governmental sector experience with organizations such as the Rastriya Madhyamika Shiksha Abhiyana (RMSA), the Karnataka State Project Office, and the Public Affairs Center. Prior to joining S3IDF, Gopal was the Regional Finance Officer for RMSA, funded by the DFID, with a wide range of fiscal responsibilities integral to organizational accounting and administration. Gopal holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Gulbarga University and speaks English, Hindi and Kannada.

Parameshwara B N

Project Associate

Parameshwara B N

Mr. Parameshwara is our Project associate working with manual scavengers and sanitation workers. He holds a Masters of Social Work from Bengaluru Central University. He has interned with the Centre for research in disadvantaged communities at the National Law School.

Chandrashekhara H.R

Program Manager

Chandrashekhara H.R

Dr. Chandrashekhara H R completed his education up to Pre University at the village level, then studied at Govt Arts College, Tumkur (BU). He completed his post-graduate at Bangalore University and Doctoral degree in Kannada University, Hampi. Prior to joining S3IDF, he worked with the Samuha Organization on their Disability programme in Koppal district, Karnataka.

Shwetha Joshi

Assistant Manager - Project Development

Shwetha Joshi

Shwetha is a development professional having six years of experience in handling grassroots development activities in different thematic areas, as well as a strong background in development studies. She has expertise in the field of livelihood promotion, water conservation, behavior change communication, women literacy, community institution, research, and analysis. Before joining S3IDF, she worked in Piramal Sarvajal for three years as a Manager, worked on community level Awareness and Marketing in Water management and conservation and also worked in Grameen Development Services as a team leader, worked upon agriculture development and women literacy. She holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Development Management from Tata-Dhan Academy, Madurai, Tamilnadu and Bachelor’s in Commerce from Bangalore University, Karnataka. In Addition, attended a short term training program on “Making Markets work for the poor” in IRMA.

Avinash Krishnamurthy

Chief Program Officer

Avinash Krishnamurthy

Avinash has extensive experience in the water, energy, solid waste management, and small infrastructure sectors and in project conceptualization, design and implementation. In addition to his role at S3IDF, he serves as Director and Project Leader of Biome Environmental Solutions Pvt. Ltd., a consultancy he cofounded to provide sustainable land use practice and development solutions in urban and rural contexts. Avinash has worked in the information technology sector with Infosys Technologies Limited where he managed international client relationships and led teams. Avinash speaks English, French, Hindi, and Kannada, and holds a B.Engineering from the University of Mysore with a specialization in hydro-energy.

Kartik N.

Project Associate

Kartik N.

Kartik is a Project Assoicate with S3IDF. He recently completed a Bachelor’s of Science from the College of Agriculture
GKVK, Bengaluru.

Channajamma S.

Project Associate

Channajamma S.

Chennajamma has a background working in the areas of disability, women and children, youths and marginalized communities. She completed an MSW at the University of Bengaluru in 2022.

Intellectual Partners

Mohammad Ali

Administrative and Research Assistant

Russell deLucia

Mohammad Ali has worked at BAAPCO Pvt Ltd and Hairtec International since 2016 in Pakistan. He has held multiple roles in these organizations ranging from operations to strategic management. While still upholding his roles, albeit remotely from the United States, Mohammad found interest in S3IDF’s cause and has joined us to provide critical research and administrative support. He holds a bachelor’s degree with honors in marketing from the Lahore School of Economics (Pakistan) and an MSC in Supply Chain Management from the University of Warwick (United Kingdom).

Russell deLucia

Innovation Director and Principal Founder

Russell deLucia

Russell J. deLucia has nearly 50 years of experience in the areas of development finance, infrastructure development, and natural resource allocation. He has worked with bilateral and multilateral development institutions, including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and International Finance Corporation (IFC) in a variety of roles, such as team leader or specialist expert. Previously, Russell founded and managed a consulting firm, deLucia and Associates, which advised development institutions, governments, private firms, NGOs, and others on policy, project design, and implementation. He wrote The Energy Dimensions of Poverty for the first IFAD World Poverty Study and served as an Editorial Advisor for Natural Resources Forum, writing several articles for the Special Issue on “Small-Scale Natural Resources and Related Infrastructure Development.” Russell holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Engineering from Harvard University and a B.S. in Engineering from Manhattan College.

Lexi Doolittle

Social Enterprise Manager

Lexi Doolittle

Lexi has worked in the social development sector for close to a decade, exploring and addressing a range of community challenges with a focus on programmatic efficacy and market-based solutions to poverty alleviation. Her most recent work with S3IDF has centered on micro/small-scale entrepreneur support in India, and clean energy enterprise financing in Central America, the Caribbean, Cambodia and Myanmar. Lexi brings to S3IDF her prior experiences in evaluating the qualities of sustainable at-risk youth organizations across Brazil, South Africa and Vietnam, assessing the influence of aid on economic development in Palestine, and her work as the Teen Education Coordinator for the Jordan Boys & Girls Club in Chelsea, MA. Lexi is an active spokeswoman for S3IDF, presenting at numerous conferences and publishing articles on various platforms. Lexi holds a B.A. from the University of Richmond with a double major in Global Studies and Arabic, and is pursuing Graduate Certificates from Northeastern University in Nonprofit Sector, Philanthropy & Social Change, and Technological Entrepreneurship.

Elizabeth Friend

Managing Director

Elizabeth Friend

Elizabeth has over a decade of nonprofit management and international development experience planning, implementing, and evaluating market-based solutions to poverty. She brings a range of experience from on-the-ground field data collection and analysis to hands-on small business development to organizational strategic planning. Prior to her work with S3IDF, Elizabeth served as International Director of Village Forward where she managed international programming and played a central role in developing operational capacity and enterprise expansion strategies. Elizabeth has presented at numerous conferences and forums on energy poverty and small-scale enterprise financing and development. Elizabeth holds a M.S. Finance from Northeastern University and a M.A. Sustainable International Development from Brandeis University. Her B.A. Leadership Studies is from the University of Richmond. She also completed Digital Frontiers Institute’s Certified Digital Finance Practitioner Program, certified by The Fletcher School at Tufts University.

Nitin Gopalkrishnan

Lead - Programs India

Nitin Gopalkrishna

Nitin is a Civil Engineer with a deep interest in civic and environmental issues. He has widely engaged in incubating grassroots entrepreneurs solving contemporary problems. He has also led the development of climate education, adaptation and mitigation programs for rural communities. He looks forward to co-creating solutions that are people and planet centric.

Michael Lesser

Finance Director and Senior Economist

Michael Lesser

Michael Lesser, an economist, has over thirty years of experience in infrastructure development and natural resources management in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. He has consulted for international, national and local agencies as well as private clients. His extensive energy sector work has covered all conventional and renewable energy sources and related environmental issues, including rural electrification, pricing/tariffs studies, and system planning and regulation. He has also worked on drinking water and sanitation issues, as well as in forestry and agriculture. He holds a B.S. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Emma Marks

Research Analyst

Emma Marks

Emma has worked in a range of roles in community and international development since 2015 supporting fundraising, project management, communications, and monitoring and evaluation. At S3IDF, Emma supports ongoing research efforts and setting up frameworks for impact assessment across our portfolio. Emma currently splits her time between S3IDF and the World Resources Institute (WRI) where she works as a Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Analyst.

Emma holds a newly minted M.A. in Global Environmental Policy from American University’s School of International Service and a graduate certificate in Environment & Sustainable Development from the University for Peace in Costa Rica. She received her B.A. in International Development and Social Change from Clark University where she designed a concentration in Environmental Protection and Food Systems

Earl Stephens

Business Operations Manager

Earl Stephens

Earl has over 15 years of administrative experience working in the public and private sectors. He has worked on teams addressing office concerns for companies such as Google, Intersystems, and Lois Paul & Partners. He has been a technical director, personal assistant, facilities team lead, a business development researcher, IT troubleshooter, vendor manager, and a general jack of all trades. Most recently he was Business Manager/Executive Assistant for Vell Executive Search. He joins our team with a great desire to help people find success in their goals and to achieve their dreams. Earl received a BA in Theater in 2002 from Alfred University where he focused on technical theater and scenic design.

Board of Directors

Veena Joshi

Director

Veena Joshi

Veena Joshi has over 20 years experience in program development and management with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. One of the main learning areas she has worked with has been program evaluation using different methods (self, joint, independent) and launched by different levels of oversight agencies including Swiss Parliament. Prior to her work with the SADC, Veena began her research career with Tata Energy Research Institute TERI, New Delhi by focusing on cooking energy issues and Building Science. In 10 years at TERI, she led national and international action research projects in the areas of rural and renewable energy, notable among them were an Indo-Canada project on Women as Managers of Household Energy Systems and Evaluation of National Programme on Improved Cook Stoves. Veena holds a Ph.D. in Physics: Air Pollution and a M.SC in Physics: Nuclear and Solid State Physics from the Indian Institute of Technology and a B.Sc. in Physics, Mathematics from Karnataka University.

Somak Ghosh

Board Chair

Somak Ghosh

Somak, an expert in development finance and energy, currently serves as Managing Partner at Contrarian Capital India Partners in Mumbai, India. Previously, he led the Responsible Banking Initiative at YES Bank, which aimed to adopt a triple bottom line ethos and reach out to underserved groups with customized banking products. He has been instrumental in reviving interest in financing renewable energy projects in India amongst professionals in the commercial banking industry and has participated in various international forums focusing on clean development mechanisms, project financing, renewable energy financing, and sustainable infrastructure. Somak holds an M.B.A. specializing in Finance from FMS Delhi and a B.E. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Mumbai.

Dr. B Gangaiah

Board Member

Dr. B Gangaiah

Dr B. Gangaiah, currently Member Secretary of AP Planning Board is an Indian Economic Service(IES) Officer of 1980 batch. He has a PhD in Economics and an M. Phil in International Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. During his career, he worked in several Government of India Ministries of Agriculture, Industries(SME), Rural Development, Urban Development and Planning Commission in various capacities. He also worked on deputation with DFID and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded health projects in India. He worked with the Futures Group International a US-based Think Tank on Health Economics during his deputation outside the Government.

Advisors

Andrew Barnett

Advisor

Andrew Barnett

Andrew is an economist with over 35 years of experience in energy, technology policy, and economic development. He is a Director at The Policy Practice Ltd., a consulting firm specializing in energy, research, and technology policy in developing countries. He has held positions at the Science Policy Research Unit and the Institute of Development Studies (both at the University of Sussex) and was the energy specialist at the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in Canada. He has advised a range of organizations, including the Department for International Development (DFID), the Shell Foundation, the United Nations, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Assistance Committee (DAC), and the IDRC. Additionally, he was a Specialist Advisor in both the British House of Lords and the House of Commons Select Committees in relation to science, technology, and aid effectiveness. From December 1996 to March 2007, he was a member of a group reviewing the World Bank’s Trust-Funded programs. He is an Honorary Fellow at the Science Policy Research Unit of the University of Sussex, a member of the Editorial Board of World Development, and a Board Member of the HEDON Household Energy Network, and was a Board Member of the Overseas Development Institute. He holds a M.A. in Development Economics and a B.A., both from the University of Sussex.

Nikhil Desai

Advisor

Nikhil Desai

Nikhil, an energy economist, has extensive experience in energy and environmental policy research and planning for developing countries and in US electric utility planning, fuel procurement, environmental compliance and legal/regulatory issues. Nikhil worked with the World Bank as a consultant for several decades and is regularly involved in research and writing on strategic international development issues and options for energy industries, financial institutions, and governmental organizations. He also works on climate change mitigation policies and actions, concentrating on energy efficiency and renewable fuels projects.

Sabira Lakhani

Advisor

Sabira Lakhani

Sabira has over a decade of experience in designing and building solutions for circular economies. In her role as advisor at S3IDF, Sabira helps source and evaluate pro-poor circular economy opportunities. Currently in her full time role, she is the Director of Product at Rheaply where she leads a team delivering reuse solutions to large enterprises. While pursuing her Master’s, she worked with Apple on packaging and end of life disposition projects. Previously she led Saahas Zero Waste’s Operations and Client Experience team that implemented decentralized waste management solutions at large campuses across India. Before moving and working in India, Sabira was an Associate at an Impact Investing venture fund in New York and a Strategy Consultant with IBM. Sabira has a Master’s in Integrated Design Management from MIT and a Bachelor’s in Economics and Environmental Biology from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at NYU.

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