Speakers

Dr. Kazushi Hashimoto

Adviser to the Japan Sanitation Consortium

Dr. Kazushi Hashimoto, a graduate of Faculty of Law, Tokyo University, joined the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF), an implementing body of Japan’s official development assistance, in 1978. Mr. Hashimoto used to be in charge of Japan’s ODA Loan operation, as Director General of OECF, then JBIC, now JICA. After retiring JICA in 2009, he joined Yachiyo Engineering Company and also took the position of the Councilor, Japan Water Forum, and the Advisor, Japan Sanitation Consortium (JSC), the knowledge hub for sanitation under the Water Knowledge Hub Initiative of Asia‐Pacific Water Forum. Recently, Mr. Hashimoto, as the advisor to JSC, is active in promoting the modern septage management in Asian countries.

Dr. Roshan Shrestha

Deputy Director (WSH), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF)

Dr. Roshan is associated with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as a Deputy Director, Global Growth and Opportunity Division, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WSH) team in Seattle, US. He joined the foundation in Nov 2012 as a Program Officer. In the past nine years, He got opportunities to make several strategic grants with several development partners including development banks, academic institutions, I/NGOs to scale and promote non-sewered sanitation, fecal sludge management, and citywide inclusive sanitation (CWIS) in South Southeast Asia and Sub Saharan Africa. He is now leading Asia (besides India and China) WSH program since October 2021. His focus areas are scaling CWIS, non-sewered sanitation, and introducing innovative transformic sanitation technologies in the region through demonstration, capacity building, advocacy as well as mobilizing resources from development banks and development partners.

He started his profession as a technician in a water analysis laboratory of DiSvi International Cooperation in 1988 then founded Environment & Public Health Organization (ENPHO) in 1990. He led ENPHO for fifteen years and established the organization as one of the leading NGOs in the water and sanitation sector in Nepal.

Ms. Alyse Schrecongost

WSH Senior Program Officer, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF)

Ms. Alyse Schrecongost currently consults on number of international sanitation projects, with a focus on urban sanitation service delivery. She works as a Program Officer for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She is a resource economist and policy professional with experience in global and domestic water, sanitation, agriculture, and health sectors. Currently collaborating with regulators, utilities, international finance institutions, and research organizations to strengthen public sanitation services in low-income urban areas. She has a master's degree in Agricultural and Resource Economics from Michigan State University.

Dr. Najib Bateganya Lukooya

Lead Expert Urban Sanitation/CWIS at Technical Assistance Hub (CWIS)

Dr. Najib Bateganya is an international expert in the fields of Urban Water & Sanitation, Waste Management, Limnology and Wetland Ecosystems, Environmental Pollution and Climate Change. His professional track record spreads across working with Research and Academic institutions, Cities/Local Urban Authorities, Utilities and International Development Agencies in Africa, Europe, and USA. He is highly skilled in Program/Project development & Management, Policy and Institutional development, structuring collaborative development impact frameworks and PPPs in water and sanitation sector, Leadership and Capacity Building, and Steering bi-lateral & multi-lateral development agenda negotiations, dialogues and partnerships.

He has very strong analytical, strategic communication, intellectual and team building skills. Solid academic background in biological sciences-with Education (BSc-Makerere University, Uganda), Environmental Sciences/Limnology and Wetland Ecosystems (MSc- IHE Delft, the Netherlands and Austrian Academy of Sciences-IPGL, Vienna, Austria) and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering and Water Resources Management (BOKU, Vienna, Austria). He is also an International Certified Project Manager (PMP) and Corporate Member and Expert on various projects/Working groups with; the International Water Association (IWA) and Africa Water Association (AfWA).

Mr. Niladiri Chakaraborthi

Team Lead- CWIS, Trichy, Indian Institute for Housing and Settlements (IIHS)

Mr. Niladri is a development professional with more than 18 years of experience in the domain of WASH and public health. He has been part of designing and implementing large-scale WASH and public health programs in Indian states like West Bengal, Sikkim, Odisha, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. He did his Masters in Ecology and Environmental Science and Population Studies. At IIHS currently, Niladri is leading City-Wide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) in Trichy.

Dr. Y. Malini Reddy

Director WASH (South Asia), Athena Infonomics

Dr. Y. Malini Reddy leads Athena Infonomics’ strategic initiatives and operations pertaining to its water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) portfolio in South Asia. She and her strong team on the groundwork closely with development and government agencies, the private sector, and academia, blending applied research, capacity-building, and outreach to improve systems, practices, and outcomes. Her current areas of interest include innovations, climate resilience, behaviour change communication, and accountability.

Malini Reddy brings to Athena Infonomics more than 25 years of experience in management, urban governance, and service delivery. A specialist in WASH, she has led and managed high-value, complex, multi-year, and impactful programmes across the WASH, urban infrastructure, health, and education sectors.

Over the years, Malini’s research and consulting experience has spanned social marketing, inclusion and gender equity, ICT for development, monitoring and evaluation, impact assessment, and building the WASH innovations ecosystem. She has published extensively, sits on editorial boards and committees, and is a regularly invited speaker in numerous forums.

Mr. Venkata Krishnan

Senior Program Officer, WSH team, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Mr. Venkata Krishnan is Senior Program Officer, WSH team, at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. His primary focus is on commercialization and scale-adoption of transformative technologies in sanitation. He comes with a rich background in new product development and technology commercialization. He has worked across geographies, having been part of global renewable energy majors including SunEdison, Enphase Energy among others and helped launch premium technology solutions into emerging markets. His work experience spans applications, including grid-connected utilities, solar water pumps, rural micro-grids and residential solar. He is passionate about inculcating sustainability as the guiding mantra for corporates and government institutions, thus contributing towards global climate change goals.

Dr. Eva Mary

Program Coordinator, Faecal Sludge Management Alliance, Netherlands

Ms. Eva has worked in the WASH sector since 2012. She has 4 years’ experience in the non-profit sector and has a technical background, with a master’s in Chemistry from University of Mysore and her PhD work focusing on the biorefinery products from human faecal matter from University of KwaZulu Natal. She has previously had career roles in research, capacity building, project coordination and in policy dissemination spanning India and South Africa.

She has worked previously with CDD Society, India and Pollution Research Group, South Africa before joining the FSM. Alliance.

Mr. Rohit Kakkar

Director, CPHEEO Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, GoI

Mr. Rohit Kakkar, a graduate from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay is a Deputy Adviser in Public Health Engineering, Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organization (CPHEEO). He is involved in major national projects such as Swacch Bharat Mission and Mission on smart cities.

Dr. Pratibha Ganesan

Assistant Professor, ASCI

Dr Prathibha is Assistant Professor at the Centre for Environment, Urban Governance, and Infrastructure Development at the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI). She graduated in Microbiology (Hon) from Pazhassi Raja College, Pulpally and completed her post-graduation in International Relations and Politics from Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam. She holds a doctorate from the Centre for Studies in Science Policy, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She has more than seven years of experience in research, consultancy and teaching in the sectors of Solid Waste Management, Sanitation and Social Determinants of Health.

Before joining ASCI, she was an Assistant Professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. She taught courses on Sanitation, Solid waste management, Water Quality and Health, and Qualitative Research Methods. In addition, she managed the overall administrative and academic activities of the Centre for Environmental Health. She also worked as a Research Associate with the Public Health Foundation of India, New Delhi and Public Policy Research Institute, Thiruvananthapuram.

Mr. Aasim Mansuri

Senior Program Lead CWAS, CEPT University

Mr. Aasim Mansuri is a Senior program lead at CWAS. He has over 12 years of experience in WASH sector for India and Africa . He has worked with governments and sector partners at all levels (national, state, city) for planning and implementation of WASH programmes. He leads CWAS's work in supporting implementation of sanitation programs in small and medium towns of Maharashtra with a focus on Citywide Inclusive sanitation (CWIS) and Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (FSSM). He is also providing technical support in implementation of Swachh Maharashtra Mission for Urban Areas. He also leads the capacity building activities undertaken by the center for various stakeholders like the Urban local body officials and sector partners. He is a member of the National Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (NFSSM) Alliance that advocates for FSSM at national level in India. Prior to joining CWAS, he has worked in the construction industry. He is a technical and project management professional with an Executive Education from Harvard Business School with a Masters degree on Urban (Infrastructure) Planning from CEPT University and a B.Tech in Civil Engineering from Nirma University

Ms. Namita Banka

Founder & MD, Banka Bioloo Private Limited

Ms. Namita Banka is a sanitation entrepreneur, scientific process developer, environmental activist, business consultant, speaker, mentor to women led enterprises who are committed to scale their businesses. Hyderabad Based, A B.Sc Graduate from Delhi University and a home maker for 10 years, founded Banka BioLoo in 2008, is the only lady to have successfully build sanitation business in India. She is an entrepreneur with dreams but is a visionary and has created new horizons for others to follow. Her focus is on providing sustainable solutions to the challenges of basic sanitation and hygiene needs. Namita has been recognized and awarded for her business model and innovation. she was conferred the Udyami Award by Shri. Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India in December 2018. Cartier Awards winner in 2013 was her most prominent and rewarding recognition.

Mr. Dorai Narayana

Consultant, former HoD, IWK, Malaysia

DORAI NARAYANA has a degree in Civil Engineering. His professional experience spans over 40 years in the sanitation / sewerage industry, and he has worked for Consultants, Government as well as Indah Water Konsortium, the Malaysian National sewerage utility company. He has also contributed in advisory capacities for various sanitation and sewerage projects in several developing countries in Asia and Africa. Since 2015, he is a freelance consultant supporting sanitation and sewerage projects in Asia and Africa and is a consultant to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He has many papers and publications to his name, notable of which is a book on co-treatment of fecal sludge, published by IWA.

Mr. K. Srikar

Director, Revolve Engineers

Srikar Katragadda is a Post Graduate Engineer from New York University in the field of Water Resources Engineering. Now heading 80+ freshwater, sewage and effluent recovery and recycling projects. He works with his team of 30 young engineering graduates providing end to end water and wastewater distribution, treatment and reuse solution. He has supported stakeholders in the MEP industry for the past 5 years in various aspects of plumping. He is also an IGBC Accredited Professional and a member of IPA.

Ms. Varinder Gambhir

Director – Research

Ms. Varinder is a firm believer of data-driven communication solutions and passionate about using data to bring about social change. Her work addresses social issues such as health, education, gender, climate change, and livelihoods. She has over 16 years of experience across India and UK, both on the agency and programme-side. In the last 10 years, her focus has been on generating insights for and evaluating Social and Behaviour Change Communications (SBCC) related interventions. She has been consulting with various development organizations (BBC Media Action, IFMR LEAD, USAID, IPE Global) and leading research and insights function to bring about positive change.

Mr. Tamseel Hussain

Founder & CEO, People Like Us Create (PLUC)

Tamseel Hussain is the Founder and CEO of Pluc.TV - a start-to-finish creator economy platform, which hosts award-winning shows and episodes. He uses storytelling and technology for creating immersive virtual narratives and is building solutions to enable more people to enter the creator economy. Tamseel has previously worked with global tech companies and nonprofits.

You can also find his writing and interviews on the latest creator economy trends in publications like TechCircle, LSN Global, CXO Outlook, Media Brief. His stories have also featured in CNN International, Guardian, Channel News Asia and National Geographic.

Mr. Ramkrishna Paul

Senior Consultant, Athena Infonomics

Ramkrishna’s interests include WASH and public health. With a background in civil engineering, Ramakrishna’s career began with CDD Society, designing decentralized wastewater treatment plants. Later, he worked on projects addressing issues related to effective fecal sludge management. Following this, he was associated with BORDA, supporting the development of city sanitation plans for 31 municipalities in Bangladesh. He holds a postgraduate degree from UNESCO-IHE, Netherlands in water management and governance, and completed his thesis on water governance in small towns at the rural-urban intersection in Uganda.

Mr. Abhishek Nath

Managing Director & CEO, Ixora Corporate Services Pvt. Ltd.

Mr. Abhishek is a leader with innate passion on technology brings over 17 years of experience from FM Industry. Previously was associated with OCS group UK as Director – iFM. Abhishek played a very vital role during Radiant acquisition. Being an honored owner of various awards all along his professional path, his recent wins of 2016 have been Cleaning Leader of the Year (Clean and Green India by Singex) and FM Thought Leadership Award (FM Worldwide).

Mr. Manas Rath

CEO, LEAP Cities

Mr. Manas Rath, has 17 years of experience in starting, managing, and advising businesses and non-profits. His skills lie in fundraising, green technology, management, non-profit development, operations management, and strategy development in social, sanitation and water sectors. Currently he is working as CEO of Blue Water Company which treats sewage and sells, it also reduces pollution and increases water security and LEAP cities.

Mr. Tanvir Ahamed Chowdhury

Sanitation Business Advisor, SNV Bangladesh

Mr. Tanvir collaborates with municipalities in Bangladesh and help them implementing the business models in sanitation in the cities. His specialization includes Strategic Business Development; Project Management, Client Management; Consultant Management, Knowledge Management, Information Management, Relationship building; Business Analysis; Budgeting; Financial Management & Accounting; Project and Programme Development and Support in the Implementation of the Projects.