Announcing our Board and Advisory Council
To kick off Climate Week, Bhumi Global, the world's foremost Hindu-based environmental organization, unveiled its board and advisory council while also promoting its climate change programming.
Bhumi Global's board includes leaders from nonprofits, academia, and business. The board includes:
Murali Balaji, Interim board chair
Aneesh Deshpande
SriVani Ganti, Co-founder
Durga Iyer, Interim board treasurer
Mat McDermott, Co-founder
Gopal D. Patel, co-founder and director of Bhumi Global, said the new board would help to implement Bhumi's new and ongoing initiatives, including the greening of Hindu temples, the integration of Hindu perspectives on domestic and global climate policy, the facilitation of partnerships to promote sustainability, and the cultivation of a new generation of faith-based climate leadership through the Bhumi Academy.
“It is an honor and delight to announce our board and advisory council members. We’ve got to this point through the hard work and dedication of many people over a number of years. The real work, however, starts now. With more and more people being affected by the environmental crisis, it’s important that Hindus rise up to address these concerns.”
In addition to the board, Bhumi Global also announced an advisory council featuring faith, business, healthcare, and nonprofit leaders, as well as multi-faith allies representing a diversity of perspectives and backgrounds. The advisory council includes:
The Rev. Mark Fowler, CEO, Tanenbaum
Simone Jhingoor, Co-Founder & Co-Director, Jahajee Sisters Empowering Indo-Caribbean Women
Sujane Kandasamy, Co-Founder and Director of Education, The Starfish Canada
Vanitha Mahalingam, Senior Program Manager, The Coca-Cola Company
Shefali Mehta, Founder and Lead Principal, Open Rivers Consulting
Neha Pathak, MD, Founding Steering Committee Member, Georgia Clinicians for Climate Action
Brahmachari Vrajvihari Sharan, Director for Dharmic Life & Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University
Shyla Raghav, Vice President of Climate Change, Conservation International
Harshita Mira Venkatesh, Business Fellow, Breakthrough Energy
Interim Board Chair Murali Balaji said the advisory council members will help Bhumi Global to expand its role as a voice in combating environmental challenges and promoting a Hindu and Dharmic perspective in green policy and eco-discourse.
"With our leadership structure in place, we can work expeditiously to address the existential threat of climate change and other environmental concerns," Balaji said. "Environmental care and the divinity of all species are pillars of Hindu philosophy, and it is our aim to put that Dharma into practice as we work to implement a more holistic approach to humanity's relationship with nature and the environment."
Bhumi Global will be using Climate Week as a starting point for its activities leading up to COP26 and other programming it has planned for the fall to address the urgency of climate change.
