Ramanan Laxminarayan
Ramanan Laxminarayan is an economist and global health researcher. He founded the One Health Trust to advance research linking environmental change, antimicrobial resistance, infectious disease, and public health. His interdisciplinary work has helped policymakers understand the interconnected nature of human, animal, and environmental health, strengthening evidence-based approaches to global health and environmental policy.
Seema Wadhwa
Seema Wadhwa is a healthcare sustainability leader. At Kaiser Permanente, she directed one of the nation’s most ambitious healthcare decarbonization programs, integrating environmental sustainability into one of America’s largest health systems. Her work has demonstrated how hospitals and healthcare organizations can reduce emissions while improving resilience, public health, and environmental stewardship.
Gaurab Basu
Gaurab Basu is a physician and public health researcher whose work links climate change, health equity, and healthcare policy. Through research and teaching at Harvard, he has advanced understanding of how climate change disproportionately affects vulnerable communities and has advocated for climate action as a public health imperative. His scholarship has helped strengthen the emerging […]
Vatsal Bhatt
Vatsal Bhatt is a sustainability leader and urban resilience specialist. At the US Green Building Council, he led the development of the LEED for Cities and Communities framework, providing municipalities with measurable standards for environmental performance and sustainable development. His work has helped cities across the United States integrate climate resilience, resource efficiency, and sustainability […]
Shalini Vajjhala
Shalini Vajjhala is an environmental policy expert and entrepreneur. She founded Re:Focus Partners to develop innovative financing models that help American communities invest in climate resilience infrastructure, particularly in underserved areas. Her work has expanded how cities prepare for flooding, extreme weather, and other climate risks by combining environmental policy with public finance and long-term […]
Geeta Aiyer
Geeta Aiyer is an investment manager and sustainability pioneer. She founded Boston Common Asset Management, one of the first American investment firms dedicated to environmental, social, and governance investing. Through shareholder engagement and corporate advocacy, she demonstrated that environmental responsibility and long-term financial performance could reinforce one another. Her leadership helped establish ESG investing as […]
Rajwant Singh
Rajwant Singh is a Sikh leader and environmental advocate. He co-founded EcoSikh in Washington, D.C., launching a global movement that integrates Sikh teachings with environmental stewardship. Through initiatives promoting sustainable gurdwaras, tree planting, biodiversity conservation, and environmentally conscious community practices, he has demonstrated how faith-based institutions can play a leading role in addressing climate change […]
Jigar Shah
Jigar Shah is an energy entrepreneur and clean technology leader. In 2003, he founded SunEdison and introduced the solar power purchase agreement, an innovative financing model that removed the upfront cost of installing solar energy systems. The approach accelerated renewable energy adoption across the United States and became a standard financing mechanism for the solar […]
Subhankar Banerjee
Subhankar Banerjee is an environmental photographer, writer, and conservation advocate. His photographs of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge became central to the national debate over oil drilling, demonstrating the power of visual storytelling in environmental policymaking. Through exhibitions, books, and public scholarship, Banerjee has documented fragile ecosystems while highlighting the connections between biodiversity, Indigenous communities, […]
Kamal Bawa
Kamal Bawa is a conservation biologist whose pioneering research transformed the study of tropical forest ecology and biodiversity conservation. Through decades of scholarship, he helped establish conservation biology as a scientific discipline and advanced strategies to protect threatened ecosystems around the world. Recipient of the Gunnerus Prize for Sustainability, Bawa has shaped environmental research, policy, […]