Pushpendra Kumar Singh
(Trustee, Settler and Director)
Prof. Pushpendra brings a unique blend of experiences of working with grassroots organisations, UNICEF, international NGOs, government institutions, and academia. He is former Professor and Chairperson of the Patna Centre of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). A sociologist by training, he has served as a professor at TISS, Mumbai, Dean of TISS Tuljapur, and Director, Centre for Social Studies, Surat. He has also worked with the Swiss Red Cross, LBS National Academy of Administration, UNICEF Planning Division, ActionAid International (India, Belgium, and Sri Lanka), and the National Institute of Rural Development. He was a visiting fellow at the Asia Research Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science in 2011-12. He has served in various committees, including the Planning Commission Committee for Revision of the Guidelines of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). From 2000 to 2005, he served as the Bihar State Advisor of the Commissioners of the Supreme Court of India to monitor Government food and work-related schemes. Prof. Pushpendra has seven books to his credit from leading national and international publishers such as Oxford University Press, Sage Publications, Orient BlackSwan, Routledge, and Aakar. Besides, he has contributed to academic journals and edited volumes as well as newspapers, magazines, news portals, and radio. He is also the Former Editor of a bi-annual, peer-reviewed online journal, Journal of Migration Affairs. His research interests include rural development, migration, informal labour, agrarian relations, and social policy. He serves on the boards/committees of several academic institutions and non-governmental organisations .
Dr. Nisha Bharti
Programme Manger
(Mumbai Chapter)
Nisha is the Programme Manager at Sarita-Mahesh Foundation. She holds her PhD in Labour Studies from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. She has over twelve years of research experience. She has worked with organisations including RATI Foundation, Disha Foundation, HomeNet South Asia, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Good Governance and Policy Analysis, TISS, and Aajeevika Bureau. Her research focuses on online safety, the digital divide, livelihoods, women’s issues, migration, informal sector labour, and youth employment. She has written for Migrantscape, National Herald, Junputh, and The Citizen, and has also served as a guest faculty at TISS, teaching courses on Sociology of Work, Women and Work, Trade Union Management, and Qualitative Research Methods.
Mithilesh Priyadarshy is a media scholar and writer with a Ph.D. in Media Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. He taught Media and Cinema at Bilaspur Central University from 2010 to 2012. His short story collection "Lohe Ka Baksa Aur Bandook" was published by Lokbharti Prakashan in 2022. He also works in story and screenplay writing.
Dr. Mithilesh Priyadarshi
(Mumbai Chapter)