Team
We're a not-for-profit organization led by a dedicated, international group of wildlife photographers & conservationists, business leaders, and educators.
Team
We're a not-for-profit organization led by a dedicated, international group of wildlife photographers & conservationists, business leaders, and educators.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
dr. cj meadows
Executive Chairman - Harvard Business School DBA (Doctorate in Business Administration), international entrepreneur (real estate, management consulting, education), innovation center head, advanced-technologies think tank & tinker lab founder, author & speaker, and wildlife photographer. Formerly INSEAD faculty (Entrepreneurship), CPA & CMA, director & strategist at Scient, and member of Accenture's strategy and IT practices. www.drcjmeadows.com.
Prof. Nishikant Mukerji
Managing Director - Maharashtra Ecotourism Development Board Member, Vice Chairman of the Centre of Science for Villages (CSV), & Strategy Consultant. Asian Institute of Management MBA With Distinction (Valedictorian), Delhi University MA & BA-Economics, History, & Philosophy. Former positions as Oberoi HotelsVice President of Strategic Planning, ITC Chief Strategy Officer & Special Assistant to the Chairman (also branch mgr., product development mgr., consumer & marketing research mgr.), IMT Dean, and AIM head of MBA program. 'Spent much of his childhood exploring Kanha's wilderness.
Advocate Sudhir Puranik
Board Director - High Court lawyer for 30+ years, Standing Counsel for the Nagpur Municipal Corporation, & panel member for the Nagpur Improvement Trust & Nagpur University. ‘Started his formal legal career in the chambers of the late Adv A S Bobde (former Advocate General of Maharashtra) and in the chambers of Justice S A Bobde (recently-retired Chief Justice of India). B Sc, BMC (Mass Communication), & LL B from Nagpur University. National and international journalist and wildlife advocate.
ADVISORY BOARD
We thank our world-class advisory board for stellar advice on policy, business, legal, eco-, and human trends & technologies that help us grow together:
chaitanya jagdale
Advisory Board Director - Information Systems professonal at Synthes (J&J), graduate of Northeastern University (Master of Science in Computer Systems Engineering) and Nagpur University (Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering). Interested in cricket, tennis, and yoga, Mr. Jagdale participated in the IDRF cricket tournaments in Boston, proceeds of which were devoted to the development of rural India. An avid wildlife enthusiast, he has toured wildlife destinations around India and the US.
Dr. Chris Marshall
Visionary Co-Founder & Advisory Board Director - Harvard Business School DBA (Doctorate in Business Administration), IBM Assoc. Partner, risk management expert & Wiley author, University of Chicago MBA-Finance, University of Cambridge MA & BA-Physics, and former positions as KPMG Partner, UBS Exec. Director, Ernst & Young consultant, founder & assoc. director of Center for Financial Engineering & Programme for Research in Intelligent Systems, NUS faculty, and GEC Marconi Research Lab engineer.
Dr. ghislaine bouillet-cordonnier, esq.
Legal Consultant & Advisory Board Director - PhD in corp. fin. (Lyon U.), Master of Law (Harvard Law), Master of Law (business & European law, Lyon U.), Diploma of Accounting & Mgt. Author of a book on shareholder agreements & Venture Capital. Formerly Sr. VP, General Counsel, & Sustainable Development Rep. for a Global Chemical Co.; VP & Chief Counsel for FCI/Areva Group; & legal advisor for World Bank & UNESCO. Attorney at law member of New York and Paris Bars. Founder of The Albatross Foundation (albatrossglobal.org) to educate the world's youth on sustainable development.
Dr. Kristina Taioli
Advisory Board Director - Doctor of Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Italy. Former national park volunteer (Australia), eco-tour guide (UK, Italy, Egypt), dive master (Thailand), marine researcher (Italy & Bahamas), marine biology teacher (Maldives & Egypt), sea turtle volunteer & manager (Greece & Costa Rica), and dolphinarium & sea turtle rescue center lecturer and guide (Italy). Author of Hakuna Matata & Rio, fluent in English, Spanish, French, & of course Italian. :)
awantika chitnavis
Consulting Architect & Advisory Board Director - Award-winning architect with experience in residences, school housing, conference facilities, auditoria, library, art gallery, as well as historic site conservation (Vidarbha Heritage Society). Active conservation planner for heritage structures in Nagpur (nearest city to the Tiger Center), and Secretary of the Vidarbha Heritage Society. Master of Architecture (U. of IL, US), Bachelor of Architecture & HSC in Nagpur.
patrick c. willis
Advisory Board Director - Master Chef and Managing Director at Innovative Restaurant Concepts Ltd. (lhcconsulting.com & passionatehospitality.com), Patrick has spent nearly 3 decades working with the world's finest hotels & restaurants on five continents. A pioneer in the American and New World food movements, he is widely published and honored (e.g. 2007 Restaurateur of the Year). Active in charities (e.g. Meals on Wheels & Restaurants Against Hunger), he graduated from The American University in Paris (with Honours) & Clark University (Magna Cum Laude).
N. Srinivasan
Ecodevelopment Advisor & Advisory Board Director - Consultant with over 30 years' field and management experience in Railway Electrification Contracts. Worked with the leading business houses of India like Birla and Tata. Bachelor's Degree in Commerce from the University of Madras, De Nobili School, Dhanbad (Bihar), passing out of the Senior Cambridge Examinations.
LEADERS & ACHIEVERS
We are grateful every day for our stellar on-the-ground leaders, including:
Commissioner Ramesh mEHTA
Head of Community Programs - Former police commissioner and highly decorated officer, he was awarded the President of India's Gold Medal for Policing -- not once but twice! He embodies the highest and moblest traditions of professional policing. A real Tough Cop, he is also well-known as a Good Samaritan.
ashish kachwaha
Artist & Naturalist - World-class artist and naturalist with a large international following, leading exhibitions, and acclaim by world-renown artist M. F. Husain.
Rano lakhera
Project Manager - Master's degree in Hindi, with advanced skills managing multiple programs, drawing on multiple resources, for multiple constituencies. Currently translating our whitepapers into Hindi for broader impact.
sonsay baiga
Baiga Ambassador & Tribal Leader - Naturalist and Baiga Elder who gathers and collaborates talent and other resources for key community programs.
BABEETA LAKHERA
Vocational School Principal – Head of our Usha Sewing School, champion of women’s empowerment initiatives, and extremely influential leader in our community.
Kura Bai Chhapri
Gond Ambassador & Women's Community Leader - Farmer and Female Elder of the Gond community who gathers and collaborates talent for key community programs.
Salim Quershi
Naturalist & Driver - Master wildlife tracker; expert in safety, transport, and guest placement; high-order expert in jungle language & lore
Mallu Singh
Naturalist & Guide - Master wildlife spotter; Gond tribal elder who is a recognised expert in Kanha's ecosystem and its adaptations and behaviors
naresh yadav
Naturalist - Expert wildlife spotter and commentator, sharing key facts, figures, and behavior/adaptations of flora and fauna
NEXT-GEN
As a family-based community organization, we are excited about our family’s next generation of leaders and proud of the interests and skills they can contribute to our community:
David marshall
Wildlife Seeker, Videographer, & Freestyle Stunt Scooter (#1 SEA!)
IN MEMORIAM
We salute our founding members who have passed away. Not only have they helped shape our organisation and the vision we uphold, but we will hold their friendship in our hearts forever. They live on in their families, the community, and with us in The Tiger Center. We carry the memory of them with us and seek to continue the work they loved and achieved so well. May we honor them in all that we do and all we continue to uphold, as they would have wished.
anand jagdale
Visionary Co-Founder & Executive Director - Entrepreneur with 30 years' experience in advertising and publicity, and 20 years' experience in agriculture, lovingly known to us as Nandu Bhau. Connected with social, education, and cultural institutions, Masters in Commerce, life member of the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), and native of the Kanha region who loved bird watching and cricket. He remained until the day of his death an active and key member of this organisation and the community we serve
manglu baiga
Legendary Co-Founder of the Kanha Nature Reserve - community leader, husband & father, and spokesman for wildlife & environment. Called by some "The Grand Old Man of Kanha," very few people in living memory are respected and praised even after they have gone as much as Manglu Baiga
Phiroz Patel
Tiger Center founding team member, friend, business leader, husband & father
Sami Mohammad
Sarpanch (Village Head) and friend, who's helped and encouraged us over the years
Sidhi Singh
Sarpanch (Village Head) and friend, who's been a cherished supporter for many years. (above: dressed in white, leading his village)
NANHEY SINGH
Addvisor & Ex-Principal Home Secretary and Member of the Human Rights Commission for the Government of Madhya Pradesh, who brought enormous wisdom & experience to our operations
sister cyril mooney
Padma Shri awardee, Retired Principal of the Loreto Day School, Sealdah, & co-founder of the Kolkata Mary Ward Social Centre, her work transformed the lives of 450,000 people, including ours