Dr. Umamaheshwaran Rajasekar currently holds the position of Chair, Urban Resilience and Team Lead, Climate Centre for Cities at NIUA. He is a urban resilience professional with over 17 years of experience in urban projects in Asia, Europe and USA developing country strategies, policies, climate change analysis, hazard modelling, institutional analysis, adaptation & mitigation plans for governments, INGOs, bi-lateral and multi-lateral agencies. His interest and recent work with banks and multilaterals are targeted towards bridging the gap between technology and society to enable informed decision making in a changing environment. He has been the team leader for pioneering urban risk resilience efforts in India including implementation of disaster early warning systems, establishment of urban health centre, development of urban disease surveillance system, mainstreaming of urban service monitoring systems and preparation of city resilience strategies.

His work has been published as peer reviewed journal articles, technical reports and has been presented at international and national forums. His work has been commended in the form of grants and awards by United States National Science Foundation, Rockefeller foundation, International Institute for Environment and Development, Gujarat Institute of Civil Engineers and Architects, Vastu Shilpa foundation and Dutch Ministry of Education. His recent work on development and implementation of Urban Services Monitoring System to monitor critical water borne and vector borne diseases. His work in this area was recognized as an intervention to watch, by the U.N Secretary General’s global pulse initiative.

Raina is an urban planning and climate resilience expert with over 10 years of experience in policy research, technical advisory, capacity building and program management for government and nongovernment organisations, ministries, philanthropies and international agencies. An urban environment planner by training, Raina has contributed to implementation of key national and international initiatives towards environmentally sustainable, smart and resilient urban development in over 25 cities across South and Southeast Asia.

Currently, Raina is anchoring policy research & advocacy, and partnership & engagement efforts for strengthening resilience of Indian Cities as part of two flagship initiatives of NIUA - the Urban Resilience Unit, supported by the Global Resilient Cities Network, and the Climate Center for Cities, supporting MoHUA in implementation of the ClimateSmart Cities Assessment Framework.

Prior to joining NIUA, Raina was leading the Center for Urban Planning and Governance at TERI. She has also published several policy briefs, articles and research papers on policy and governance issues towards mainstreaming urban resilience.

Vaishnavi is an urban practitioner with over 9 years of research and practice experience in the areas of urban planning/design, participatory planning, heritage conservation and architectural practice across various Indian cities. At NIUA, Vaishnavi leads the capacity building and knowledge networks vertical for the Urban Resilience Unit and the Climate Centre for Cities with a focus on embedding resilience thinking and strengthening local capacities for adopting climate actions.

In the past, Vaishnavi has worked with the Mahila Hosing SEWA Trust, India Habitat Forum and the Centre for Conservation Studies, CEPT University contributing towards action research, building community resilience, upgrading informal habitats and revitalizing heritage settlements. Some of the key initiatives anchored by her include developing the strategy for 'Socio-Economic Revitalization of Dhal-ni-Pol and Khijada Sheri' in Ahmedabad and leading a participatory led design and construction of Indira Awaas Yojana housing in Waynad, Kerala.

Vaishnavi is a Chevening Scholar and holds a Master's degree in 'Urbanization and Development' from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Bachelor degree in Architecture from the B.M.S College of Engineering, Bangalore.

Ashali Bhandari is a Fellow at the Urban Resilience Unit at the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA). At the Urban Resilience Unit, she is leading the data observatory initiative and working on developing data frameworks to guide city managers and urban stakeholders to make informed decisions to improve the urban resilience of their city. Prior to joining NIUA, she worked for Studio-X Mumbai, Megapolis India and published monthly articles on urb.im. Ashali holds a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor’s degree in Geography from Middlebury College

Uditi is an Urban Strategist with over 7 years of experience in urban development, policy, planning and design across India. She has worked on and developed a range of projects during her engagement with NIUA since 2017. Prior to her current role under the Climate Centre for Cities where she looks after the Climate Smart Cities Project supported by GIZ, she has worked on the World Bank-Cities Alliance funded Strategy for Inclusive Revitalisation of Heritage Towns and Cities, under which she set up the Heritage Centre in Rajasthan. Before NIUA, Uditi has worked with the Development and Research Organisation for Nature, Arts and Heritage (DRONAH) and Sustainable Urbanism International. She also contributes regularly to the work of various NGOs on urban renewal projects. Her interests lie in urban conservation, sustainable mobility, climate change and placemaking.

Uditi holds a Masters Degree in Housing and Urbanism from the Architectural Association, London and a Bachelors Degree in Architecture from Manipal University, India.

Ankita Mandal is a Research Associate at the Climate Centre for Cities, NIUA. She is an urban and environmental planner, and is primarily involved in supporting the implementation of ClimateSmart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF). Her work involves supporting the collation and analysis of urban data, developing knowledge products, coordinating with various stakeholders, and assisting research for publication and communication. She has a prior experience in teaching undergraduate planning students at School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi. She has also worked as Project Assistant for an autonomous body under the Ministry of External Affairs facilitating donor funded projects under the Swacch Bharat Mission and the Clean Ganga Mission.

Ankita holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Planning and a Bachelor’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi. She is also an Associate Member of the Institute of Town Planners, India.

Empati Uday Kumar is a Research Associate at Climate Centre for Cities, NIUA. At Climate Centre for Cities, He works on various initiatives that includes Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework, coordination with the national, state and city level agencies in successfully execution of program. Developing knowledge products such as case studies, guidance manual, compilation of technical reports; support to the sector experts in analysing the data and creating assessment reports. Prior joining NIUA, He worked with Ministry of Housing and Urban Affair as program fellow in India Smart City Fellowship. One of his key contribution includes development of “Housing Data Repository “at city level. He also worked as Project Officer with Bhubaneshwar Smart city limited. He also has 2 years of experience in Project Management in infrastructure industry.

Uday holds a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada and a Bachelor’s degree in engineering from J.B. Institute of Engineering & Technology, Hyderabad.

Mohini Bhaisare is a Research Associate at Climate Centre for Cities, National Institute of urban Affairs (NIUA). Her work focuses on providing support to the team with research, communication, compilation of technical reports, etc. and coordinating with the sector experts, ULBs, SPVs, etc. for CSCSF phase 2. Prior to joining NIUA, she has worked with KPMG (India), Meghraj Capital Advisors Private Limited (India), Utopians (UK), and Brunel University London (UK) advising government and private clients across various sectors including urban infrastructure, smart cities development, environment, transportation, solid waste management, and financial accounting in India and UK.

Mohini holds master’s degree in ‘Business Management’ from Brunel University London (UK), another master’s degree in ‘Urban Policy and Governance’ from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), and bachelor’s degree in ‘Urban Planning’ from School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada (SPAV, AP).

Pallavi Thool is a Research Assistant at C-Cube team, NIUA. Her work primarily focuses on providing support for CSCAF, strengthening capacities for cities, communication with partners and various public-private sectors etc. for addressing climate change issues with effective solutions. Pallavi has over 4 years of experience in the field of Urban Planning and Architecture with public and private sector. Previously, she has worked with Maharashtra Urban Development Mission Directorate, Mumbai, as a Technical Expert for the implementation of Solid Waste Management Rules in the State under Swachh Bharat Mission. She has worked on "Taj Trapezium Zone" project in association with SPA Delhi and Uttar Pradesh Government as a Project Associate. She has worked as Assistant Professor and published various research papers. She also has experience in Architectural practice.

Pallavi holds a master’s degree in Urban Planning from the School of Planning and Architecture Delhi and a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from University of Pune.

Shravani a young and enthusiastic Architect-Planner is a Research Assistant at the Climate Centre for Cities, NIUA. She is primarily involved in supporting the implementation of ClimateSmart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF). Prior to joining NIUA, she worked with PwC as an Analyst under the TASC (Technical Assistance for Smart Cities) team, at the Ministry of Housing and Urban affairs for carrying out the assessment of Ease of Living and Municipal Performance Indices. She has over two years of experience in Architectural practice and was interned at APCRDA. Her key areas of interests are Research and development, Data analytics, Capacity building, Urban planning, City resilience, Transport planning and Urban design. She is very keen on giving her best efforts to contribute and work towards any part of development that’s brewing up and for sure would leave no stone unturned in this regard.

Shravani holds a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from CEPT University, Ahmedabad and a Bachelor degree in Architecture from SVCA, Hyderabad.