Meet the Team

The SITE4Sustainability team is diverse, in terms of discipline, race, regional bases, gender and age, but what we have in common is the belief, explicit or otherwise that our work is an engagement for a greater, better world. We believe that deep conversations with stakeholders are necessary to build a shared vision to address sustainability challenges. We are always asking questions and in doing so we involve our clients in co-designing solutions. Our conversations with our clients is what changes them, changes us and solves the problem.

Prof. Dr. Shyama V. Ramani – Partner – Sustainability Transitions / WASH Transitions / Education

Dr. Shyama V. Ramani is an academic economist whose research focuses on the relationships between technology, innovation and their governance for inclusive development.  With over three decades of research and teaching experience, she is Professorial Fellow at the United Nations University (UNU-MERIT).  Her work examines the role of technology and innovation in conjunction with actor (government, firms, citizens, public laboratories, NGOs etc.) engagements to attain sustainability goals related to gender equality, sanitation, sustainable cities and communities, education and climate change. She has published 46 articles in international peer-reviewed journals, 22 chapters in books, 26 articles for the general public and edited 3 book volumes. Professor Ramani holds a PhD in economics from Cornell University, USA and a Masters in economics from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, India. Her publications and full details can be found here. She is also a serial academic social entrepreneur and SITE4Sustainability is her latest venture! The other big passion of her life is the NGO she founded and still manages called ‘Friend in Need India Trust’ (FIN).  Finally, she is noted as a motivational speaker and conference moderator ( Tedx talk, Pecha-kucha etc.) Through her academic and humanitarian work, Dr. Ramani is recognised as an engaged scholar in the field of sustainable development.  Email: shyama.v.ramani@gmail.com;  shyama.ramani@site4sustainability.com

Expertise

• Economics of Innovation (Frugal innovations, Biotech, Nanotech, Technology Cooperation)
• Strategic behaviour, coordination and cooperation (applied game theory)
• Sustainability transitions in WASH, Health and Education
• Solution Designs for organisations and policy makers to steer sustainability transitions
• International experience: India, Europe, Ghana and Brazil
• Language proficiency: English (native), French and Tamil (working)

 

Dr. Raja Venkataramani – Partner – Urban Sustainability / Policy & Strategy Design / PSUs & SMEs

Dr. Raja Venkataramani is a development consultant with over 35 years of experience. He has worked in over 80 projects spanning diverse sectors, addressing challenges of urban and peri-urban development (including social housing, water, waste-water, sanitation, and solid waste management) transport, industrial infrastructure, roads and highways, education, tourism, and public health, infrastructure financing, SME, and PSU. His present focus and interests are: Supporting governments in mainstreaming climate resilience and circular economy concepts into urban development projects. Urban development includes working with central, state, and local governments in taking forward their reform agenda and improving service delivery (covering housing, public space development, and line utilities including SWM, water &wastewater management). Additional interest areas cover industrial infrastructure; SME institutional support; education & training (especially for government functionaries/in-service training). In addition, he was been volunteering in the Social Sector as Senior Advisor at Friend In Need India Trust. Throughout his career, Dr. Venkataramani has played a pivotal role in driving significant nationwide and regional transformational initiatives in India. With his vast experience and expertise, Dr. Venkataramani has established himself as a leading expert in capacity building, with a focus on urban development, policy and project management in South-Asia. Emails: rajavaradan@gmail.com;      raja.venkataramani@site4sustainability.com

Expertise

• Monitoring & Evaluation including Multi-Country Policy Evaluation and Evaluation in the Education sector.
• Social infrastructure sectors including education, urban, and water and sanitation
• Supporting central, state, and local government authorities and agencies in taking forward their reform agendas: capacity building, institutional strengthening, improving service delivery
• Supporting strengthening innovation ecosystems in government context
• International experience: India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Iran, Japan, USA and The Netherlands
• Language proficiency: English (native), Tamil,  Hindi, and Japanese (basic)

 

ADVISORY CONSULTANTS

 

Alejandro Álvarez-Vanegas – Environment / Education

Alejandro Álvarez-Vanegas is a Process Engineer from Universidad EAFIT, MSc in Sustainability Sciences from the Leuphana University of Lüneburg and PhD Fellow in Education for Sustainable Development at the University of Maastricht and the UNU-MERIT. He coordinated the area of Environmental Culture at Universidad EAFIT for seven years, promoting active and community-based learning experiences and fostering a whole-institution approach for sustainability. He has been a full-time professor in the same institution since 2015, currently in the Area of Natural Systems and Sustainability. His doctoral research is focused on transformative experiential learning and Education for Sustainable Development, seeking to foster sustainability competences in students and educators in higher education institutions. He has organised and participated in several academic conferences and has published different book chapters and articles. He also writes for a regional newspaper. He is an engaged citizen and a Low Carbon City Foundation board member. Email: alejoal387@gmail.com

Expertise

• Education for Sustainable Development.
• Community Engagement for Sustainability.
• Solution designs for urban greening.
• International experience: Germany and The Netherlands
• Language proficiency: English (fluent), Spanish (native), German (working).

 

Suvadip Bhattacharjee – English Language Editing / Communication

Suvadip Bhattacharjee is an experienced book editor and publishing professional based in Delhi. He earned an MA in Publishing from London College of Communication, with a scholarship provided by Cambridge University Press, UK. He has worked with the editorial departments of Frank Brothers (a part of Macmillan Publishers), Cambridge University Press India Pvt. Ltd and Amity University, Noida in different capacities. Besides professional editing and content development, he loves to weave stories which depict a combination of nature, folk elements and human relations that have an appeal to young readers. He continues his work on editing, writing and planning new books. He contributes some of his children’s stories on his blog: https://suvadipbhattacharjee.blogspot.com/. Among the social media platforms, he is active on his LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suvadip-bhattacharjee-387a6a8/.

Expertise

• Content development, processing and exploring content channels
• Professional editing in the English language
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Leading teams to deliver end-to-end publishing solutions within deadlines and budget
• Building networking to make industry contacts
• Strategic thinking and planning skills to define achievable publishing plans
• Language proficiency: English (native), Bengali (native), Hindi (fluent).

 

Maximilian Bruder – Inclusive Innovation / Sustainable Business Models

Maximilian Bruder is currently pursuing his PhD in a doctoral program at the United Nations University – MERIT, on the subject of Inclusive and Humanitarian Innovations. His dissertation analyses how organisations can design and diffuse such novelties into settings of deep poverty or humanitarian crises, and how policymakers can aid this process. Particularly, he researches the potential of innovations benefitting both users and producers by addressing unmet needs while simultaneously generating a profit for the latter. In his research, he analyses entire life cycle journeys of innovations – from the supply side (design, production, marketing) to the demand side (adoption, diffusion) and finally the impact (sustainability, profitability). Maximilian has previously worked as a business consultant in the financial sector in Frankfurt, Germany, where he specialised in projects about innovation, process optimisation, and sustainable finance in a number of development banks and other financial services providers. Email: max.bruder@site4sustainability.com

 

Expertise

• Development Economics
• Economics of Innovation (Inclusive Innovation, Social Innovation)
• Sustainable Business Models
• Sustainable Finance
• Business strategy and transformation
• International experience: France, The Netherlands and the USA
• Language proficiency: German (Native), English and French (fluent).

 

Nikhil Pakkattil Muraleedharan – Policy Analysis / Data Analysis

Nikhil Pakkattil Muraleedharan is a researcher with a background in Civil Engineering and a versatile professional journey encompassing engineering, project management (both AGILE and waterfall workflows), educational technology (EdTech), research, and government consultancy. His expertise extends to renewable energy and sustainability, where he has actively contributed to innovative sustainable solutions and CSR initiatives. Nikhil holds a Master’s in Public Policy and Human Development, specializing in Social Protection Policy, from the United Nations University – UNU-MERIT and Maastricht University.

His research portfolio spans various domains, including social protection, WaSH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene), health, sustainability, gender, and governance. Nikhil exhibits exceptional skills in project management, data analysis, and policy evaluation, well-suited for making valuable contributions to research and knowledge management. Email: nikhilpm.nit@gmail.com

Expertise

• Statistical software – R and STATA for impact evaluations, data analysis, and visualizations.
• Content and data management.
• Solution designs for WASH challenges.
• International experience: The Netherlands
• Language proficiency: English (fluent), Malayalam (native), Tamil and Hindi (working).

 

Abhishek Pathak – Digital Skilling / Content Creation

Expertise

• Teaching and Mentoring on Digital Skills (Computer Applications and Smartphone usage)
• Content Creation
• Data collection and data management
• Management and Administration
• Language proficiency: English (fluent) and Hindi (native)

 

 Maria Tomai – Sustainability Transitions / System Dynamics

Maria Tomai is a PhD Fellow at UNU-MERIT, the Netherlands. Her expertise is on circular economy transitions and urban transformations, their governance and planning, with a focus on developing countries’ context. Her research also focuses on the transition design and governance of solid waste management systems for contributing to more sustainable, just and prosperous economies. Through a mixture of qualitative and quantitate research methods, Maria investigates the sustainability potential of various technologies and niche-innovations, such as waste-to-energy alternatives, recycling schemes, and environmental education programmes. She follows a transdisciplinary research approach, employing participatory scenario planning and system dynamics modelling, along with socio-technical transition theories.

Maria has a rich international research experience with a portfolio of past and ongoing projects in Europe, India, and Ghana. She has led the organization of knowledge co-production events and workshops with the aim to foster dialogue among various stakeholders and promote sustainable transformations. Maria is also teaching at the graduate level and supervising master theses. Since 2020, she is tutoring in the Master of Science in Public Policy and Human Development of the Maastricht University’s Graduate School of Governance, while her teaching portfolio includes courses such as Public Policy, Policy and Programme Evaluation, Research Design, Solution Design and Policy Communication. Email: tomai@merit.unu.edu

Expertise

• Sustainability transitions research (urban sustainability and resilience, climate change mitigation, socio-technical transitions)
• Circular Economy innovations and transformations in the Global South
• Education for Sustainable Development
• Systems Thinking and System Dynamics Modeling to unravel complex systems and dynamic processes, involving transdisciplinary approaches
• International experience: Europe, Ghana, South Korea
• Language proficiency: English (fluent), German (working), Greek (Native)