TEAM
Dr. A. K. Shiva Kumar
Dean
Dr. Shiva Kumar teaches economic and public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge and is also a visiting professor at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad. He has been associated with preparing national human development reports in several countries, including Bhutan, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, and Serbia. He serves as an advisor to multiple international organisations including UNICEF and received a PhD in political economy and government from Harvard University.
GIRIJA SHIVAKUMAR
Director
Girija is an award-winning journalist and communications strategist with over 13 years of experience. Specialising in gender, development, and media, Girija has held leadership roles, including Director of Communications at AVPN and as media advisor to Invest India and The Financial Times. She has consulted with global organisations like UN Women, the World Bank Group, and Women Political Leaders. Co-founder of 'We The Women,' Girija is a SOPA Award recipient for Editorial Excellence.
Khalid Jaleel
Deputy Director, Admissions
Khalid has been associated with the ISS in some capacity since the inception of the program. Presently, he also serves as the Programme Coordinator at Esya Centre. Prior to this, he served as the Program Coordinator at the Centre for Escalation of Peace, which is focused on establishing programs that focus on empowering young minds. Alongside this, he served as an Academic Councillor at the Arjun Singh Centre for Distance and Open Learning, Jamia Millia Islamia (Jamia). Khalid earned his Bachelor’s degree in International Studies from the University of South Alabama, USA and a Master’s degree in Political Science from Jamia.
Mohit Chawdhry
Deputy Director, Administration
Mohit is a law graduate from National Law University Delhi, his interests include intellectual property, technology development and regulation as well as Constitutional and Sports Law. Outside of law, he enjoys working on issues relating to economics and the social sector, particularly the health sector.
Rakshitha Arni Ravishankar
Deputy Director, Outreach
Rakshitha has led digital communications at the Council of Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). She has also worked as an editor at Ascend, Harvard Business Review's vertical for early career professionals. Rakshitha is a journalist by training and started her career as a breaking news editor at a U.S.-based news media agency covering politics, gun violence, and climate. She holds a Master’s degree from Columbia Journalism School and a PG diploma in Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding (CTPB).
ADVISORS
Dr. Adnan Farooqui
Dr. Adnan Farooqui is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), New Delhi. He earned his Ph.D. from Jawaharlal Nehru University and has been teaching at JMI since April 2008. Dr. Farooqui's research interests include party systems, electoral politics, and ethnic politics in India.
Dr. Bulbul Dhar-James
Dr. Bulbul Dhar-James is a professor and Head of the Department of Political Science at Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI). She has previously served as the Director of the Women's Studies Centre at JMI and as the Coordinator of the MA Political Science Programme at the Open and Distance Learning Centre at JMI. Before joining JMI, she worked as a Consultant at the National Council for Applied Economic Research, New Delhi, where she coordinated a programme on economic and policy reform in India. Prior to that, she taught at the School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, as well as at Lady Shri Ram College and Janki Devi Memorial College, both affiliated with Delhi University.
MeghNa BAL
Meghna Bal is the Director at Esya Centre. She is a lawyer by training with deep experience in media and emerging technology. Previously, she worked on legal and policy strategy at the Walt Disney Company. Before Disney, she set up and led the India office for Consensys, the world’s largest blockchain technology company.
PROF. NISAR-UL-HAQ
Prof. Haq serves as a Professor at the Department of Political Science, Jamia Millia Islamia. In his career, he has served as a member on numerous Board of Studies and Academic Committees. He has also served as an Observer on the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Switzerland (2010-2012).
