Past World Fellows

Nandita is an award-winning Indian film actor and director who has leveraged her international profile to campaign on social issues concerning women, children and marginalized communities. She was the first Indian to be inducted into the International Women’s Forum Hall of Fame for her contributions to the arts. Firaaq, Nandita’s directorial debut feature film, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2008 and has traveled to over 50 festivals and won more than 20 awards. She was a member of the main jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005 and 2013 and the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2007. In 2008, she received the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres award from the French government. In 2013, she supported the Dark is Beautiful campaign: an effort to draw attention to the unjust effects of skin color bias in India and previously served as Chairperson of the Children’s Film Society in India, working to further its vision of producing and distributing high quality films for children. Prior to launching her film career, Nandita earned her Masters in Social Work from University of Delhi and worked with several NGOs. She writes a monthly column for The Week magazine in India and has just completed work as an actor in a Spanish film, shot in Mumbai and Barcelona with an all-female crew.

Sen is a managing editor at The Economist Group in London, where he leads research and analysis on a range of issues influencing public policy, economic development and business across the world. Previously, he was an editor at Bloomberg. Sen has also worked as a journalist in Asia and headed the international operations of one of India’s leading media organizations. He is a trustee on the boards of two British charities active in the education and arts sectors.

Co-founder and Managing Director, Quicksand Chauhan heads up a multi-disciplinary design and innovation consultancy working at the intersection of business, development, and culture. He is also a Partner at the Box Collective, where he conceptualized and launched UnBox, the first interdisciplinary festival in Delhi bringing together leading voices from across the world for inspiration, debate and reflection.

Ruchi Yadav (India) 
Senior Program Officer, The Hunger Project 
With a background in advertising, human rights, and the women’s movement in India, Yadav’s focus is to empower elected women representatives at the grassroots level as key change agents in local institutions of government across seven states in India.

CEO, Naandi Community Water Services
As CEO of the largest operator of community water systems in India, Adrien Couton is applying entrepreneurial solutions to water challenges. He previously managed the Acumen Fund’s global water and agriculture portfolios.