Rose Mensah Kutin
Director – Abantu for Development, Ghana
Dr. Rose Mensah-Kutin is the Director of the Accra-based West African Regional Office of ABANTU for Development, a women’s rights organisation promoting gender responsiveness in policies in Ghana and Africa. She served as the Convenor of the Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT) in 2005-2009 and provided leadership for the development of the Women’s Manifesto for Ghana (2004).
Dr. Mensah-Kutin holds a PhD in Gender and Energy Studies and a MA in Development Studies.
Venkata Ramana Putti
Program Manager – Climate and Carbon Finance unit, the World Bank, USA
Dr. Venkata Ramana Putti is the Program Manager of the Climate and Carbon Finance unit at the World Bank. His previous positions at the World Bank Group include leadership of the Energy Access portfolio at the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), and the Carbon Finance Assist program. Before the World Bank, he held senior executive positions at UNDP/GEF, Winrock International and TERI, managing national/global clean energy and environment program portfolios. Dr. Putti has authored and edited over 80 publications including books, peer-reviewed articles and technical reports. He holds degrees in civil engineering and business management and a Ph.D. in energy studies.
Thiyagarajan Velumail
Managing Director and Principal Consultant, EnergyPlus Sustainability Consulting
Rajan Velumail has over 22 years of experience in the energy and sustainable development space, with a broad range of experience in energy, climate change, sustainable development policy and planning, energy access for poverty reduction and development, renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions for sustainability, and gender mainstreaming and women’s economic empowerment. Rajan has been an advisor to government agencies, multilateral institutions and non-governmental organisations worldwide, among which the UNDP and the Malaysian Ministry of Energy, Communications & Multimedia. Rajan holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science, together with advanced diplomas in Public Administration, Industrial Engineering and Education.
Sécou Sarr
Director – ENDA ENERGIE, Senegal
Sécou Sarr is a senior Energy and climate change specialist with over 20 years experience in sustainable Energy and development planning; African rural electrification, SME clean energy specialist, Energy Policy analysis, clean technology transfer.
Elizabeth Cecelski
ENERGIA Founder Member
Elizabeth Cecelski has worked for more than twenty-five years in research and practice on challenges of energy access in developing countries, specializing in energy, poverty and gender issues, especially in household energy, electrification and rural development.
Priyanthi Fernando
Director – Centre for poverty analysis
Priyanthi Fernando has begun working on women’s human rights after too long in the development sector. Starting as a junior researcher, and leading organisations and networks working on technology and poverty issues, she is now the Executive Director of the International Women’s Rights Action Watch, Asia Pacific, based in Kuala Lumpur. Priyanthi is passionate about issues of justice and about fighting structural inequalities – especially inequalities relating to gender.