Speakers, Panelists, Facilitators

Akalya V

Born in Tamil Nadu, Akalya V was a law student who stumbled upon Civis on Instagram and joined as an Associate in the Communications and Outreach vertical. Inspired by Ambedkar, Periyar, and others, she believes in a constant process of learning, unlearning, and relearning. She works at the intersection of law, design, and communication, focusing on simplifying complex laws, building awareness around public consultations, and encouraging citizen participation in lawmaking, with the aim of contributing to a more inclusive society

Alaksha Dhakite

Alaksha is an engineer turned public policy professional, currently working as an Associate, Partnerships at Civis. She holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Policy, Design and Management from the Indian School of Public Policy (ISPP). Her experience at TCS and her journey through civil services preparation sparked a deep interest in inclusive and participatory policymaking. With a keen interest in the sectors of sports, urbanisation, and environment, she aspires to contribute to policies that create sustainable and equitable impact. A former state-level badminton player from Maharashtra, Alaksha brings discipline, curiosity, and a collaborative spirit to her work

Charu Govindan

From Code to Constitution!

Once navigating global IT systems, Charu Govindan now works to strengthen democracy at the grassroots. The 2015 Chennai floods marked a defining moment, prompting her shift from professional life to active citizenship. In early 2017, she co-founded Voice of People and currently serves as its Founder-Member and Convenor – a non-partisan, non-funded, voluntary civil society organisation committed to deepening people-participatory democracy.Voice of People brings together citizens from diverse walks of life to enable meaningful participation in urban local governance, civic education, legislative awareness, and gender justice. The collective actively engages with government systems, contributes policy inputs, undertakes data-based advocacy, and builds solidarities across civil society. It also leads public awareness campaigns and supports broader causes including anti-corruption, climate action, education reform, and constitutional literacy – placing informed, non-partisan citizens back at the centre of governance and making democracy a lived, everyday practice

Prashanth Goutham

Prashanth Goutham R is a civic technology and transparency advocate with strong expertise in operations leadership and public-focused initiatives. Professionally, he has led strategic and large-scale operations in technology-driven environments, including his role as Director – TAC & SaaS Operations at AppViewX, Chennai, where he has been instrumental in driving scalable systems, operational excellence, and customer-centric delivery. Alongside his corporate leadership, Prashanth is an active contributor to Arappor Iyakkam, a Chennai-based civic organization committed to promoting transparency, combating corruption, and empowering citizens through the effective use of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Arappor Iyakkam works extensively through RTI interventions, public advocacy, and community engagement to strengthen accountability in governance across Tamil Nadu. The organization has played a key role in exposing corruption and irregularities in government tenders, public health systems, and educational institutions; highlighting encroachments on water bodies; campaigning against cash-for-votes practices; and advocating for transparent governance through initiatives such as the Anti-Corruption Manifesto for political parties and also ensuring the downtrodden are treated with dignity by campaigning for better amenities and shelter to the residents of TNUHDB settlements and working to get pattas and build homes for the tribal families

Sukirat Kaur

Sukirat is a lawyer and policy enthusiast, currently working as a Consultation Fellow at Civis. She has previously interned at a government think tank, gaining practical exposure to policy research and institutional processes.
Having grown up relocating across different parts of the country, she brings a broad, nuanced perspective shaped by diverse cultural experiences. Alongside her professional interests, she is passionate about photography, using it to capture moments that resonate with her. She is driven by a desire to contribute to meaningful change, believing that small, consistent efforts can lead to larger impact

Tikendar Panwar

Tikender was the directly elected deputy Mayor of Shimla city. The city saw many initiatives under his leadership. The city developed HVRA, CRI, CMP, CSP, Smart city plan, and many such plans under his active participation with a strong element of peoples’ participation.

Tikender is also author of four books on urbanization -‘Cities in Transition’; ‘ The Radical City’; ‘On City Governance’; ‘The Crisis of Urbanisation’. He is a regular contributor to a few national dailies on issues of urbanization, sustainable development, tourism, and Himalayan eco system.

Tikender was also a member of the national task force in the country to review the 74th constitutional which speaks about decentralised governance.

Vachana

Vachana anchors policy and engagement on land, planning, and urban design within the broader context of urban governance at Jana Urban Space Foundation and Janaagraha. Her work spans urban policy research, thought leadership, and systemic policy engagements.

She headed the Municipal Law and Policy Programme at Janaagraha, where she anchored the Annual Survey of India’s City-Systems (ASICS), India’s flagship report on urban governance, and its associated reform engagements with state and city governments. She also seeded the City Leaders Programme to strengthen the leadership of women councillors.

She has led collaborations with institutions such as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India and the Principal Accountant General – Karnataka, and has designed the audit matrix for India’s first-ever performance audit of the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act. This work was scaled across 18 states and synthesized into a national Compendium.  She has also engaged in projects with the XV Finance Commission, NITI Aayog, the Chief Economic Advisor’s office, the Second Administrative Reforms Commission of Karnataka, the CITIIS 2.0 Consortium under the Smart Cities Mission, and legislators such as Dr. Shashi Tharoor, among others. She also teaches, trains, writes, and speaks regularly on urban governance. She holds a Master’s in Development (specializing in Public Policy) from Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, and a Certificate in Policy and Leadership Development from the Moller Institute, University of Cambridge. In 2021, she represented India in the British Council’s Future Leaders Connect program

Venika

Venika Menon is the Manager for Civic Policy and Partnerships at Young Leaders for Active Citizenship (YLAC), where she leads the organisation’s climate portfolio focused on participatory governance, youth-led advocacy, and local climate action in Indian cities. Her work focuses on bridging community insights, civic participation, and policy engagement in Indian cities. She currently also serves on the Steering Committee of the Clean Mobility Collective, a global consortium advancing equitable low-carbon transport (funded by UMIF), and as a technical resource member for the National Youth Climate Consortium supported by UNICEF YuWaah.Venika previously worked across New York, Ghana, and India in roles spanning fundraising, international development, and education, and is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College

Sarathkumar

G. Sarathkumar is an Engineer and a Practising Advocate who founded Vyasai Thozhargal and Dr. Ambedkar Pagutharivu Padasalai with the contribution of youngsters in Vadachennai area for the upliftment of marginalised people to eradicate all forms of discrimination and build an equal society.

Kayalvizhi Jayakumar

A nurse-turned-politician, J Kayalvizhi is the Councillor of Ward 179 in Chennai. She studied nursing at Christian Medical College in Vellore and worked with an MNC in Saudi Arabia, until 2006. After her return in 2006, she decided to take up social service to help people in need, especially in the field of education and health

Poornima Jayaraj

Poornima is an architect and environmental planner with over 17 years of experience spanning academics, research and industrial practice. Her work focuses on energy, environment, and climate-related initiatives, with a strong emphasis on the intersections of urban development, environmental sustainability, and community well-being.

Currently working as a Senior Researcher in environment and climate action, she undertakes policy-driven and applied research to inform decision-making and practice. Her expertise includes primary research, environmental impact assessments, stakeholder engagement, evidence-based analysis, and the development of implementation-oriented policy recommendations. Through an integrated approach combining design thinking and research, she contributes to sustainable, equitable, and people-centred development initiatives.

She holds a Doctorate in Environmental Planning from the School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal.

Pratiksha Deolekar

Pratiksha holds a degree in Political Science from St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Mumbai, and a master’s in the same field from Mumbai University. She began her career as an educator before transitioning to Praja to follow her passion for public policy, governance, and social impact. Currently, she serves as a Program Manager in the Strategic Partnerships team at Praja, where she leads urban reform & capacity building initiatives across the North East and Southern States of India.

Kayalvizhi Jayakumar

A nurse-turned-politician, J Kayalvizhi is the Councillor of Ward 179 in Chennai. She studied nursing at Christian Medical College in Vellore and worked with an MNC in Saudi Arabia, until 2006. After her return in 2006, she decided to take up social service to help people in need, especially in the field of education and health.

Subham Chattopadhyay

Subham Chattopadhyay is a decade old product manager who works on how public systems show up in people’s everyday lives. He has helped design and guide digital platforms used by millions across India and other emerging markets, supporting essential services, grievance redressal, and ways for citizens to be heard. His work is driven by a simple question: how can systems built for scale still feel accessible, inclusive, and worthy of trust?

Akash Upase

Akash moves between seemingly contradictory worlds of technology and human centred social change. Over the years, he has cultivated spaces where youth leadership flourishes and hope takes root in civic action. Through his leadership of the Civic Engagement vertical at Blue Ribbon Movement, Akash has worked alongside 1,500+ young people in reimagining active citizenship, social consciousness in urban India. Currently, he leads the WISE city initiative to weave urban initiative to create a city wide systemic response. His north star remains constant: cultivating care within citizens and constructively engaging all stakeholders while having good coffee.

Devi Priya

Devi Priya R is a social worker currently working as a Project Coordinator at the Arunodhaya Centre for Street and Working Children. Her work focuses on children in need of care and protection, child welfare, and community-based interventions. She has worked closely with street and working children and has field experience with child protection systems through institutions such as the District Child Protection Unit, Rakshna Child Guidance Centre, and child care institutions under Mission Vatsalya. Her academic background in social work and counselling informs her engagement with issues related to children, families, and vulnerable communities.

Selvi

S. Selvi has been working in the field of social work for the past 26 years. She began her career as a teacher in a non-formal education centre, where she helped enrol more than 300 children into schools. As an organiser, she conducted several awareness programmes and later worked as a coordinator, contributing to various projects. She also served as a Project Officer in a child protection project. She has provided counselling to adolescents and guided them towards a positive path.

Currently, she is working as a Thematic Facilitator in the Child Participation Project, with the objective of ensuring children’s rights and participation in society.

Dr. Palanivel Thiaga Rajan

Dr Palanivel Thiaga Rajan serves as the Minister for Information Technology & Digital Services. Earlier he served as the Minister for Finance & Human Resources Management in the Government of Tamil Nadu, India. During his stint as Finance Minister, he was nominated as a GST Council Member to represent the Government of Tamil Nadu. He was also a member of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on (1) System Reforms (standing committee) & (2) Casinos, Race Courses and Online Gaming.

He is the MLA for Madurai Central Constituency in the 15th (2016-‘21) & 16th(2021-‘26) Legislative Assemblies of Tamil Nadu. Earlier in 2016, he was elected as an MLA on a DMK ticket on his Maiden attempt. He served on the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (’16-’20) and he was an Executive Committee Member of the Tamil Nadu Chapter of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

Dr Rajan previously worked as an International Investment Banker at Lehman Brothers and Standard Chartered Bank – where he last served as Senior Managing Director, Financial Markets overseeing the sales of several fixed-income products globally. Before banking, his career spanned Academia, Agriculture, Consulting, Manufacturing, and Research. Dr Rajan earned a B. Tech (Hons.) in Chemical Engineering from NIT, Trichy, MS (Operations Research) and Ph. D. (Human Factors Engineering / Engineering Psychology) from the State University of New York, and an MBA (Finance) from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

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