Core Team

Alias is a senior executive with over 16 years of experience in energy infrastructure planning and regional energy and water policy advisory. He founded Onai Climate Change, an Afghan organization focused on climate diplomacy and education, and has been a lecturer at the University of Siegen in Germany since 2019. He holds a degree in Civil Engineering from Bochum University in Germany and a Master’s in Energy Management from the University of Liverpool in the UK. Mr. Wardak is fluent in Dari/Farsi, Pashto, German, and English.

From 2020 to 2022, Alias served as Team Leader for the CASA-1000 Secretariat, overseeing the Afghan portion of this inter-regional project between Central and South Asia. He was previously the Senior Policy Advisor to Afghanistan’s Minister of Finance on energy and regional cooperation until August 2018. He spent seven years as the Managing Director of a German consulting firm in Afghanistan, leading major energy projects. Alias participated in the “Regional Green Dialogue,” supported by Heinrich-Böll Stiftung (HBS), to foster equitable resource management between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and has been a core member of the Regional Energy Transition Platform for South Asia since 2018.

He is the author of two books on life-cycle assessment and water cooperation in the Kabul River Basin. He has published articles on climate change, energy transition, and regional cooperation in South and Central Asia.

Mr. Sohel Ahmed is also a part-time Faculty, American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB) Founding Director, DevPro Partners. He also served as the Managing Director of Grameen Shakti. His expertise lies in the field of Renewable Energy, having experience of modelling and managing solar portfolios that includes Solar Home System, Solar Irrigation System, Solar Drinking Water, Solar Mini-Grid and so on.

Kashfia Zaman is a dedicated energy and climate professional with extensive experience in project development, research, and strategic planning. As an Assistant Manager at Grameen Shakti, she leads innovative initiatives in renewable energy, electric mobility, and capacity-building programs, focusing on sustainable solutions for Bangladesh’s clean energy transition. She has played a key role in projects supported by USAID, the World Bank, and other global organizations, optimizing solar irrigation systems, advancing EV infrastructure, and empowering women in the renewable energy sector. Kashfia is also an accomplished writer, contributing insightful analyses on energy policies and climate solutions. With a background in economics and hands-on involvement in policy discussions, grant writing, and stakeholder engagement, she is committed to accelerating sustainable energy adoption and driving impactful change in climate resilience.

Dr. Lam Dorji is an expert in the field of Environment and Natural Resource Management. He has a doctoral degree in the field of natural resource management with research experiences and interests in, political economy, and the role of governance and institutional arrangements in management of common pool resources (CPRs). He is the founder and principal consultant with the Centre for Environment and Development (CED), a Thimphu based Research and Consulting Firm. Apart from his consulting work, he serves as a member of the National Environment Commission of Bhutan. Earlier, he served as the Executive Director of the Royal Society for Protection of Nature.

Ms Mekhala Sastry is a climate policy researcher specializing in sub-state climate action, people-centric approaches to energy transitions, along with experience in international climate diplomacy and negotiations. Her research is focused on bridging policy research, implementation support, and public engagement, focusing on designing data-driven, locally relevant climate interventions that align with national and global climate goals.

Ms. Mekhala Sastry’s experience at Vasudha Foundation spans sub-state climate action, regional cooperation on energy transition, people centric approaches to energy transition and international climate negotiations. She has contributed to initiatives ranging from climate-smart planning at the village level to regional energy transition tracking, and promoting multi-stakeholder collaboration to ensure equitable and inclusive outcomes. She currently leads the work on tracking the progress of energy transitions in the South Asian region (Energy Transition Platform South Asia), analyzing energy trends, and enhancing the dialogue on energy transition in the region.

Sambaddha Pradhan is a renewable energy leader with over a decade of expertise in solar power, e-mobility, and private sector mobilization. As the Solar Energy Specialist for the UK-funded Nepal Renewable Energy Programme, he has been instrumental in exponentially scaling solar deployment from 125 kWp to over 22 MW and establishing a national network of 100+ EV charging stations. His core expertise lies in authenticating the technical and financial viability of multi-million dollar energy projects, developing bankable financial models, and providing strategic counsel to government bodies and financial institutions to accelerate the energy transition.

Dr. Ejaz Ahmad, Executive Director of the Institute of Urbanism, Islamabad. Before joining IoU, Dr. Ejaz Ahmad remained associated with WWF – Pakistan as Deputy Director General and Chief Technical Advisor for more than two decades. He also worked for USAID on a Food Security Management Project for approximately six years. He holds a PhD degree in Natural Resource Management from Colorado State University, USA and is the author/co-author of more than seventy publications related to the environment and biodiversity.

Jayantha Gunasekera is a renewable energy enthusiast, has been in the sector for more than 20 years. He has engaged in promoting off-grid and renewable-based rural electrification systems, building the capacity of stakeholders, conducting action and policy research, and co-authoring a publication on the same subject. In the same manner, he has been active in climate change adaptation and mitigation actions. He holds a BSc in Engineering and an MBA from the University of Southern Queensland, Australia.

Afghanistan

Mr. Alias Warda

ONAI Climate Change Studies Organization

Bangladesh

Mr. Sohel Ahmed

Chief Executive, WePOWER, BNC (a forum of World Bank)

Ms Kashfia Zaman

Assistant Manager, Project Development, Grameen Shakti

Ms Nahid Khater

Grameen Shakti

Bhutan

Mr. Lam Dorji

Centre for Environment and Development

India

Srinivas Krishnaswamy

CEO, Vasudha Foundation

Raman Mehta

Programme Director, Vasudha Foundation

Mekhala Sastry

Manager- Climate Team, Vasudha Foundation

Maldives

Mr Imad Mohemed

Nepal

Mr. Sambaddha Pradhan

Practical Action

Mr. Prakash Lama

Clean Energy

Pakistan

Dr. Ejaz Ahmad

Executive Director of the Institute of Urbanism

Mr Muhammad Haris

Sri Lanka

Mr. Jayantha Gunasekera

Janathakshan

Overall Guidance