Staff
Samit Aich
Chief Executive Officer
Samit Aich
Samit P Aich is the CEO of the Small Scale Sustainable Infrastructure Development Fund (www.s3idf.org), since early 2016. He has over 25 years of extensive experience in international development, management advisory consulting and also in the corporate sector. His earlier corporate work was associated with Indian multinational conglomerates like the Tata Group, Arvind Mills and Sify Technologies.
Prior to joining S3IDF, Samit spent more than 10 years with Greenpeace India, including about 8 years as its Executive Director and was instrumental in making the organization not just financially self-reliant but also a prominent environmental campaigning player in the country. He was a key member of Greenpeace International’s Global Leadership Team (GLT) in Amsterdam, the highest-level strategic body within Greenpeace worldwide. He also sat on the International Steering Committee of the Global Initiative on Fiscal Transparency, hosted by the International Budget Partnership, Washington, DC.
Samit sits on advisory boards of select non-profits and is also a member on the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) subcommittee on CSR and Affirmative Action. Earlier, he had been a regular invitee for four consecutive years to the Indian Union Finance Ministers’ Pre-Budget Consultations at New Delhi as a social sector expert to input into country-level budgets. He has also been invited and deposed in front of Indian Parliamentary Standing Committees of the 15th Lok Sabha, on Energy and Agriculture matters. He is and has been a prominent speaker, panellist, observer and moderator on various high level national and international fora including at the United Nations COP 11-Convention on Biological Diversity (UNFCCC-CBD-COP), Social Capital Markets (SOCAP), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and many others. He has been widely interviewed on national and international media, including BBC London, NDTV, India Today TV, German TV network DW, Financial Times New York and several other prominent media houses.
His personal pursuits include practicing the ancient meditation technique-Vipassana, exploring a myriad of interests including Buddhist philosophy, world history, environmentalism, development economics, campaigning and cookery. He is a professionally certified baker, and an amateur collector of vintage mechanical watches, clocks and fountain pens. Samit is a sporadic blogger on contemporary socio-economic issues ranging from entrepreneurship, developmental issues, livelihoods and non-profit governance. He is associated with several prominent business schools as guest faculty and conducts professional coaching and strategic advisory interventions at the senior management level.
Samit has several post-graduate qualifications – he has an M.Sc. in Environmental Sciences and also an MBA in Marketing. In addition, he has studied Strategic Management at the Harvard Business School in Massachusetts, US.
Patrick D’Addario
Senior Financial Analyst
Patrick D’Addario
Patrick has over 35 years of experience in the development, finance, execution, management, and evaluation of climate change mitigation, environment and resource efficiency, and climate change adaptation proposals, projects, and programs. He has worked as an executive for and consultant to government, private sector, and non-governmental organizations. Patrick has field experience in more than 20 countries, beginning with his presidency of the International Fund for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, through numerous projects supported by the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) and myriad assignments as President of the LaGuardia Foundation. His recent work for Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Institute for Industrial Productivity has focused specifically on facilitating finance to scale-up industrial energy efficiency projects. Patrick holds a Master of Public Affairs from Princeton University and a Bachelor of Arts from St. John’s University.
Gopal B.
Assistant Manager – Finance & Compliance
Gopal B.
Gopal has worked in financial and accounting capacities for close to 20 years within the international development and nonprofit sectors. His professional capabilities include monitoring company funds, managing organization accounts and creating and disseminating financial reports. Gopal has extensive non-governmental sector experience with organizations such as the Rastriya Madhyamika Shiksha Abhiyana (RMSA), the Karnataka State Project Office, and the Public Affairs Center. Prior to joining S3IDF, Gopal was the Regional Finance Officer for RMSA, funded by the DFID, with a wide range of fiscal responsibilities integral to organizational accounting and administration. Gopal holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Gulbarga University and speaks English, Hindi and Kannada.
Russell deLucia
Innovation Director and Principal Founder
Russell deLucia
Russell J. deLucia has nearly 50 years of experience in the areas of development finance, infrastructure development, and natural resource allocation. He has worked with bilateral and multilateral development institutions, including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and International Finance Corporation (IFC) in a variety of roles, such as team leader or specialist expert. Previously, Russell founded and managed a consulting firm, deLucia and Associates, which advised development institutions, governments, private firms, NGOs, and others on policy, project design, and implementation. He wrote The Energy Dimensions of Poverty for the first IFAD World Poverty Study and served as an Editorial Advisor for Natural Resources Forum, writing several articles for the Special Issue on “Small-Scale Natural Resources and Related Infrastructure Development.” Russell holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Engineering from Harvard University and a B.S. in Engineering from Manhattan College.
Lexi Doolittle
Social Enterprise Manager
Lexi Doolittle
Lexi has worked in the social development sector for close to a decade, exploring and addressing a range of community challenges with a focus on programmatic efficacy and market-based solutions to poverty alleviation. Her most recent work with S3IDF has centered on micro/small-scale entrepreneur support in India, and clean energy enterprise financing in Central America, the Caribbean, Cambodia and Myanmar. Lexi brings to S3IDF her prior experiences in evaluating the qualities of sustainable at-risk youth organizations across Brazil, South Africa and Vietnam, assessing the influence of aid on economic development in Palestine, and her work as the Teen Education Coordinator for the Jordan Boys & Girls Club in Chelsea, MA. Lexi is an active spokeswoman for S3IDF, presenting at numerous conferences and publishing articles on various platforms. Lexi holds a B.A. from the University of Richmond with a double major in Global Studies and Arabic, and is pursuing Graduate Certificates from Northeastern University in Nonprofit Sector, Philanthropy & Social Change, and Technological Entrepreneurship.
Elizabeth Friend
Managing Director
Elizabeth Friend
Elizabeth has over a decade of nonprofit management and international development experience planning, implementing, and evaluating market-based solutions to poverty. She brings a range of experience from on-the-ground field data collection and analysis to hands-on small business development to organizational strategic planning. Prior to her work with S3IDF, Elizabeth served as International Director of Village Forward where she managed international programming and played a central role in developing operational capacity and enterprise expansion strategies. Elizabeth has presented at numerous conferences and forums on energy poverty and small-scale enterprise financing and development. Elizabeth is currently pursuing a M.S. Finance from Northeastern University and she holds a M.A. in Sustainable International Development from Brandeis University as well as a B.A. in Leadership Studies from the University of Richmond.
Kavin Gokul
Project Development Officer
Kavin Gokul
Kavin has hands-on experience working as a Consultant on Sanitation and Waste management under flagship Swachh Bharat Mission’s Young professional anchored by TATA Trust and Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation in Salem District of Tamil Nadu. He has expertise in building relationships with various stakeholders within government agency and civil society organizations and corporates. Over the year, he also considerable practical know-how at leading a group in achieving targets, Capacity building, planning, and execution of large scale campaigns. He has completed a Master’s degree in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Science, Mumbai.
Will Knowland
Senior Energy and Environment Analyst
Will Knowland
Will has four decades of professional experience in energy, environment, and development assessment, policy, practice, and capacity building, including 35 years focused on developing countries. Initially trained in ecology and active in organizing the first Earth Day celebrations in 1970; Will began working on energy and environment challenges with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in the mid-1970s. He has assisted USAID, foundations, multilateral banks, several Asian governments, and a number of Asian and international companies to pioneer innovative and successful environmental management policies and practices. His experience includes design, implementation, and evaluation of projects and programs in environmental assessment, resource valuation and planning, creating and strengthening institutions for energy and environmental management, creating collaborative public-private partnerships, and environmental governance systems from local to international levels. Will holds an MA of International Relations from John Hopkins University and a BA in Environmental Studies from Antioch College.
Avinash Krishnamurthy
Chief Program Officer
Avinash Krishnamurthy
Avinash has extensive experience in the water, energy, solid waste management, and small infrastructure sectors and in project conceptualization, design and implementation. In addition to his role at S3IDF, he serves as Director and Project Leader of Biome Environmental Solutions Pvt. Ltd., a consultancy he cofounded to provide sustainable land use practice and development solutions in urban and rural contexts. Avinash has worked in the information technology sector with Infosys Technologies Limited where he managed international client relationships and led teams. Avinash speaks English, French, Hindi, and Kannada, and holds a B.Engineering from the University of Mysore with a specialization in hydro-energy.
Michael Lesser
Finance Director and Senior Economist
Michael Lesser
Michael Lesser, an economist, has over thirty years of experience in infrastructure development and natural resources management in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. He has consulted for international, national and local agencies as well as private clients. His extensive energy sector work has covered all conventional and renewable energy sources and related environmental issues, including rural electrification, pricing/tariffs studies, and system planning and regulation. He has also worked on drinking water and sanitation issues, as well as in forestry and agriculture. He holds a B.S. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Emma Marks
Program Coordinator
Emma Marks
Emma has experience working in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors. Before coming to S3IDF, she worked in marketing for a Boston-based Agtech startup. She also has experience in community development and teaching ESL. She coordinated and oversaw programming for an intercollegiate student group in Worcester, MA aimed to increase students’ positive perception of the city and collaborated to plan capacity-building events, including an annual community think tank and an international mural festival. She has written about issues in food security and sustainable consumption for FoodTank, an online publication pushing for food system change. Emma holds a B.A. in International Development and Social Change from Clark University where she designed a concentration in Environmental Protection and Food Systems and is currently pursuing a dual M.A. in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development at American University’s School of International Service and the UN University for Peace.
Rohinee Ram Shashidhar
Storyteller
Rohinee Ram Shashidhar
Rohinee has around 8 years of experience in communication. She holds a Master degree in Media and Advertising from Wellingkar University, Mumbai. She has handled the communication, content, strategized PR plans and campaigns for various clientele during her stint with public relations agency. Post her agency days, she setup a boutique communication firm, where holistic communication services were offered exclusively to the startups. The true calling to work in social sector came in the form of The Akshaya Para Foundation, where she worked as Communication Manager, handling media relations, government relations, strategizing IPs and managing the crisis communication. Before joining S3IDF, Rohinee worked with Consulate General of Israel to South India as Public Diplomacy Officer.
Earl Stephens
Business Operations Manager
Earl Stephens
Earl has over 15 years of administrative experience working in the public and private sectors. He has worked on teams addressing office concerns for companies such as Google, Intersystems, and Lois Paul & Partners. He has been a technical director, personal assistant, facilities team lead, a business development researcher, IT troubleshooter, vendor manager, and a general jack of all trades. Most recently he was Business Manager/Executive Assistant for Vell Executive Search. He joins our team with a great desire to help people find success in their goals and to achieve their dreams. Earl received a BA in Theater in 2002 from Alfred University where he focused on technical theater and scenic design.
Shashikanth Subramanya
Assistant Manager Project Innovation
Shashikanth Subramanya
Shashikanth carries the passion to work in the development space since his exposure to the tribals inside the Kali Tiger Reserve, 8 years back. While he was working with an Industrial Hydraulics company doing Sales and business development, he and a team of volunteers helped construct toilets for tribals in the Kali Tiger Reserve and physically challenged villagers of Chamarajanagar in Karnataka. He later quit his job to stay with the tribals of the Deccapuram village inside Borra Reserve Forest for 6 months, working to report their livelihood challenges to then Andhra Pradesh government during 2015. This and other travels during the time, helped him to realise that farmers (both rural and tribal) in the country are going through tough times and they need infrastructural and capital support to do better agriculture. For which he put a team together to start Directsubzi, an agri-tech start-up, prior to joining S3IDF. To have spent the last 4 years focussed on working with the farmers at the grass roots level and in the rural space across India, he realises the importance of innovation in this particular space. He believes that as a part of the Project Innovations team at S3IDF, his work can be the necessary game changer.
Board of Directors
US Board of Directors
Robin Brenner
Board Member and Clerk
Robin Brenner
Russell deLucia
Board Member and President
Russell deLucia
Somak Ghosh
Board Member
Somak Ghosh
Michael Lesser
Board Member and Treasurer
Michael Lesser
Marco Palmieri
Board Member
Marco Palmieri
Scott Sklar
Board Member
Scott Sklar
India Board of Directors
Veena Joshi
Director
Veena Joshi
Somak Ghosh
Board Chair
Somak Ghosh
Dr. B Gangaiah
Board Member
Dr. B Gangaiah
Advisors
Andrew Barnett
Advisor
Andrew Barnett
Nikhil Desai
Advisor
Nikhil Desai
Interested in Joining Our Team?
Visit our careers page to view open potions and internship opportunities.
