Staff

Executive Director

An experienced community organizer, Sandy’s life and work reflect the rare capacity to bridge the divide between grassroots realities and global policies, between academic and activist, and between values and practice. Sandy is the Strategic Director of Huairou Commission and Global Facilitator of GROOTS International, a global network of grassroots women’s organizations. For over 20 years, Sandy has worked to enable grassroots women’s groups to replicate and mainstream their community development approaches and governance interventions. Her work with GROOTS International and the National Congress of Neighborhood Women has supported peer-to-peer learning exchanges and local, national, regional and global advocacy for grassroots women.

Director of Programs

Glenn Dolcemascolo assumed the key position of Director of Programs and brings twenty years of experience working on issues such as community-led development, environment and climate change. Glenn’s nine years with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, spanned the critical period in which the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Paris Climate Change Agreement and the 2030 Agenda were adopted. A founding member of the Global Community Practitioner’s Platform Advisory Board, he has collaborated with the Huairou Commission and developed a deep understanding of our work and organization. Glenn’s skills run the gamut from strategic guidance and high-level advocacy to managing a global education and training institute. As the Director of Programs, Glenn leads strategic development and implementation of global programs and advocacy.

Regional Coordinator – Africa & Global Land Specialist

A development economist by training, Mino is a rural development expert and activist from Madagascar. Prior to joining Huairou as Africa Regional Coordinator, she spent nine years working for national and civil society organizations as well as an international coalition. Mino draws from deep experience on issues as varied as microfinance, education, rural development and land, also with a national and regional advocacy focus. She has facilitated gender projects as Africa Regional Coordinator for the International Land Coalition, served as a national expert for UNESCO and other agencies, undertaken an independent consultancy with FAO to translate the Voluntary Guidelines on the Governance of Tenure into Malagasy, and has additionally supported the Malagasy Rural Women Federation (FVTM) in Madagascar. Mino is fluent in English and French, and is based out of Madagascar.

Regional Coordinator – Latin America

Veronica has more than 15 years of experience working on projects that defend women’s human rights. She has designed and participated in training processes for the empowerment and development of rural women in the areas of ​​gender issues and food security. Veronica has coordinated gender-focused social research teams with multidisciplinary focus on risks and disasters, food insecurity, and migration in the Central American region. She believes in the strength of the community to produces social change. Veronica identifies herself as an eco-feminist and pacifist. She thinks that human development is possible if people, especially women and girls, have the same opportunities, feel safe in their homes, have sufficient livelihoods, while their natural environments are protected. With that thought, she sees a great opportunity to contribute to creating a better world working for the Huairou Commission.

Senior Program Administrator & Strategist

For 20 years, Sri has worked in the fields of human settlements, gender equality and information technologies, and was formally trained in economics, political science and public administration. In 2012, she became the first CEO of Penang Women’s Development Corporation, established to engender public and private sector policies and programs, and work towards gender and social justice. Sri was the Program Manager of the United Nations Women’s Development Fund, now known as UN Women, in Aceh, Indonesia. She served as Program Officer for the Urban Governance Initiative (TUGI), where she facilitated the introduction of the Good Governance Report Card on Gender and Governance, as well as the Local-to-Local Dialogue that led to the inclusion of poor urban women and their communities in local governance processes. From 1993 to 1998, Sri was Program Officer at two United Nations Development Program regional projects. Sri is currently a member of the Advisory Group on Gender Issues of UN-Habitat and of the UNDP’s Local Governance and Local Development global working group.

Senior Advisor on Community Resilience

Suranjana Gupta is Huairou Commission’s Senior Advisor, Community Resilience based in India. She has been working for twenty years at the intersection of women’s empowerment and disaster and climate resilience. Over the years she has worked with the Secretariat and membership in Asia, Africa and LAC to bridge grassroots women’s practice to policy through strategic planning, policy advocacy, research and documentation and facilitation of peer exchanges  and partnership building.

Suranjana has been closely involved in the development of Huairou’s Community Resilience Fund and Community Practitioners Platform. Prior to working with Huairou, Suranjana worked for five years for Swayam Shikshan Prayog in India. She was also adjunct faculty at the New School University’s Graduate Program for International Affairs from 2002-2004. Suranjana has an M.Sc. in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and an M.A. in Sociology from the University of Mumbai.

Learning and Knowledge Management Specialist

Anwesha holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from Christ University, Bangalore and has over eight years of experience working with diverse and marginalised groups such as women, girls, farmers, youth and indigenous peoples in the areas of food security and climate resilient agriculture, skills and entrepreneurship development, and gender empowerment. Prior to joining the Huairou Commission, Anwesha was leading the Women-led Climate Resilient Farming program while working with Swayam Shikshan Prayog, India. Her main contribution has been to link women-led local actions to resolving global challenges of climate induced crises, such as food insecurity, loss of livelihoods, water scarcity and land degradation through program design, creating learning and impact measurement frameworks, action research and advocacy and partnership building. As a Learning and Knowledge Management Specialist, Anwesha provides support to organise grassroots learning and to co-create evidence-base for informed decision making.

Capacity Building Specialist

Ratna Mathur has been associated with the Huairou Commission since February 2024. She has worked as a development professional for more than two decades. Ratna has grant-making experience in senior leadership positions in non-profit organisations, international NGOs, and philanthropies in India, developing and implementing multi-faceted projects for inclusion and capacity building of children, adolescents and women from marginalized communities. Ratna is skilled in management, facilitating collaborative approaches, and training on women’s leadership and social inclusion. At the Huairou Commission, she presently supports the Climate Resilience Partnership and the Green Accountability programs in Asia and other regions, working closely with member organisations. 

Knowledge Management Associate

Shraddha Pandya is a development professional with expertise in women’s empowerment and community resilience. She holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from Nirmala Niketan College of Social Work, Mumbai University. Before joining the Huairou Commission, Shraddha served as a Researcher and Program Associate at the People’s Science Institute in India. At the Huairou Commission, she supports communications, knowledge management, grants management, and the governance processes of the member-elected Governing Council and committees.