Meet Our Team
Dr. V Ramakantha
Dr. V Ramakantha was a member of the Indian Forest Service and has superannuated as the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests. He is an academician, author and internationally acclaimed wildlife photographer. He has had the experience of managing a few of the ecologically important, species-rich ecosystems of India. Post his superannuation, he moved to Kanha Shanti Vanam and as a key member of the greening team he now holds the position of Director, Forests by Heartfulness.
He specializes in both ex-situ and in-situ conservation of red-listed species and has successfully created a swathe of rain-forest in the inhospitable soil conditions and dry / torrid climate of Ranga Reddy District of Telangana.
Sangeeth Parvatam
Sangeeth Parvatam works as a Product Manager in the energy sector and is associated with exploring Nature-Based Solutions as a viable option for achieving Net Zero carbon emissions, both for corporates and countries alike. He strongly believes and advocates that climate change abatement is an opportunity to build a just and equitable society involving grassroots communities. He leads the Forests By Heartfulness initiative as the program manager helping with strategy, industry outreach, and leading collaborative efforts with other NGO partners.
Saravanan
Saravanan is the Master Gardener of Kanha Shanti Vanam, the Global Meditation Center for Heartfulness Institute. He is among the key persons responsible for transforming the once barren land into a green oasis with rich bio-diversity with over 50,000 standing trees and over 2 lakh planted saplings. He comes with decades of nursery management experience and is a tremendous entrepreneur himself. He is the proprietor of landscaping, and design company and of a prominent nursery in Tamilnadu and sits on the board of directors of Heartyculture Products company.
Dr. Ananya S Rao
Dr. Ananya S Rao has a Ph.D. from the Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. She has had the privilege of working with pioneers of climate change research in India and has studied the carbon in soil and biomass in India. Currently working as a consultant with UNESCO MGIEP, she has been a part of the ex-situ conservation project at Kanha Shantivanam, Hyderabad and is a Senior Scientist at Forest by Heartfulness.
Dr Sairam Reddy Palicherla:
Dr. Sairam Reddy Palicherla is a plant biotechnologist and entrepreneur. For over 30 years, he has been conducting his research in the areas of sustainable agriculture and tree conservation, and made significant contribution
Dr Ashok Saxena
Dr. Ashok Saxena was the Chairman of Gujarat Biodiversity Board, Gandhinagar and has superannuated as the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests of Indian Forest Service. He has directly supervised afforestation and extension activities in over 4000 Villages of Gujarat, India. He is among the chief advisors for FBH in the areas of legal, governance and long term strategy.
Vishwas Subramanyam
Vishwas Subramanyam helps with fundraising and partnerships at Heartfulness Institute, has helped foster key partnerships between #ForestsByHeartfulness and various corporations and non-profits. He also contributes to partnership building for Heartfulness Institute outside of the #ForestsByHeartfulness initiative, connecting with corporations, nonprofits, and significant public figures to introduce the Heartfulness initiatives.
Vishwas is currently a Management Consultant with several years of consulting experience, having previously worked at Deloitte and Altimetrik.
Ms Nitya Reddy Beravol
A fashion designer by profession, she worked in one of India’s top fashion design firms and eventually had her own bridal couture line. In 2017, she found her true calling in environment - starting the ‘Each one,Teach one, to Plant one’ campaign. Now an environmental enthusiast, dedicating her full time to both her passions - teaching meditation and working with environment. Her vision is to see model communities across the world, where humans and nature co-exist in harmony. She now heads the Global Sustainability initiatives of Heartfulness across 160 countries
Jeyabala
Jeyabala leads various tree planting initiatives across all Heartfulness meditation centers in India. He is instrumental in setting up nationwide network of 18 nurseries for plantation activities of Forests By Heartfulness. He brings to table deep handson experience on entire lifecycle of tree plantation from species selection to production of seedlings to plantation and maintenance. He has been a Heartfulness meditation practitioner for the last 15 years and is the founding member of Forests By Heartfulness initiative.