Board of Members
Dr Himansu Sekhar Das
Chief Adviser ,UTKAL NEEDS
Dr. Himansu Sekhar Das, a passionate and dedicated marine scientist, has devoted around 20 years of his carrier to the research and conservation of marine resources, coastal wetlands and marine endangered species in the tropics.Dr. Das is presently working as the Unit Head of the Marine Threatened Species and Habitats with the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD), United Arab Emirates. He is heading several landmark programsof conservation of endangered species and habitats including that of dugongs, sea turtles, mangroves and seagrass ecosystems. He deals with scientific research of the subject and also on issues related to people’s participation in conservation. His initiatives in spreading education and awareness programs related to natural resources in the Indian Ocean region are noteworthy.
Prior to his present assignment, Dr. Himansu worked as a scientist (wetland ecology) at SACON, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. His work on coastal wetlands of Andaman and Nicobar Islands earned him Young Scientist’s Award from the UNESCO in 1996. Dr. Das is the regional chair of the IUCN-Sirenian Specialist Group (Indian Ocean Region), a member of IUCN-Marine Turtle Specialists Group and conducts technical and awareness workshops with stakeholders for conservation of natural resources. He has visited number of countries in the Indo-pacific region in connection with his work and presented research findings in various international forums and conferences. Dr. Das believes in publishing research finding in journals of international repute, education and awareness materials in simple local languages for the benefit of the communities. A researcher with positive attitude, he dedicates his resources for overall development (including health and education) of rural population. He loves doing social work in his free time and is closely associated with the programs of “Utkal Needs”.
Payal Panda
Chairman
Payal holds an MBA and has years of experience as an HR Professional. Her HR experience includes having worked with Industrial sectors. She is a professional Member of UTKAL NEEDS and also anchors the role of Chairman at UTKAL NEEDS. She has been associated with UTKAL NEEDS since its inception in 2011. She has worked with Steel & Power sector in her career.
She is very much fund of for social involvement and listen music.
Jyoti Prakash Mishra
General Secreatry, Odisha Region
Jyoti prakash has 14 years’ of experience in value chain analysis, promoting income generating activities, and supply and distribution network management sector. His experience in this sector covers Urban, Rural and Tribal development, as well as a range of domains include Livelihood, education, health, NGO management, Child sponsorship, women’s empowerment, and sustainable agriculture.
Since 2011, he is serving as the Secretary, UTKAL NEEDS , and Odisha region. Prior to joining UTKAL NEEDS , Jyoti prakash served as a Manager Marketing Services with Pharmaceutical sector like UCB India, Caledor health care and other private sectors.
Jyoti Prakash holds a Bachelor’s degree in Science having Honourse subject as zoology from Utkal University and Diploma in Personnel Management and in addition holds a Bachelor’s degree of Computer science..
Jyoti prakash provided faculty support in the areas of Organization Development (OD), Human Resource Development, Strategic Management, Impact Assessment, People Centered Planning, Total Quality Management (TQM) and Performance Management to various management institutes within Odisha. Jyoti Prakash has attended several national pharmaceutical base conferences and technical expertise sharing forums. He has also awarded from various organizations from odisha for his devotional Prabachana Programme based on Ramacharita Mansa & Srimad Bhagabatta.
He is a vigorous reader and enjoys travelling.
Santosh Kumar Panda
State Coordinator, Odisha
Santosh Kumar is a Human Resource CSR Generalist with more than 7 years of hand on experience in CSR activity at the senior management level. His experiences across spectrum of corporate organizations include Iron & Manganese ore Mining industry. By serving the corporate sector for more than 5 years and the prevailing need in development sector, has motivated him to join the NGO sector in 2011. He is a Graduate Devote his total carrier in Social Work with specialization in Personal Management, Industrial Relations, and Labour Welfare.
Santosh Kumar, one of the pioneering members of CSR Development Network at Joda Block,Keonjhar.
He is a people’s person, devotes himself in strengthening relationships and build strong teams. He enjoys travelling, reading books and listens to music.
