Our Team
Amol Ghag
Amol is a permaculture & organic farming trainer. Alongside co-founding the Academy for Earth Sustainability and running his own small scale farm, he has also launched a successful fitness academy & consultancy, leading fitness, health, team building and leadership workshops at top corporates such as P&G, HPCL & TATA to name a few. His love of the land is spawned from his love of the outdoors, health & adventure. Amol takes a holistic approach to his lifes work and believes the key to success is in the constant feedback loop.
Sukriti Gupta
Sukriti believes efficient, simple, cross disciplinary design is a large part of the solution to earths resource inequality & environmental problem. Co-founding the Academy For Earth Sustainability, she has spent many years developing & leading educational workshops with schools and corporates at Ark Eden on Lantau, a similar permaculture education model. Holding a degree in Sustainable Design & Fine Arts from George Washington University, she has worked & consulted internationally at top hospitality firms, in both interiors and resource management. She is a passionate gender activist, outdoor enthusiast and self-professed shark lover.
Caitlin Marinelli
Caitlin Marinelli is a co-founder of AES, and a serial social entrepreneur. She was the first major hire at Uniphore, one of India's fastest growing social technology companies, where she designed and executed a go-to-market plan that helped the company achieve 4x revenue growth, reach 5 million users, and raise a Series A investment within 3 years. Caitlin is also a co-founder of two fast-growing community platforms in India: Badal Ja! and The Goa Project. She has a Masters in Social Work from Columbia University, and has worked in social development across Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
Chandan Mulherkar
Chandan is a mechanical engineer who focuses on the connection between technology and sustainability, to know how we can work side by side with nature. Having worked at a top manufacturing firm in Mumbai as a product design engineer with emphasis on environmental impact, he turned to teaching as a tool for social change. Now, using a range of skills in solar power, bioclimatic design, environmental education and fundamental research he designs systems, spaces and learning experiences with a vision to transition toward a more content world. He is a curious soul who believes that awe is the secret to an inspired life.
Maniraj Sanjay Shelar
Maniraj has over a decade of practical experience in sustainable agriculture across India. Through his work with AES, Maniraj focsuses on the consultation, design, installation and maintenance of a variety of plant-based products and systems that showcase the aesthetic and environmental benefits of permaculture. Maniraj is passionate about building systems that are both cost and resource efficient, and that complement the livelihood and health of the community. He has a degree in Horticulture from one of India's leading agro Universities.
Brendon Mendonca
Brendon is an energy engineer consultant with a number of clients ranging from renewable energy programs, research organizations and private companies. Over the past several years he has worked on projects spanning the United States, India and Bangladesh. His clients include International Finance Corporation (IFC), Schatz Energy Research Centre in California, Azure Power and others. He has also cofounded his own enterprise Sustainable Spaces. He has an unbridled love for running, travel and can spend hours in quiet contemplation of the universe.
Sheldon Mendonca
Sheldon co-founded Sustainable Spaces after several years of work spanning the US and Indian energy markets. Sheldon earned a Master in Energy Management and Systems Technology from New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) and his research on sustainable energy earned him the Graduate Scholar Award. Currently, Sheldon works on a number of projects at Sustainable Spaces that cover rural energy, engineering design and energy management and is developing a syllabus for training underprivileged youth in renewable energy design and maintenance.
Join Our Team!
We are always looking for talented people to join our team, share their skills & build the AES community! Check out our 'Careers' page under 'About' for more information!
Sandra Plaza
Sandra Plaza is a community development professional with eight years of domestic and international experience in the design, management, and implementation of sustainable initiatives targeting under-served communities in areas such as construction, housing, health, education and youth development. Founder of Rebuild Global, an architecture based non-profit, she is committed and dedicated to improving the life of others through delivering architecture and design solutions where resources are scarce and needed most.