Aditi Rajan
Head Communications
Aditi completed her Masters in Conservation Biology from the University of Kent, Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology. For her thesis then, she studied the habitat and food preferences of the Greater Bamboo Lemur in Madagascar. Recognizing her interest in communicating science early-on, during her Bachelors she was responsible for creating effective communication content for a project on aquatic insect ecology in Agumbe. She has had a long-standing interest in making this field accessible and bridging the gap between people and science. She is currently exploring ways for creating effective education and outreach programs towards the goal to be more proactive, provocative, and purposeful in increasing environmental literacy. Along with a passion for the mountains, she loves maps, infographics, learning (anything!), and harbors a mild caffeine addiction.
Advaith Jaikumar
Advaith Jaikumar is a multi-media creator with a passion for storytelling, wildlife, music, and postmodern literature. On graduating with his Bachelor's in Media, English, and Psychology, he realized his passion for wildlife and environmental conservation and was inspired to use his skills to raise awareness. Previously, he's worked at the Centre for Wildlife Studies and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. At WCS-India, he works as a Communications Officer. Advaith also dabbles in composing original scores for nature documentaries and is a self-declared pun-expert.
Dipti Humraskar
Dipti Humraskar is a wildlife biologist by training and a passionate nature educator. After completing her Masters in Wildlife Biology and Conservation, she has been a part of conservation projects and developing and implementing awareness and education programmes in urban as well as rural landscapes. Over the last decade, she initiated the "Conservation Education and Outreach Programme" of the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust in the National Chambal Sanctuary, Rajasthan centered around gharial conservation. Following this she worked in Spiti and Ladakh with the Nature Conservation Foundation engaging with local communities, mainly school children, towards enhancing their fondness, knowledge and understanding of the local wildlife and issues therein. Dipti has also been associated with "Mumbaikars for SGNP", a citizen science initiative of the Maharashtra Forest Department that was formed to address the human-leopard interactions around the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai. She has been actively involved in managing interactions with residents, training and capacity building of media, police department and forest department through this project. Dipti currently coordinates the outreach component of the human-wildlife interactions project in Mumbai.
Gayatri Jawali
Gayatri is an animator and illustrator by training. She obtained her degree in Animation Film Design from Symbiosis, Pune. She is an avid birder and most of her work till date has been related to wildlife, in collaboration with several organisations.
Jessica Luis
Jessica Luis is a Design Assistant with the Counter Wildlife Trafficking program. She obtained her Masters degree in Ecology and Environmental Sciences from Pondicherry University in 2016. She also has a diploma in Social Communications Media from Sophia Polytechnic, Mumbai. Her work so far has focused on Smooth-coated Otter ecology and interaction with fisheries in Goa, Indian Skimmer breeding ecology along the Chambal, citizen science initiatives to document urban tree biodiversity and intertidal ecology, wildlife illustration and science communication.
Manish Machaiah
Manish is the Outreach Officer in the Media and Outreach team. He handles all the technical aspects of Outreach and Communication.
Radha Pennathur
Radha Pennathur is a designer who specialises in visual storytelling and illustration. She has a keen interest in exploring the intersection between art and science, and in finding new ways to make conversations around conservation more accessible and engaging.
As a designer at WCS, she breaks down complex procedure involved in wildlife law as part of the Counter Wildlife Trafficking team’s legal training programme. She also works with the Outreach team to create informative content to generate interest and spread awareness about India’s biodiversity among the general public.
Radha graduated from Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology in 2019, with a degree in Visual Communication and Strategic Branding, and a minor in Creative Writing. She previously worked as a designer for The Better India, where she played a key role in the inception and identity of the in-house brand, The Better Home.
When she’s not hunched over her laptop drawing on Photoshop, she is hunched over her laptop adding books to her Goodreads list, but is never actually seen reading them.
Tabitha Sunny
Tabitha is a Visual Communications Consultant with WCS-India. She specialises in content and design, and holds a MBA in Communication Management from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication. She has been working with conservation and human rights NGOs across India, using her design and content skills to deliver impactful outreach for varied causes. She enjoys drawing, spearfishing and can on occasion be found foraging for wild orchids.