Founders

Dr. Anshu Sharma is a Co-Founder of SEEDS. Anshu trained as an urban planner at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, and did his doctoral research in global environmental studies at Kyoto University, Japan.

Over the last 30 years, Anshu has worked extensively on disaster risk and climate emergency issues. He has coordinated community-based action projects, trained practitioners, led inter-agency efforts and conducted research. He has also served as an advisor and consultant to numerous Government, non-profit, UN and funding agencies, helping them to plan, implement and evaluate their programmes.

Anshu is known for his abundance of ideas. He has a keen interest in systems thinking, innovations and capacity building within the humanitarian sector. A professional trainer, he has been a driving force behind SEEDS’ frontline disaster trainings and is a global tutor for Oxford Brookes University. Anshu has also pioneered initiatives such as a disaster preparedness innovation lab in Bangladesh and climate schools in Sikkim.

He has co-edited books on Indigenous Knowledge and Disaster Risk Reduction: From Practice to Policy (Nova, 2009), Urban Risk Reduction: An Asian Perspective (Emerald, 2009) and Climate and Disaster Resilience in Cities (Emerald, 2011). He co-edited the IFRC World Disaster Report 2016, and authored a chapter on Urban Resilience for the UNESCAP Asia Pacific Disaster Report 2017.

Dr. Manu Gupta is a Co-Founder of SEEDS. Manu holds degrees in Physical Planning and Urban Planning from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, and a doctorate in community-based disaster management from Kyoto University, Japan.

Over 30 years at the helm, he has mobilised community-led efforts in recovery, risk reduction and climate change adaptation, working with a wide spectrum of communities across Asia.

Manu has been at the forefront of championing and advocating for citizen-led initiatives. He brings ground realities to global perspectives and is actively involved in global conversations on humanitarian issues. In 2019, Manu was selected as an Ashoka Fellow, joining a group of leading social entrepreneurs finding solutions to the world’s greatest problems. He also sits on the boards of multiple organisations, including the Asian Disaster Reduction and Response Network, an active network of NGOs from over 20 countries in Asia; and the Network for Empowered Aid Response. Manu’s member of the Global Steering Committee for UNISDR on the Making Cities Resilient campaign. At the national level, Manu co-founded the Alliance for Adaptation & Disaster Risk Reduction and the Owner Driven Reconstruction Collaborative in India. He continues to serve on various national committees of the Government of India.