Senior Functionaries

Satya S. Tripathi is Secretary-General of the Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet.

A development economist, lawyer and changemaker with over 40 years of varied experience, Mr. Tripathi is the Chancellor of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences - the world's largest academic institution dedicated exclusively to indigenous people and cultures. He is also a Senior Distinguished Fellow on Innovative Finance at the World Agroforestry Centre.

He has served with the UN for more than two decades in key positions across the planet and was most recently the UN Assistant Secretary-General, Head of the New York Office at UN Environment and Secretary of the UN Environment Management Group. His other strategic engagements with the UN include Head of Human Rights Investigations for the UN in post-war Bosnia (UNMIBH); Chair of the Committees on Laws, Treaties and Administrative matters for the UN-mediated Cyprus unification talks in 2004; UN Recovery Coordinator for Aceh and Nias where he facilitated international cooperation and funding of over US$ 7 billion for post-tsunami recovery efforts in support of the government and affected populations; and Executive Head of UNORCID, a UN System Office established by the UN Secretary-General in 2011 to facilitate the implementation of a US$ 1 Billion REDD+ partnership between Indonesia, Norway and other stakeholders.

Mr. Tripathi was instrumental in establishing the Tropical Landscapes Finance Facility (TLFF) in Indonesia in 2016 and the Sustainable India Finance Facility (SIFF) in 2017 to leverage ‘private finance for public good’ at mega-scale to achieve transformative social and environmental impact for millions of people in developing countries. He previously served on the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Forests.

Prof. Amareswar Galla is an internationally acclaimed expert in inclusivecultural leadership and sustainable heritage development. With a Ph.D.from the Australian National University, Canberra, his career spansseveral continents and a multitude of roles that emphasize culturalinclusivity and heritage preservation.

Prof. Galla has significantly contributed as the Founding ExecutiveDirector of the International Institute for the Inclusive Museum, wherehe championed the integration of cultural diversity and inclusivity inmuseum practices globally. His role as the UNESCO Chair on InclusiveMuseums & Sustainable Heritage Development further highlights hisinfluence in shaping heritage policies and practices worldwide.

Renowned for his publication record, Prof. Galla's works, such as thosecelebrating the 40th Anniversary of the 1972 World HeritageConvention, have been influential in heritage and museum studies. Hisexpertise has been sought in various global forums, including his tenureas a Salzburg Global Fellow, influencing cultural heritageunderstanding and policy-making internationally.

In addition to his work with museums and heritage, Prof. Galla has heldprestigious academic positions, contributing to the discourse oncultural diversity, sustainability, and heritage development. His role as aProfessor and Director at the International Centre for Inclusive CulturalLeadership (ICICL) and his visitorships at institutions like theSmithsonian reflect the breadth of his impact in the field.

Dwiti Vikramaditya has been serving as the Vice President of both KIIT University and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) in Odisha, India since 2006. During his tenure, he has been instrumental in spearheading initiatives aimed at securing needs-based development projects for KISS, fostering partnerships with various stakeholders including government departments, UN Agencies, foundations, and corporates. These collaborations have significantly influenced sustainable development, quality education, and social justice for indigenous communities in Odisha.

Currently, Aditya is leading efforts to establish 20 new KISS campuses in Odisha by 2030, with the aim of positively impacting the lives of 2 million indigenous people. Additionally, he has played a pivotal role in advancing KIIT University's internationalization agenda by forging over 150 collaborations with foreign universities and institutions. This has involved hosting scholars and international visitors, from all over the world. Aditya's expertise also extends to facilitating strategic support to the government during humanitarian crises and natural disasters by coordinating efforts between NGOs and the private sector.

Vikramaditya’s dedication to public service and leadership excellence is evident through his participation in prestigious programs such as the IVLP Fellowship (2008), Fulbright Scholarship (2018), and UN Executive Leadership Programme for Sustainable Development (2021). In 2023, Aditya completed a Mid-Career Masters in Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and currently serves on the Harvard Kennedy School Alumni Board (2024-2028), in addition to being the India Lead for the UNSSC Nelson Mandela Global Academy for Social Change (2024-2029), further enhancing his capabilities in driving positive social change.

Professor Debashis Bandyopadhyay is the current Vice Chancellor (Acting) of KISS Deemed University. Prof. Bandyopadhyay is the Pro-Vice Chancellor of KIIT-DU. Formerly, he was the interim Vice Chancellor of Kazi Nazrul University, West Bengal and Professor of English at Rabindra Bharati University. In his thirty years of teaching and research career he worked as Professor in Banaras Hindu University, Vidyasagar University, West Bengal and Presidency College and University, Kolkata. As a Fulbright Scholar he taught and pursued research in California State University, USA and was engaged in post-doctoral research in St Antony’s College, University of Oxford, UK. He has been an international visiting professor in Mexico and Greece. His research interests include Psychoanalysis and literary and Cultural Texts. He is widely published in India and abroad. His book Locating the Anglo-Indian self in Ruskin Bond: A Postcolonial Review, brought out by Anthem Press, New York, has been shortlisted by the Washington Higher Education Chronicle.

Prashanta is a social development specialist, who holds a Master Degree and Ph. D. in Psychology, with a specialization in cognitive development of children. He currently serves as CEO at KISS Foundation and Registrar, KISS Deemed to be University, wherein he oversees institutional development and management of the institute in addition to monitoring numerous projects supported by UNFPA, UNICEF, UNESCO, US Embassy in India, ORACLE Education Foundation, TISS, Give India, National Mineral Development Corporation, Tata Steel Ltd., BPCL and other corporate foundations. He has also successfully forged collaborations and mobilised projects on different aspects of tribal development and research work. Moreover, he liaises with government and non-government organizations for grant and fund-raising activities.

Mr. Pramod holds Master Degrees in History, Odia & Sociology, in addition to professional degrees in B.Ed and Law.

His association with KISS is more than 2 decades. As one of the Core Team Members of KISS, he has developed a good ambiance for teaching-learning transactions & is known for his able administration. Apart from these, he has also developed guidelines/systems for several activities & their smooth implementation at KISS. He is very much competent to monitor the day to day activities that are followed and implemented for the 30, 000 students of KISS.

He is responsible for liaising with the government and other stakeholders on various issues on education & allied programs. Moreover, he coordinates community level Mega Awareness/Sensitization Programs which are organized frequently by KISS for its community engagement initiatives.
Pramod closely looks after the Academic and administrative activities in different KISS satellite centres established in different tribal-dominated districts of Odisha. He is closely associated with the Alumni, Parents/Guardian and other stakeholders of KISS.

In addition to this, he is also the author of several articles and two books. He has a keen interest in editing and writing special case studies of the tribal students who belong to the remote tribal dominated districts of the state.

Pramod has also been confirmed with Best Staff Award and has received numerous State and National Level awards/recognitions for his outstanding contribution in the field of education, literature and social work.

Easwar is a Chartered Accountant with over 42 years of experience in both public and private sectors.

Basanta is a seasoned professional responsible for day-to-day monitoring and supervision of infrastructure development work along with general administration of KISS. He also monitors infrastructure and developmental work of various branches of KISS established or being established in different districts of Odisha. Armed with an MBA and a Masters in Political Science, Basanta has rich experience in the development sector. Over the course of his two-decade-long career, as an indispensable Core Team member of KISS Management, he has positively contributed to several mega projects and events of KISS and its sister concern, KIIT. These include Green Initiative, 1st Khelo India University Games (2020), Indian Science Congress (2012); Four Guinness World Records by KISS, among others.

Rudra holds a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education and NIS in Health and Fitness. He has been pivotal in identifying sports talent at KISS, training our students to perform nationally and internationally since 2006. Under his tutelage, KISS boys won U-14 Rugby World Cup in London in 2007. Rudra’s story has been the inspiration for a Bollywood movie ‘Jungle Cry’ (2021) featuring Abhay Deol, which portrays the success of the tribal boys from KISS. Rudra has also trained Ace Indian sprinter and KIIT student Ms. Dutee Chand to her Gold victory at the 100m event at the World University Games (2019) in Italy. Rudra is also a member of the Indian Delegation Officials and was Manager of the Athletics Team at the event.