Anil Hebbar is a passionate entrepreneur and social justice activist. He is a trustee of the Bombay Sarvodaya Friendship Centre which works to spread the message of Sarvodaya (peace and nonviolence) across the world. He is involved in several initiatives that are in the realms of interconnected and sustainable development such as village based enterprises, education for children in the adivasi and salt pan migrant worker communities to name a few.

As a successful entrepreneur, Anil heads Emergent Medi-Tech (I) Pvt. Ltd. which has been at the forefront of introducing cutting-edge technology in Cardiology & Cardiac Surgery. They have been pioneers in cardiac stents, implantable defibrillators, intravascular ultrasound and simulation based medical training. He is also the Founder Secretary of ASOMEDICS, an umbrella body of medical devices distributors in Mumbai.

Aravinda Pillalamarri is devoted to the cause of social justice. Raising awareness on fair trade and sustainable livelihoods, she works with tailors designing and marketing khadi (handspun) garments with a view to sustaining traditional living in modern times. Recognizing the role of natural birth, breastfeeding, babywearing, sleepsharing, natural hygiene and free learning in promoting maternal and child health and empowerment, she works with aravinda_rasurparents and teachers in better understanding the value of these practices, how they are already in use, and how they are threatened and resources required to sustain them. In this context she also envisions programs that help people take control of their learning, food security, and health, such as village libraries, kitchen gardens, whole foods, and accountability in government services to mothers and children. She also serves on AID Publications Team, working to ensure that people who are marginalised by poverty, oppression or disasters appear as central and active driving forces for change rather than as victims or targets. Through this AID newsletters, calendars and occasional publications help urban middle class people to understand the perspectives and analyses voiced by the people central to the processes of social change, who are too often marginalized from prevailing development planning owing to poverty and oppression.

Kiran Vissa is a long time social activist who works on issues related to the agrarian crisis and sustainable organic agriculture in India. Over the last decade, Kiran has become a key figure in the farmers’ movement in India. He is the founding convener of Rythu Swarajya Vedika, a broad platform of farmers organizations in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and has been implementing AID’s initiatives in these states to prevent farmer suicides and address issues of rural distress. He is also closely associated in coordinating several national farmer coalitions, such as the Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA-Kisan Swaraj) and the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee.

An IIT-Madras alum, Kiran received his master's degree from the University of Maryland. He was a key AID figure since its formative years and has worn many hats of leadership and organizational roles. After several years of volunteering, Kiran quit his job in the USA and returned to India to address the epidemic of farmer suicides in his native Andhra Pradesh. In his work, he has relentlessly focused on social, economic and policy level changes to empower the Indian farmer. ​

Ravi Kuchimanchi founded Association for India’s Development (AID) in 1991 while pursuing his PhD in Particle Physics at the University of Maryland, College Park, with a vision “problems are interconnected, so must be the solutions”. AID has since grown into a volunteer movement, bringing highly skilled professionals such as the non-resident Indian community, to partner with the poor, and underprivileged so that there is a deeper understanding of causes beyond the mere symptoms of poverty. After his postdoctoral work, Ravi began to focus his attention on human rights and social justice issues in India such as renewable energy, sustainable livelihoods, and struggles of marginalized people.

Ravi received the International Alumnus Award from University of Maryland in 2012, and in 2011, AID won the Times of India Social Impact Award which Ravi and his colleagues received from the Indian prime minister. He is an alumni of IIT Mumbai, and continues to publish papers in several international physics journals.

Ravi is an inspiration to many volunteers - pursuing a dream to build an ideal world, collaborating with the grassroots communities to understand the hurdles they face and working relentlessly to bring about change.