Michael Greenstone is the Milton Friedman Professor in Economics, the College, and the Harris School, as well as the Director of the Becker Friedman Institute and the interdisciplinary Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago. He previously served as the Chief Economist for President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, where he co-led the development of the United States Government’s social cost of carbon. He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a fellow of the Econometric Society, and a former editor of the Journal of Political Economy.

Greenstone’s research, which has influenced policy globally, is largely focused on uncovering the benefits and costs of environmental quality and society’s energy choices. His current work is particularly focused on testing innovative ways to increase energy access and improve the efficiency of environmental regulations globally. As a co-director of the Climate Impact Lab, he is producing empirically grounded estimates of the local and global impacts of climate change. He also created the Air Quality Life Index™ that provides a measure of the gain in life expectancy communities would experience if their particulates air pollution concentrations are brought into compliance with global or national standards.

Greenstone received a Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton University and a B.A. in Economics with High Honors from Swarthmore College.

Leni Chaudhuri is the Country Director of the TCD. Previously Leni was the Vice President of Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation, a leading grant making organization in India. Leni holds a PhD in Sociology from the SNDT Women’s University, M.Phil from the School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University and MA from the School of Social Sciences at Jawaharlal Nehru University. Her academic interests are in the areas of health, education and governance.

Sam Ori is the Executive Director at Becker Friedman Institute at the University of Chicago. From 2013 to 2015, he served as Executive Vice President at Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE), a Washington, DC-based organization dedicated to reducing American oil dependence in order to enhance economic and national security. From 2007 to 2013, Sam led SAFE’s policy work on a variety of topics, ranging from global oil and natural gas markets to transportation technology. Prior to joining SAFE, Sam spent four years working in the federal government at the Broadcasting Board of Governors and Department of State, including at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India.

Vikas Dimble is Assistant Director of Research and Strategy for the TCD and Content Editor for Ideas for India (I4I). Prior to that, he was consultant to the World Bank. He has also worked as India Country Economist for International Growth Centre (IGC) at London School of Economics and as a Research Associate at J-PAL, research centre at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Vikas completed his Masters from the University of Sussex and his undergraduate degree from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai and School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Victoria University, Melbourne.

As the Manager of Communications and Outreach, Subhojit works towards augmenting TCD’s branding, communication, and advocacy strategies, disseminating a broad range of research products to trigger a change in government policies and programs. His core responsibility includes promotion of dialogue and interaction with diverse set of audience by translating TCD’s research work and leveraging multiple platforms. Over the course of his career, he has worked with media houses and research organizations. Prior to TCD, he was a journalist with DownToEarth—Asia’s premier fortnightly on the politics of environment and development. He is passionate about literature, international movies, and exploring new geographies.

Aalia heads the India based operations and grants management for TCD. She has a multi-cultural-organizational experience by virtue of having worked with Canada’s International Development Research Centre, Ford Foundation (India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka), GE Healthcare, and American Express. At TCD, she works closely with the Country Director to create efficient administrative infrastructure, and also with researchers—both in India and the US—to ensure all policies and procedures are adhered to.  An MBA in Operations and Financial Management from IIM-Calcutta, she brings with her years of demonstrated experience in project, staff, and budget management. When not at work, she prefers to read multilingual literature, Urdu poetry, and watch movies. She loves to travel and interact with people. She is passionate about vintage cars, gadgets, and computer games.

As Operations Assistant, Sangeeta supports financial and administrative operations, along with the ancillary activities at TCD. Providing end-to-end support for activities pertaining to financial and programmatic grant reporting and ensuring accuracy and efficiency in processes is her key responsibility. With an experience of working as a finance professional across diverse sectors, ranging from health care to hospitality and IT, Sangeeta has a strong understanding of financial and governance requirements. She works alongside the Operations Manager to resolve procedural issues and suggests ways of making them more efficient.

Sayantan is a Program Lead at TCD and manages projects on air quality and other environmental issues. He has experience of working on climate change, air pollution and energy issues in the international, national and sub-national context for over eight years. Before joining TCD, he led Natural Resources Defense Council’s (NRDC) programs on air quality and climate resilience in India. Prior to this he was a Senior Climate Change Adviser at the British High Commission, New Delhi, where he focussed on international climate negotiations and led work around catalyzing political and business leadership to promote low-carbon and climate-resilient growth in India. He has also had a stint with a consulting firm, where he worked on carbon trading, HCFC phase-out and ODS destruction related issues. He has a Master’s degree in Environmental Science from The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) University, New Delhi. Sayantan is passionate about football, and supports Arsenal. He loves going on weekend getaways to the Himalayas.

Emily Cheng, Senior Finance Manager, oversees the TCD’s financial operations in both the U.S. and India. She has been with the University of Chicago for over 13 years and possesses extensive experience in University operations, human resources, and finance. She is a certified notary and holds two master’s degrees from Benedictine University in Business Administration (MBA) and Management and Organizational Behavior (MSMOB). When not at work, she can usually be found on an ice rink. Emily has been playing the sport of ice hockey since middle school and is very passionate about all things Chicago sports especially the local hockey team, the Chicago Blackhawks.