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Alisha Bhagat

Alisha Bhagat ... Sustainability Advisor, Futures Team at Forum for the Future ... New York, New York ... Think Tanks

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Peter Burgess

Alisha Bhagat 1st Alisha Bhagat Sustainability Advisor, Futures Team at Forum for the Future New York, New YorkThink Tanks Current Forum for the Future, East-West Center Previous East-West Center, CENTRA Technology, Inc, Critical Language Scholarship Education Georgetown University 500+ connectionsSend a messageEndorseMore options Background Summary Alisha Bhagat is a Futures Advisor at Forum for the Future, a sustainability non-profit working globally with business and government to solve complex problems. She has nine years of experience serving government agencies, think-tanks, and non-profit organizations. Alisha is skilled at creating exciting and dynamic workshops on futures and scenario planning for national and international audiences. She enjoys distilling complicated topics into manageable components. Her passion is using futures work as a means of community building and creating social change. Prior to joining Forum, her most recent project was the Myanmar Futures Exchange (MFE), an international forum created while an Asia-Pacific Leadership Fellow at the East-West Center. The MFE brought together over 500 participants in Yangon to discuss the future of economic development in Myanmar out to 2025. The event brought together government, private sector, religious, and NGO leaders to participate in futures thinking exercises, create scenarios, and make policy recommendations about Myanmar’s economic trajectory. Alisha holds a MS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University where she interned at the US State Department and concentrated in the International Development track. Her prior experience includes a Fulbright scholarship in India. working for the government of Sri Lanka in information and communication technology policy and for the US government as a consultant focusing on international security. Alisha received her BS from Carnegie Mellon University. Specialties: South and Southeast Asia, sustainability, international security, international development, strategic foresight, scenarios, futures workshops, games, academic research, multi-media presentations, proposal writing Alisha possesses a Top Secret (DoD) security clearance. She is also a member of the Association of Professional Futurists. Experience Forum for the FutureFutures Advisor, Futures Team Forum for the Future August 2013 – Present (1 year)New York I am a futures advisor for futures at Forum for the Future, a non-profit organization working globally with business and government to create a sustainable world. Forum aims to transform critical systems through new thinking, creative partnerships, and the development of practical innovations. On the futures team I work on researching and analyzing future trends, providing strategic sustainability advice to Forum’s partners, managing and delivering projects in the futures practice, and building the US office. I've worked on futures projects for several sectors including retail and apparel, secondary education, hydraulic fracturing, chemicals, aluminum and recycling, and public health. East-West CenterCo-founder and Conference Chair East-West Center January 2013 – Present (1 year 7 months)Yangon, Myanmar Co-founded and chaired the Myanmar Futures Exchange (MFE), now in it's second year. The MFE is a 560 person futures workshop in and around Yangon, Myanmar. Worked with staff on the ground to book event space, oversee written material, and launch advertising campaign. Developed country specific futures scenarios and risk workshops. Created partnerships with local civil society groups, government ministers, and other high-ranking officials. Managed a team of 10 people. More information at: http://www.mfe2014.org/ East-West CenterFellow, Asia-Pacific Leadership Program East-West Center August 2012 – May 2013 (10 months)Honolulu, Hawaii Research fellow focusing on global trends in Asia, adaptive leadership, and futures studies. Project lead on workshops on risk and futures presented to audiences of ASEAN government officials. r. Participant in multi-cultural leadership training program brining together 30 people from 18 countries in the Asia-Pacific. Projects include consulting work for the Pacific Gateway Center, in Honolulu on small-scale farming, field study in Shaxi, China on sustainable eco-tourism, and designing games and futures workshops to be implemented in Southeast Asia. Fellowship includes developing papers, memos, and presentations on current issues in the Asia-Pacific for academics and public officials. Topics include globalization, cultural norms, demographics, climate change, and economics. CENTRA Technology, IncResearch Analyst CENTRA Technology, Inc March 2010 – April 2012 (2 years 2 months)Arlington, VA Served as a Research Analyst in the analysis and outreach division. Studied various industries and hot-button topics (including foreign policy, climate change and international security) to discern and locate top experts and establish contact to arrange speaking engagements. Wrote and edited extensive range of knowledge products including reports, briefings, and memos; material is used by top security agencies for policy formulation and briefings. Planned and executed several dozen high-level briefings, workshops, seminars and roundtable discussions for intelligence and security consulting firm catering primarily to U.S. government clients. Developed themed and niche speaking engagements with topic experts and managed event budgets. Critical Language Scholar Critical Language Scholarship June 2009 – September 2009 (4 months)Lucknow, India Awarded scholarship through the U.S. State Department to study Urdu at the American Institute for Indian Studies in Lucknow, India. Program included cultural immersion, volunteering, and intensive language study. Graduate Intern in Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor US State Department September 2008 – January 2009 (5 months)Washington, DC Researched and edited Human Rights Reports, serving as lead editor for Bhutan report and as secondary editor for Afghanistan and Pakistan reports. Fact-checked information by using online and print sources, including international news reports and State Department diplomatic cables. Gathered material on Afghani freedom of the press, political prisoners and election reform. Monitored cable traffic and wrote memos and briefing books for use by senior-level State Department staff. Monitored and reviewed grant reports from government and non-government organization grantees conducting field work. Serve as point of contact between grant maker and grantee. Program Assistant Social Impact Inc May 2008 – September 2008 (5 months)Arlington, VA Contributed research, writing and editing during proposals preparation process. Provided technical support in monitoring and evaluating contracts for international development consulting firm; portfolio included contracts from USAID and United Nations. Edited and finalized reports. Summarized descriptions of successful projects to publication in organization’s promotional materials. Aided field consultants and coordinated program actions. Brought in new business for company’s training seminars on program management, monitoring and evaluation. Luce/SFS Fellow at The Berkley Center for Relgion, Peace, and World Affairs Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs January 2008 – May 2008 (5 months)Washington, DC Luce Foundation / School of Foreign Service Development Fellowship as a graduate fellow. Evaluated faith-based organizations and leaders regarding women’s programs, especially those related to reproductive rights and HIV/AIDS. Co-authored paper on Women, Faith, and Development. Paper presented at Breakthrough Summit at the National Cathedral in 2008 Research Assistant Harvard Law School Research Assistant April 2007 – September 2007 (6 months)Cambridge, MA Edited articles and conducted legal research on domestic violence and sexual harassment Assisted with drafting model state legislation on tracking repeat domestic violence perpetrators Consultant Information and Communication Technology Agency October 2006 – February 2007 (5 months)Colombo, Sri Lanka Conducted study on the effects of Internet connectivity in rural Sri Lanka for government agency. Gathered data in rural areas where e-village connectivity pilot project was launched. Evaluated and wrote comprehensive report on efficacy of Internet connectivity project; organization used report to start additional e-villages and published version of report in academic journal. Fulbright Scholar Fulbright Grant September 2005 – June 2006 (10 months)Mumbai, India Received Fulbright Scholarship to study and instruct in Mumbai, India, based at SNDT women’s university in Mumbai. Completed certificate course on Women and Development. Developed curriculum and taught English and mathematics through Akanksha, an organization educating underprivileged children in Mumbai; evaluated students and provided feedback to organization leaders. Instructed Princeton Review GRE preparatory class to 10 students. Produced and co-directed documentary on globalization of beauty through trade in Indian hair; documentary, titled “100% Indian Hair,” has been shown to diverse audiences, including private companies and academic institutions. Certifications Introduction to Sustainability(Link) Coursera October 2013 – Present Skills & Endorsements Top Skills 16International... 10International Relations 9Foreign Policy 8Proposal Writing 7Human Rights 7NGOs 6Research 4Policy 3Government 3Community Outreach Alisha also knows about... 2South Asia 2Religion 2International Security 1Gender 1Nonprofits 1Analysis Education Georgetown University Georgetown University MS, Foreign Service 2007 – 2009 Recipient of Foreign Service Graduate Scholarship, graduated with Academic Honors for high GPA Activities and Societies: International Development Concentration, Help the Homeless Program leader Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University BS, Anthropology and History 2001 – 2005 Minor in Engineering, graduated with College Honors, student leadership award recipient, Vira I. Heinz Scholarship recipient Activities and Societies: founder of the Neville Housing Cooperative, member of the Women's Center, writer for the Tartan; student newspaper Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology 1998 – 2001 Additional Info Interests Board Games, Pub Trivia, Girl Scouts, Yoga, Swimming Personal Details Birthday December 21 Marital Status Married Recommendations Given (1) Peter, would you like to recommend Alisha? Recommend Alisha Kim Giammaria Kim Giammaria Owner Kim is so easy to work with. From the initial consultation to the day of the event, she is calm, poised, and ready to do a great job. She totally put the bride (me) and my wedding party at ease and gave people makeup that fit their personality. I would highly recommend her to other brides. March 25, 2010, Alisha was Kim's client See More ConnectionsAll (500+)Shared (1)New (1) Josh KnauerJosh Knauer2nd President/CEO at Rhiza Connect13Paul EgermanPaul Egerman2nd Retired at Entrepreneur Connect1Darius KazemiDarius Kazemi2nd A Generally Useful Guy to Know Connect1Wendy SchultzWendy Schultz2nd Director, Infinite Futures Connect7Richard SandfordRichard Sandford2nd Principal at Northover Research Connect2Nowshad RizwanullahNowshad Rizwanullah2nd COO at MissMalini.com - India's Lifestyle & Entertainment Blog Connect1Albert Ting (丁伟信)Albert Ting (丁伟信)2nd Policy Advisor at U.S. Department of Energy Connect1Eric WiesenEric Wiesen2nd General Partner at RRE Ventures Connect2Darko LovricDarko Lovric2nd Associate Director, Hyperconnected World at World Economic Forum Connect4 PreviousNext Groups ABA International II ABA International II Join ABA International II: IMPOWR ABA International II: IMPOWR Join Asia Pacific Leadership Program - APLP Multi-cohort Hub Asia Pacific Leadership Program - APLP Multi-cohort Hub Join Corporate Social Responsibility Network (CSR) -- Mojalink Corporate Social Responsibility Network (CSR) -- Mojalink Join EWC Leadership Programs Alumni EWC Leadership Programs Alumni Join East-West Center Alumni and Community East-West Center Alumni and Community Join Fulbright Alumni Fulbright Alumni Join Georgetown MSFS Alumni Georgetown MSFS Alumni Join Georgetown University Alumni Group Georgetown University Alumni Group Join Georgetown University School of Foreign Service Alumni Georgetown University School of Foreign Service Alumni Join Mojalink - Non Profit Network (nonprofit) Mojalink - Non Profit Network (nonprofit) Join The Fulbright Program - Official Group The Fulbright Program - Official Group Join Women in International Security Women in International Security Join See less Following Companies TJX Canada/Winners Merchants International L.P. Retail Follow World Economic Forum Nonprofit Organization Management Follow East-West Center (EWC) International Affairs Follow The World Bank International Trade and Development Follow Atlantic Council International Affairs Follow Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka Information Technology and Services Follow USAID International Affairs Follow DAI International Trade and Development Follow Forum for the Future Think Tanks Follow See less Schools Carnegie Mellon University Greater Pittsburgh Area Follow Georgetown University Washington D.C. Metro