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Karin Fernando, MA (Brandeis University)

Team Leader - Sustainable Development
Karin Fernando, MA (Brandeis University)

Karin has a Master’s in Sustainable International Development from Brandeis University, USA. She has over 15 years’ experience in implementing Development and Environmental Management projects with NGOs and multilateral agencies. Karin has in-depth knowledge and expertise in Sustainable Development, Monitoring and Evaluation, Facilitation and Training.  She has carried out many research assignments, consultancies, generated and contributed to many knowledge outputs. Karin is also a Qualitative Researcher. At CEPA, she heads the Sustainable Development Thematic Programme that concentrates on building evidence and generating a dialogue on sustainable systems in order to integrate this knowledge into development policy and practice at local and global levels. Over the past 12 years at CEPA, she has led and managed multiple research projects that cover numerous topics related to the environment and climate change, estate sector, labour, education, infrastructure, and resettlement.

Areas of interest: Sustainable Development, Environmental and Natural Resource Management and Impact Monitoring. 

Gayathri Lokuge, PhD (Wageningen)

Team Leader - Livelihood and Employment
Gayathri Lokuge, PhD (Wageningen)

Gayathri obtained her PhD from the Wageningen University in the Netherlands, studying how intersectional social identities shape livelihoods in post-war contexts. She has twelve years of research experience, and experience as a trainer/facilitator on qualitative research methods. Her past research and publications include post-war development and rebuilding, livelihoods, gender and intersectional identities, entrepreneurship, with a specific focus on coastal communities. Her methodological orientation is qualitative and includes ethnography. At CEPA, Gayathri leads the Livelihoods and Employment Thematic area.

Areas of interest:  Conflict, Post-War Development and Livelihoods including Small and Medium Enterprises and Value Chain Analysis.

M. A. Mohamed Munas, PhD (Radboud University)

Team Leader – Labour Migration
M. A. Mohamed Munas, PhD (Radboud University)

Munas obtained his PhD from Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands. His doctoral research looked at the complexities of diaspora engagement in post-war communities of Sri Lanka. Munas received his Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of Colombo and Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture at the University of Peradeniya. Munas’s research and publications focus on transnationalism, migration and development, transnationalism and diaspora engagement in post-war recovery, using alternative dispute resolution mechanisms for sustainable peace, reconciliation and social cohesion, poverty and conflict and fisheries sector issues.

Munas has extensive experience in carrying out evaluations and assessments of development interventions, including peacebuilding projects for development agencies and government of Sri Lanka using OECD-DAC evaluation criteria. He also conducts training in qualitative research methods and qualitative data collection using computer assisted qualitative analysis software such as NVIVO. Munas currently leads the Labour Migration Thematic at CEPA.

Areas of Interest: Poverty and Conflict, Post-War Development and recovery, Post-development, Transnationalism and Religious Identities, Diaspora Engagement, Evaluations.

Hemesiri Kotagama PhD (University of London)

Team Leader - Basic Services and Social Protection
Hemesiri Kotagama PhD (University of London)
Hemesiri Kotagama has a B.Sc. (Agric. Hons), (Peradeniya), a  M.Sc (Natural Resource Economics), University of Philippines at Los Banoas, and Ph.D (Natural Resource and Environmental Economics) University of London. In addition, he has diploma training on investment project analysis, environment economic analysis, environment and agricultural development, at University of Harvard, Gothenberg University and University of London.

He is a retired Professor having served University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka and Sultan Qaboos University, Sultanate of Oman. He has also served as the Chairman of Vocational Training Authority, Sri Lanka and served as the voluntary Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Sri Lankan School Muscat, Oman. He has also served on several national committees on environmental management and tertiary education.

He has published 38 scientific papers in refereed journals, 29 non-refereed scientific papers, 30 scientific presentation based publications, 14 scientific monographs, 3 text books,  and 6 chapters in text books. He has been in the review committees of 10 scientific journals and has been the main supervisor of 27 postgraduate research thesis.

 

Sisira Pinnawala - PhD (Australian National University)

Team Leader – Social Cohesion and Reconciliation
Sisira Pinnawala - PhD (Australian National University)

Dr. Sisira Pinnawala is a retired University academic. He completed his undergraduate education at the University of Peradeniya in 1974 and joined the academic staff of the Department of Sociology as an Assistant Lecturer in 1975. Dr. Pinnawala has a Master’s Degree in Human Settlements Development Planning from the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok in and obtained his Ph.D. in Sociology from the Australian National University in Canberra. From August 1993 to July 1994. Dr.  Pinnawala was a Senior Fulbright Research Fellow in the Peace Studies Program of the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies at Cornell University. He has also served as Director of the Sri Lanka Foundation in Colombo from 2003 to 2005.

After retirement from the University Service in 2016 Dr. Pinnawala was appointed as Academic Consultant of the newly established Postgraduate Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences (PGIHSS) of the University of Peradeniya where he served for two years.  He also has served as consultant to number of national and international organizations including the World Bank and the Asian Development. Dr. Pinnawala’s research interests are Ethnic Conflict, Peace building and reconciliation, Human rights, Poverty and Social Protection.

Indika Bulankulame, PhD (University of Colombo)

Team Leader -- Training and Capacity Building
Indika Bulankulame, PhD (University of Colombo)

Indika has a PhD in Sociology from the University of Colombo and an MPhil in Social Anthropology from the University of Sussex, UK. She was a Fulbright Scholar at the Elliot School of International Relations, George Washington University in Washington D.C in 2009, and was also the recipient of the UNESCO Fellowship in 2001 for her studies at the University of Sussex.

Indika has worked with several bilateral organisations and NGOs in areas related to conflict, reconciliation, land rights, land distribution and water tenure. Her strengths are in qualitative research with over 15 years’ fieldwork experience. She has also many publications to her credit. She is a visiting academic in the Master’s in Peace and Conflict Studies at the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Colombo. She also has experience in diverse fields of teaching for undergraduate and masters students at the Open University of Sri Lanka. Prior to joining CEPA she worked as Head of Public Relations at the Open University of Sri Lanka.

Areas of interest: Skills development, Post conflict, trauma, recovery and disability, Political violence, Land and Water tenure, Female migrant labour.

Rajindra Rohitha, M.Sc (Asian Institute of Technology)

Programme Development Specialist
Rajindra Rohitha, M.Sc (Asian Institute of Technology)

Rajindra Rohitha has a B.Sc. (Agric.), University of Peradeniya, and a  M.Sc (Aquaculture), Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand. He also has a Postgraduate diploma in Regional Industrial Development from NIBM Sri Lanka. Additionally, he has followed some advanced courses in environmental and resource economics, affiliated to international networks.

He is an experienced development practitioner worked as an expatriate in International Organizations and INGOs in several countries such as Zambia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. His areas of interests are Food & Nutrition Security, Climate Change, Disaster Risk Reduction and Livelihoods. During his career, he has notable innovations; some of them are forest market gardens as a climate smart cropping system, farmers field school in climate change adaptation, threshold level investment methodology in livelihood development and use of analytical hierarchy process in vulnerability analysis.  He is also an expert in result based planning process.

He works at CEPA as the Programme Development Specialist

Nadhiya Najab, MDS (University of Colombo)

Senior Research Professional
Nadhiya Najab, MDS (University of Colombo)

Nadhiya Najab, has over seven years of research experience in the areas of post-war resettlement, labour and livelihoods, and employability of vocational training graduates. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, Nadhiya has conducted research and project evaluations in the Northern and Eastern regions as well as elsewhere in Sri Lanka. She has contributed to a number of CEPA publications including publishing a working paper on the political economy of beedi rollers in Sri Lanka. Prior to joining the research team full-time, Nadhiya was a core member of the communication team at CEPA.  Nadhiya has a Masters in Development Studies from the University of Colombo, complementing her Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Bachelor’s degree in Communication with a minor in International Studies from Monash University in Malaysia.

Areas of interest: Post-War Development and Livelihoods, Understanding Determinants of Labour Force Participation and Impact Evaluations of Development Interventions. 

Thamindri Aluvihare, MA (University of Colombo)

Senior Research Professional
Thamindri Aluvihare, MA (University of Colombo)

Thamindri Aluvihare holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Studies at Monash University while majoring in Economics, Mass Communications and International Relations. She obtained her Master’s Degree in International Relations from the University of Colombo with a focus on Political Communications exploring the evolution of (digital) media and its impact on foreign policy formulation and dissemination. Her previous work experience is in civil society in both local and international NGOs and subsequently in public service. Her work with the civil society focused primarily on post-war areas such as engagement of Sri Lankans living overseas and implementation of National Language Policy. As a public servant, she was affiliated to the Office of the State Minister of Finance in her capacity as a Research Officer. While primarily working on Social Cohesion related research, she intends to explore at length, the nexus between digital media transformation and social cohesion.

Areas of interest: Social Cohesion, role of digital media.

Basith Inadeen

Senior Research Professional
Basith Inadeen

Basith has a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Science from the University of Colombo. He has completed his Master’s in Conflicts and Peace Studies at the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Colombo. He holds international licenses from the Wageningen University, The Netherlands, on Multi Stakeholder Process and Social Learnings, and on one of the social accountability and good governance tools – the Citizen Report Card, the methodology introduced by the Public Affairs Centre, India. He has over seventeen years of extensive experience in mixed method (qualitative and quantitative) data collection at thinks tanks and research institutes, and at CEPA has taken the lead in implementing projects with social accountability and good governance tools -the Citizen Report Card and Community score cards. He is attached to the the Basic Services and Social Protection research team of CEPA.

Areas of Interest: Good Governance and Accountability, Multi Stakeholder Process, Post-war Development and Social Protection. Trainer, facilitator, moderator and translator