The Navigating COVID-19 Webinar Series began in May 2019 during the height of the pandemic lockdown in India. The series, comprised of three webinars, was entirely led by current AIF Fellows and AIF Fellowship Alumni on various topics related to the social sector. The event was organized in support of AIF’s COVID-19 Response by the AIF Clinton Fellowship COVID Response Team.

On May 9th, we hosted the first webinar of the series, Navigating COVID-19: How AIF Alumni are adapting to the crisis including three presentations in storytelling, education, and entrepreneurship. Hosted by Jessica Standifer, the lighting presentations were given by AIF Alumnus Ben Lenzner, Maitreyi Nandhakumar, and Nikhil Mahen.

Speakers

Four Tales of Storytelling & Harnessing our Lives with the Tools We Have: Archives, Documentary & Cultivating the Story

Ben Lenzer (’05-’06) is an artist, filmmaker, storyteller, photographer, documentary mediamaker, writer, and scholar in the study of screen and media. In 2005 – 2006, he was an AIF Fellow based in Dehradun, India. With a MFA in Documentary Media from Ryerson University (Canada) and a PhD in Screen & Media Studies from the University of Waikato (New Zealand), Ben’s work provides new angles and unique vantage points for documentary storytelling.

Reimagining Education Post-COVID-19: Understanding Emerging Trends and the Education Sector in India

Maitreyi Nandhakumar (’17-’18) is an Education Consultant based out of Bangalore. A Clinical Psychologist by training, she moved into the education space as a Special Educator 7 years ago, and enjoys nothing more than playing with children. As an AIF Fellow in 2017 -2o18, she worked on a life skills project at Shaishav in Bhavnagar, Gujarat. In recent years she has worked on assessment and evaluation projects for Quest Alliance, Stanford University, and the Center for Evaluation in Germany. Having taught short stints in Nepal and Ladakh and being a top notch baker, she dreams of opening an alternative school and bakery somewhere in the mountains.

Pivoting With Design: A Framework to Test and Pivot Startup Solutions

Nikhil Mahen (’13-’14) is currently setting up Relief Fund, an NGO that intends to build technologies for disaster relief. Nikhil was an AIF Fellow in the 2013-2014 class, and was posted in Madurai with Aravind Eye Hospital, an organization that he still feels very fondly towards. In the recent past, Nikhil was heading design methodologies for Development Bank of Singapore in Hyderabad, and has experience setting up deep tech labs in working with design focused start-ups across multiple industries. Nikhil has a master’s in Engineering Management from Duke University and a bachelor’s in Engineering from Manipal University.

Please watch the full presentations here: