Seema Paul

Programme director, Sequoia Climate Foundation

Seema Paul is a programme director at Sequoia Climate Foundation, where she leads the grant-making portfolio for India. Before joining Sequoia, Ms Paul successfully led the launch of two environmental start-ups in India – Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation and, more recently, The Nature Conservancy. She has also worked in two philanthropic start-ups focused on climate change – Ted Turner’s United Nations Foundation and Climateworks Foundation – as well as for international organizations such as UNAIDS. She is the Rockefeller Foundation’s Lead International Fellow and an Alfred Friendly Press Fellow.

Ms Paul completed the International Executive Programme at INSEAD and holds a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Maryland, USA and another in English literature from the University of Delhi, India. She has published widely in global and Indian media including Time magazine, The Dallas Morning News and The Times of India, as well as in peer-reviewed and other professional journals.