Biography
Dr. Lavanya Shanbhogue Arvind is an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Disasters and Development, Jamsetji Tata School of Disaster Studies. She successfully defended her PhD in the area of Gender & Water Rights recently. Her research & teaching Interests lie in the areas of Gender & Development, Gender & Climate Change, Gendering Sustainability & Disaster Studies, Gendering Social Exclusion, Cultural Studies, Risk Management, Risk Management, Mitigation & Assessment She has led impactful projects such as " Infusing Gender Consciousness in Disaster Pedagogies, " supported by the GRRIPP (Gender Responsive Resilient Intersectionality in Policy and Praxis) consortium, University College of London and the University of Dhaka. This initiative integrates gender, intersectionality, and social inclusion into disaster management frameworks, reflecting her commitment to socially responsive scholarship. Her doctoral work critically examines water rights and spatial justice among Adivasi women in Maharashtra, contributing to feminist geographies and decentralized governance discourses. She has completed her M.B.A in Finance and has 7+ years of corporate experience in the field of risk management and business continuity. She transitioned to the Social Sciences and has an M.A, M.Phil & PhD in Women Studies from the Advanced Centre for Women's Studies, TISS, Mumbai. She was awarded the "Best Student" award and Institute Gold Medal for academic performance by the Advanced Centre for Women's Studies, TISS, Mumbai. She was awarded the Dr. Avabai Wadia & Dr. Khurshedji Wadia Fellowship for Archival Research by Research Centre for Women’s Studies, SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai. She has also been awarded the Writers in Immersion and Cultural Exchange (WrICE) Fellowship by Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University), Melbourne, Australia . She travelled to Indonesia and Australia to write and speak about her work. Her work in national conferences and collaborations underscore her dedication to inclusive and transformative education and policy. She is also a published novelist and a writer whose work has been published in both Indian and International Presses. Her debut novel, The Heavens We Chase , set in pre-partition, British India, was released by Roli Books in 2016 Additionally, she is the winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Special Prize (2011). Her writings have been published in both Indian and International presses. Her non-fiction writings on feminist themes have appeared in Huffington Post, Hindu Business Line, Madras Courier, Bloomberg Quint, amongst others