Meet the Team
Driven by Passion, Guided by Purpose:
Meet the People Fighting to Save Asia’s Elephants
People’s minds need to be reprogrammed with compassion and empathy for all animals – humans and non-humans
Sangita Iyer,
Founder & Managing Director
Sangita Iyer & Dr. Jane Goodall
ABOUT SANGITA
Sangita Iyer is the Founder of Voices for Asian Elephants and author of the Amazon bestseller, Gods in Shackles - What Elephants Can Teach Us About Empathy, Resilience, and Freedom, a National Geographic Explorer, multiple award-winning nature & wildlife filmmaker and broadcast journalist, and a biologist.
Sangita's 26-part short docu-series, Asian Elephants 101, world premiered on multiple National Geographic channels. Sangita produced and directed the popular series with a storytelling grant from the National Geographic Society.
She's also the director and producer of the globally acclaimed epic documentary, "Gods in Shackles", which was nominated at the United Nations General Assembly, and has garnered 13 international film festival awards. Sangita received the "Nari Shakthi Puraskaar" - Women Power Award - the highest award for women making a difference in India from the country's President for her courage to expose the plight of captive elephants that are being exploited for profit behind the veil of culture and religion.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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NANCY K. PLANT
President
Nancy has been a lawyer for more than 30 years. She has practiced law in a variety of settings, including the biopharmaceutical industry and, most recently, the nonprofit sector, and has worked with organizations of all sizes and types, ranging from small, all-volunteer nonprofits to publicly held, Fortune 500 companies. Nancy is also a freelance grant writer, working with nonprofits in the environmental and social services fields. She is the co-author of two books about law and social issues and several articles. Nancy lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington, a ferry ride away from Seattle.
Nancy is inspired by the vitally important work of VFAE in preserving the beautiful and noble Asian Elephant species and dedicated to doing all she can to work on their behalf.
DAVID EZEKIEL
Treasurer
David, a leading figure in the Bermuda insurance industry, comes with decades of leadership and expertise. With past roles as a Partner at KPMG and Chairman of Marsh Bermuda, he's a proven driver of success. Originating from India, his global outlook enriches our board's perspective. Beyond boardrooms, David passionately supports VFAE's mission, lending his skills to protect endangered Asian elephants. His journey exemplifies a unique fusion of corporate acumen and philanthropic fervor.
DR. SUNITA SASTRY
Secretary
Sunita, an anesthesiologist and Clinical Associate Professor at Stanford University for over 20 years, has a deep love for animals, especially elephants. Her journey with VFAES (Voices for Asian Elephants Society) began as a small donor, motivated by concerns over the impact of overpopulation on elephants in India.
After speaking with VFAES founder Sangita Iyer, Sunita became inspired to take a more active role, using her network to raise awareness and support Her transformation from donor to advocate highlights how individual passion and collaboration can drive significant change.
LUVEEN R. WADHWANI
Chief Tech Officer
Luveen is a career software engineer in Silicon Valley with over a decade of experience, having worked at companies like Oracle and Zipcar. He is instrumental in streamlining our donor giving and relationship management processes. Luveen is setting a strong technical vision for VFAE operations and projects, helping us leverage various online platforms to improve our positive impact.
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At VFAE, Luveen is channeling his love for India's elephants into concrete action to safeguard their future. "Elephants' association with divinity in Indian culture invariably excludes them from physical protection. Together with VFAE, I hope to transform this," he says. Luveen is also an animal and environmental photojournalist, working to relay stories that connect people with the climate and biodiversity crises. He volunteers with several animal rights and sustainability organizations.
Dr. Jessica Bell Rizzolo
Jessica is a conservation social scientist who holds a Dual PhD in Sociology and Environmental Science and Policy, as well as a MA in Psychology. She has authored over twenty articles and book chapters on wildlife conservation, wildlife crime, and wildlife tourism, with a particular focus on the issues affecting captive-held and wild Asian elephants.
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Jessica’s work on complex post-traumatic stress disorder in captive Asian elephants is featured in Sangita’s National Geographic video series. After meeting Sangita through this interview, Jessica became aware of the amazing work of VFAE and is honored to help build a world where elephants thrive.
ADVISORY BOARD
DR. RAMAN SUKUMAR
Prof. of Ecology - Indian Institute of Science (IISC)
Raman obtained his PhD from the same institute in 1985 for his pioneering research on the ecology of interactions between Asian elephants and people. While he continues to work on the ecology, behavior and conservation of elephants, he has expanded his research interests to tropical forest ecology and climate change. His primary conservation interests lie in promoting sustainable landscapes for elephants and biodiversity.
Sukumar has also contributed extensively to Indian government policy on conservation, and has been a member of the Indian Board for Wildlife (chaired by the Prime Minister) and the Project Elephant Steering Committee. He was Chair of the IUCN/SSC Asian Elephant Specialist Group during 1997-2004.
DAVID EBERT
Advisor
David Ebert founded the Weeping Elephant Project (WEP) in 2025 to devote himself fully to ending the suffering of captive elephants used in zoos, circuses, and other forms of entertainment. WEP builds on his decade-long advocacy for captive elephants in the U.S. He is also Co-Founder and President Emeritus of the Animal Defense Partnership (ADP), a 501(c)(3) providing free legal services to 400+ animal protection nonprofits worldwide. In 2024—his final full year—ADP delivered $2.1 million in pro bono legal work.
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David serves as a member or advisor to Pro Elephant Network, Voice for Asian Elephants Society, Physicians Association for Nutrition, Scarlet Spark, Free All Captive Elephants, Asia for Animals Coalition, Rowdy Girl Sanctuary’s Rancher Advocacy Program, TerraMar Research, and Global Animal Law Association. A retired lawyer, David earned his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania (1982) and J.D. from NYU School of Law (1986), practicing for 33 years before retiring in 2019.
David says, "Sangita has done, and is doing, extraordinary work under difficult circumstances. She is completely devoted to the elephants on whose behalf she advocates and has taken on challenges that highlight and underscore her bravery, experience and accomplishments. I’m proud to be a member of VFAE’s Advisory Board."
HARIRAJ
Activist-Lawyer
Hariraj is an activist-Lawyer practicing at the High Court of Kerala and spearheads the litigations pending before the said court demanding better deal for elephants in general and captive elephants in particular. Having witnessed disturbing cruelty meted out to the captive elephants in South India he and his friends have taken on to themselves the duty of alerting the law against such misdeeds. While multi pronged attack is waged in various courts he was deeply moved by Sangita Iyer's efforts to sensitize and educate people regarding the illegality and immorality of the system of maintaining captive elephants in South India.
Hariraj is a great asset to VFAE in guiding us with a strategic and methodical approach in ending elephant torture.
LARRY LAVERTY
Advisor
Larry has enjoyed a deep bond with the natural world since childhood. At age 11 he joined both the Audubon Society and the Sierra Club. His chosen career of acting has provided a distracting but valuable education for over 30 years. Now moving forward from those adventures, he’s returned to the natural world through his lifelong passions. The desperate plight of elephants around the world generated that re-entry. Larry’s goals: Conservation for all wildlife, better lives for species held in captivity. Through his photography, writing, film production, speaking engagements, and activism, Larry intends to be acting on behalf of elephants until he takes his final breath.
Though Larry’s heart may be in Asia with elephants, as a resident of the far away United States there have been many moments over the years when dire elephant news has brought feelings of great helplessness. Meeting VFAE founder Sangita Iyer has changed anxiety into hope as the organization tackles many of the most critical issues facing Asia’s elephants today.