Roshan Paul
Executive Director, Climate Talent Initiative
Roshan Paul has built a career around connecting global citizens to solve social problems across boundaries. He is currently the Executive Director of the Climate Talent Initiative, a new philanthropic effort to propel talent and workforce development solutions to address the climate crisis. Previously, he was Director of Leadership Practice at IREX, where he managed a multi-year portfolio of over $130 million and a team of 90 people that worked with thousands of young leaders across more than 100 countries. Prior to IREX, Roshan co-founded Amani Institute in 2010 and co-led the organization from an idea to an award-winning social enterprise and the largest talent development organization for the social sector based in the global south, with offices in Kenya, Brazil and India. Under his tenure as CEO, Amani Institute trained and guided 10,000+ people from more than 65 countries.. Based on this work, he co-authored the Amazon #1 bestseller The New Reason to Work: How to Build a Career that will Change the World in November 2021.
Raised in Bangalore, India, Roshan has a Master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a Bachelor’s in International Political Economy from Davidson College. He has written three books, delivered two TEDx talks, and spoken at more than 50 universities and other major institutions worldwide, including the Commencement (graduation) speech at the University of San Diego in May 2015. He writes the well-regarded newsletter Work Out Loud and has contributed 20 essays to the Stanford Social Innovation Review, as well as several other publications. He has also been interviewed in Fast Company, The Huffington Post, Vanity Fair, Forbes, and CNBC Africa, among others.