Equipped with a bachelor’s degree in Commerce and a master’s degree in Sociology, Santosh Dora has 25 years of experience working with various civil society and state level research organizations in Odisha, India. While working with community forest protection committees, community action groups, village development committees, and various gram sabhas, Santosh focused on research and effective implementation of community-driven approaches towards realizing rights and entitlements. He worked with laws such as the Forest Rights Act, the Land Act, and the Right to Health, Nutrition, and Livelihood Program to further enable and support these organizations In addition to collaborating on community endeavours, Santosh has experience with organizations such as the Regional Centre for Development Cooperation, Agragamee, Society for the Welfare of Weaker Sections, and the Poorest Areas Civil Society program of the Department for International Development. He is committed to producing better results for these groups, whether community-based or statewide, by developing capacity, knowledge, and the pivotal realization of rights under existing laws. He works as a Senior Program Manager with the CPR-Namati Environmental Justice Program in Odisha.