Yogesh Ghore graduated from IIFM in 2001. Originally from Madhya Pradesh, Yogesh is currently based in Nova Scotia, Canada, where he lives with his wife and two daughters. He works at the Coady International Institute—a world-renowned centre of excellence in leadership education and community-based development. As part of the Institute’s senior leadership team, Yogesh provides leadership to its educational programs, research initiatives, and capacity strengthening efforts globally. He also offers strategic and thought leadership to Coady’s partnerships initiatives with a range of global partners. As a practitioner and educator, Yogesh has over two decades of experience working in the field of inclusive economic growth, sustainable livelihoods, market systems, gender and social inclusion, social enterprise, and future of work and workers. He has worked extensively in Asia, Africa and North America.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yogeshghore
Q. How has been your journey from IIFM to this role? What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?
A. The journey since IIFM has been incredible and fulfilling. It has taken me from Jaisinagar (MP) to New York and many places in between. It started with my campus placement to SRIJAN (Self Reliant Initiatives Through Joint Action) now a leading non-profit in India, but it was a startup in 2001—an experiment of sorts—whenVikram Shanbhag, my batchmate, and I decided to join a team of young professionals interested to learn about and tackle poverty in rural India. Living and working at the grassroots in the Bundelkhand region provided us the perfect opportunity to apply what we had learned at IIFM into real life situations. If you have seen the web series Panchayat, our life and work was not very different from that of Sachivji—without the title of course. Getting four hours of electricity per day, spending 18-hour days in the villages including night stays, attending late night community meetings designing and implementing projects on watershed development, irrigation, dairy, financial inclusion etc., spending hours finding the five rupees missing from the women self-help group’s cashbox or the four bags of cement –purchased for the irrigation project—that went missing. The list is long but that on-the-ground experience taught me a lot and was most rewarding for me personally and professionally to be able to directly engage with people to help them drive their own development. It was during this time, and for the kind of work I was doing, I was selected by the Ford Foundation as a fellow from India.
The international fellowships program took me to Columbia University in the city of New York. I attended the School of International and Public affairs (SIPA) MPA program in Environmental Science, Policy and Management. This was quite a change for me, from going local to global in a matter of days. However, the solid foundation of the grassroots work in India really helped me to put the new learning into perspective and provided me exposure to issues and institutions working globally. Located next to Columbia was the Harlem District in New York City—home to thousands of African Americans. I used to live in International House which was very close to Harlem. I would often go there during the weekends and whenever I could find time as I had developed friendship with some the local organizations/student groups. I was able to draw parallels between my work in India and the racial discrimination in the US which became part of my curiosity further motivating me to work on a youth entrepreneurship project with the African Americans in North Carolina. During this experience I learned a lot about the African American history, their culture, preferences and interests and realised the importance of culture in addressing racial prejudices. Years later I went back there as part of Coady and wrote a case study on the resilience of African Americans as part of a book Citizen-led Innovation for a New Economy.
Following work in the US, I went back to India and joined ATREE for a brief period where I did some interesting policy research work with IIFM alumnus Manoj Dabas on non-timber forest products taxation in India. I then joined ACCESS Development Services as manager-livelihoods. This role included strategy development and implementation for the newly formed organization supporting livelihoods promotion in India. A majority of my work focused on project design as well as supporting resource mobilisation efforts across a spectrum of bilateral, multilateral, foundations and private donors. This was complemented with a strong focus on project implementation support that involved providing a combination of capacity building support, strategic guidance and technical assistance to a wide range of project teams. I also supported the incubation of several flagship initiatives such as Microfinance India (now Inclusive Finance India), and Livelihoods India, both of which are now leading national platforms for dialogue on financial inclusion and livelihoods in India.
The next turning point in my career was coming to the Coady International Institute in Canada.
Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role?
A. I have been working at the Coady International Institute since 2009. Coady is a unique place in the world that supports citizen leaders find solutions to contemporary issues that affect not just their communities but the world. Often called as Canada’s best kept secret, it is a privilege for me to work at Coady and support its mission. I love everything I do here which is a combination of teaching, research, partnerships, and my role in the senior leadership team but the most satisfying part of my role is the time I spend with our graduates—over 10,000 in over 130 countries—both inside and outside the classrooms. These change makers are often working on some of world’s most pressing problems from climate change to rising inequalities to wars and conflicts, and the lack of access to rights and services. From a graduate in Northern Ghana working with widows and orphans find decent work and markets for indigenous products, to one in the little Rann of Kutch finding green technology solutions for Agariasalt producers who produce over 70% of India’s salt but live in poverty, to one supporting youth entrepreneurs in Ethiopia—to be able to support such community leaders and be part of their journey is the most fulfilling part of my role.
Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?
A. Absolutely. I was a Hindi speaking small-town boy when I came to IIFM. The place and people had a huge influence in shaping who I am now and the kind of work I do globally. IIFM provided an exposure and opportunity to a range of sectors and careers including in consulting, academics, civil society, government and the policy ecosystem, activism and the like. The organizational trainings (now Internship & Project Work) and the field trips were also extremely helpful in providing an insider perspective of working in the development sector. Such an exposure helped me in making an informed choice during IIFM placement and afterwards in my career.
Q. Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers?
A. I have been very fortunate to have met some incredible individuals who had deep impact on me, including those I met at IIFM. Professor C. S. Rathore (to us he was CSR), who demonstrated incredible care and commitment for students, had a huge influence on me. To see him in action with such passion and humility was inspiring. By giving his own example and that of many of his IIFM students he encouraged us to find the success that lies within us. He was the one who wrote the recommendation letters, which I am sure played a huge role, helping me secure the Ford fellowship as well as admission into an Ivy league school. He had so much faith in IIFM’ites.
Vikram Shanbhag, my batchmate, was the one who motivated me constantly to explore career in international development. As I mentioned earlier, Vikram and I were placed in the same organisation after IIFM. We used to live together in Jaisinagar. We used to get one Hindi newspaper and Vikram was the one who spotted the advertisement for the Ford fellowship and encouraged me to apply. If it was not him, I probably would not have gone abroad. When I graduated from Columbia, I invited Vikram to my convocation ceremony, and he came! For me that was the highlight and a moment that I always cherish.
Since IIFM I have had the privilege of meeting and working with inspiring leaders including Jeff Sachs, Ved Arya, Vipin Sharma, Ela Bhatt, Linda Jones, Rajgopal PV, P. Sainath, Mary Coyle, John Gaventa, Farouk Jiwa, Minh Kauffman and the likes. I also find inspiration in the work led by Coady graduates and that of many IIFM’ites.
Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?
A. Many beautiful memories. I think it was the combination of the PGDFM program, the campus, the city of Bhopal and the people that made the two years at IIFM most memorable and transformative for me. While the coursework, the two OTs, the field trip, the assignments, the group work provided solid foundation for learning, the campus itself was captivating for that learning to occur. The Bamboosa parties, the sunset point, occasional snakes in the room (fake and real), late night work in the computer centre-all made that experience unique. The city of Bhopal had its own charm. Evening and late-night trips to Madhuram and New Market, the beautiful lakes, Bapu ki kutia and other restaurants, movie nights with friends are still fresh in my mind.
Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution (courses, faculty, library, friends, alumni.. Anything else!!) or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional?
A. I would put what I gained at IIFM in three categories of knowledge, skills and networks/relationships. Coming with a background in mining engineering, IIFM provided an exposure to and basic knowledge and understanding of a wide range of subjects that were new to me like micro-finance, sustainable livelihoods, climate and environment, ecosystem management, participation and governance and more. Such an exposure opens door for many possibilities of career options in a much wider space.
The practical skills that you learn as part of the in-built components of the PGDFM program such as the organizational trainings (OT) and the field work as well as the course assignments provided a great foundation in research design, data collection and analysis, report writing, briefings and presentation and more.
Finally, and most importantly, it’s the people I met at IIFM who had a much deeper impact in shaping my professional and personal journey. From Professors to my seniors to my batchmates who are doing amazing work and many other IIFM’ites who continue to inspire with their work.
Q. The best buddies / seniors /faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share?
A. We were an amazing group and many of my batchmates have become life-long friends. The friendship I share with Vikram, Sarika, Manu, Niloy, Pranav, Amit, NP, Ankur, Dipak, Kulranjan, Biplav, Netra, Alok, Rahul and others from IIFM across batches is very precious to me.
Q. As an alumni, what’s your advice to freshers or those are joining IIFM to get best out of the 2 years there?
A. My advice to the incoming students is that the two years are going to fly very fast so try to make the most of it. Explore the breadth of knowledge that IIFM has to offer through the various courses, faculties and the network of IIFM’ites. At same time try immersing yourself into something that interests you by pursuing opportunities through the internships and field trips. Use the time to explore different options that IIFM presents, try to soak in as much as you can. It may take a while for you to find what you really like so stay patient. The connections and relationships you develop will come in handy way past your time at IIFM.
Q. What is your typical day at the office?
A. My typical day varies a lot depending on where I am between the classrooms and outside! The courses I facilitate—such as Livelihoods and Markets, Social Entrepreneurship, Future of Work(ers)—are normally two weeks in duration and when I am in the class, the days are pretty packed from 08:00 AM to 5:00 PM with a lunch break. When I am not teaching there is a lot of flexibility. I also travel quite a bit, 80-100 days a year, mostly international for work as well as leisure.
Q. And how about weekends, Hobbies, Family and anything else you want to add.
A. I live in a small university town with a population of less than 10,000 people. We are 10 minutes from beautiful beaches and national parks. I try to enjoy nature as much as I can. My weekends are busier than weekdays but in a good way. I spend most of the weekends with the family which often involves taking my daughters to dancing, soccer, taekwondo, music, theater, hiking, snow shoeing, skating, swimming and much more. I also try to connect with my family and friends back home in India every Saturday and Sunday morning.
Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors
A. Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall tells you a lot about how the world works and why countries behave based on their location. We grew up learning about Gandhi in India, but I find Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom also very inspiring. I also like historical fiction by Robert Harris.
Q. IIFM is driven by alumni’s passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students? Your engagement with IIFM Placement or OT/SI?
A. I used to visit IIFM for recruitment almost every year from 2003 until I moved to Canada in 2009. I have worked with many IIFM’ites over the years and always look forward to engaging with them. I am also looking forward to supporting IIFM Alumni Association BOG led by Sandeep Chakravorty and supported by Nikhil Mathur and other BOG members who are planning some exciting activities.
Q. What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there? What do you think is a positive change and what is not?
A. I will not be able to answer this question as I have not followed IIFM that closely since moving to Canada. However, I have been following some of the work of IIFM’ites and IIFM faculty like that of Dr. Bhaskar Sinha on climate change and community resilience. I think it is important for IIFM to be contributing to knowledge building on such issues of global significance.
Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here?
A. I think Vikram Shanbhag, Niloy Bhattacharya, Ankur Singhal, and Naveen Prakash are some from my batch who would have interesting stories and insights to share.