Nisha Mary Poulose is the Executive Director of Regenerative Rising- a 100% women-led organization, devoted to elevating and forwarding regenerative principles that expand the capability of people to lead from a living systems worldview. She is an award-winning architect and regional planner, whose career at the confluence of human habitat, planning, and the environment now spans 15 years and 4 countries. Her regenerative focus has been the guiding force behind her work, as is the deep bond she shares with nature.

In 2015 she won an award from the Prime Minister of India for her ideas on how Smart Cities in India can solve critical problems. She runs Woven Design Collaborative- A multi-disciplinary, regenerative spatial planning+design firm in India. She is a part of the South Asia Bioregionalism Working Group and co-led a research project that produced a bioregional map of India. She is also a co-convener for the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), whom she supports with strategic visions and action plans for integrated regional development to preserve human and natural heritage, with regenerative livelihoods and native wisdom at the center.

Nisha did her architecture in India before being selected for the Erasmus Mundus Program in Europe where she gained two advanced degrees: MSc. International Cooperation in Urban Development and MSc. Urbanism, Habitat and International Cooperation.

She grew up in Kottayam, a small town in Kerala- the South-Western coastal State in India known for its natural and cultural heritage and abundant tropical biodiversity. Her relationship with nature is one that she cultivated in her childhood and continues to inform her thoughts and actions. She relaxes by hiking, solving jigsaw puzzles, or sneaking away with her cat Cleo to finish a book.