Sheela Patel is the Founder Director of SPARC (Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centres) – a non-profit society working in issues of equity and social justice in India and SPARC Samudhaya Nirman Sahayak (SSNS) – a set up to assist slum communities take on construction initiatives in cities. She has a Masters in Social Work from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India. She is a member of World Health Organization Task Force on the Social Determinants of Health, Chair of the Board of Shack Dweller’s International Board, Chair of the Policy Advisory Board of the Cities Alliance (World Bank) and has been a Member of the ICSSR Committee for IDPAD (Indo Dutch research projects). She is also a member of the Technical Advisory Board of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission of the Government of India.
