July 23, 2009, Washington, DC: Bharati Chaturvedi, director of the Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group, has won a 2009 Knowledge of the World Award from her alma mater, John Hopkins University.

The Knowledge of the World Award is “intended to honor alumni who exemplify the Johns Hopkins tradition of excellence and have brought credit to the university and their profession in the international arena through their professional achievements or humanitarian service.”

Ms Chaturvedi graduated from Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Service with a Masters in International Public Policy in 1997. She founded Chintan, now a 23-person organization that focuses on issues of urban poverty, consumption, and sustainable development for people working and living in India’s informal waste sector.  In partnership with wastepickers, Chintan pioneers ways to improve living conditions — from offering local sanitation improvement strategies to advocating against toxic materials being imported into India’s recycling dumps.

To learn more about Ms Chaturvedi’s work and the award, click here.