Dr. Swati Hegde is a sustainability research specialist with expertise in the areas of food-water-energy systems, biofuels, waste to energy, and sustainability science. Swati's previous work encompasses food waste, agricultural biomass, environmental impact assessment, water quality, and life cycle studies, published as high impact journal articles, book chapters, technical reports, and blogs.

In her previous roles, Swati worked as a Lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, Senior Academic Research Coordinator for the Water Center at the University of Pennsylvania, as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Gender and Water, and as an Assistant Professor of Biotechnology in India.

She has over ten years of multidisciplinary experience in applied biotechnology research, teaching, writing and project management. Swati volunteers her time to teach youth about climate change and is currently serving as the Future Climate Leaders Program Guru for the Energy and Resources Institute, India.

Swati holds a Ph.D. in Sustainability from the Golisano Institute for Sustainability, Rochester, New York. She holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Biochemical Engineering from Indian Universities.