Our Technical Advisors

Brian Kastl, International Consultant -- Environmental Management and Education Project development for IUCN, TNC, and ADB

Harshini de Silva, LEED Accredited Profesional

Brian Kastl is an international consultant on environmental management and education in the Asia Pacific region. He aims to strengthen livelihoods and resilience to climate change through recommendations for water resources management. Brian leads safe drinking water projects for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Cambodia, a Payment for Ecosystem Services project for The Nature Conservancy in Micronesia, and a Community-based Disaster Risk Management assessment in Laos and Vietnam for the Asian Development Bank. As a mentor for the Study of the US Institute on Global Environmental Issues, he helps undergraduate students realize and lead their own projects. Brian holds a Masters degree from the School of Oceanography Earth Science and Technology at the University of Hawaii and is an East-West Center alumnus of the Asia Pacific Leadership Program. He has research experience on South African watersheds and New Zealand flooding disaster risk management as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Auckland.

Harshini de Silva is a LEED Accredited Profesional currently pursuing her Master's at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, on Biodiversity, Ecotourism and Environmental Management. Harshini just completed her tenure at the East-West Center as a Professional Associate to a number of Leadership Programs of the Center and is now in the process of exploring new openings in Sri Lanka, especially in the Green Hospitality sector. Having worked in International and National NGOs and in Private Sector Organizations, she has gained over 5 years of experience, working in the fields of Ecosystem Conservation, Green Buildings and Sustainable Development, Integrated Water Resources Management and associated Communications, and Conservation and Leadership Education. Having worked with over two dozen nationalities, she enjoys multi-cultural environments. An avid bird-watcher, her passions are nature, travelling and cooking.