Madhura Shembekar, originally from Scottsdale, Arizona, is a recent graduate from Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service with a degree in science, technology, and international affairs (concentration: energy/environment), and a minor in Spanish. She has strong research interests in climate adaptation, sustainable urban development, and environmental migration and displacement. She has worked for the Kuskokwim Watershed Coalition, conducting a risk assessment of mercury mobilization in Alaska, and for the Georgetown Climate Center, researching state- and local-level climate adaptation policy.
At Georgetown University, she was awarded honors for completion of a thesis on climate-induced migration and displacement in South Asia. A Lannan Fellow, Sustainable Business Fellow (McDonough School of Business), and a Krogh Honors Scholar, Madhura is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Sigma Nu honor societies. For her work on environmental issues, she was also given the Lena Landegger Community Service Award. Madhura is an avid tennis enthusiast and loves to dance.
Madhura’s Fulbright-Nehru research project is studying the role of civil society groups and nongovernmental organizations in shaping coastal adaptation and urban resilience in Mumbai. In particular, her project is examining the adoption of “natural” infrastructure, sometimes termed “blue-green” infrastructure, such as urban wetlands and water plazas, as an alternative to traditional structures. Through mixed-methods research involving interviews of civil society organizations and analysis of gray literature, she aims to understand public perceptions about such infrastructure, barriers to its adoption, and its potential for supporting coastal resilience and adaptation. The project consolidates Madhura’s interest in inclusive urban development and community-based adaptation policy.