Sailesh Nakkana is a Consultant, Climate & Livelihoods (MERL) at Athena Infonomics, with experience spanning climate-resilient agriculture, agroforestry, carbon projects, and rural livelihoods. His work focuses on field-level program implementation, impact assessments, and the design of monitoring, evaluation, and learning frameworks for sustainability and climate-related initiatives.

Prior to joining Athena, Sailesh worked with CIFOR-ICRAF, where he was involved in agroforestry and tree-based interventions linked to carbon and MRV frameworks, alongside policy engagement and landscape-level programs. He has contributed to the establishment and strengthening of tree-based enterprise incubation models, working closely with government departments, research institutions, private sector partners, and farmer organisations.

Sailesh holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Forestry Management and a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture & Food Business. His professional interests centre on strengthening evidence-based decision-making for climate and livelihoods programmes.