NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Vivek Maru is the CEO of Namati, an international organization dedicated to legal empowerment for the estimated 4 billion people around the world living outside the protection of the law.Namati implements innovative interventions with government and civil society partners on themes such as community land rights, environmental justice, accountability of essential services like health and education, and next-generation models for legal aid provision.He also convenes a global network of practitioners, to foster greater collaboration and ultimately a stronger movement. Prior to launching Namati, Vivekserved as senior counsel in the Justice Reform Group of the World Bank.His work focused on rule of law reform and governance, primarily in West Africa and South Asia. Vivek graduated from Harvard College,magna cum laude, and Yale Law School.

Andy Whiteis the coordinator of the Rights and Resources Initiative and the President of the Rights and Resources Group. Prior to joining Rights and Resources he served as Senior Director of Programs at Forest Trends and Natural Resource Management Specialist at the World Bank, as well as worked as a consultant to the International Food Policy Research Center, Save the Children Federation and the Inter-American Foundation. He has worked extensively in Haiti, Mexico and China and supervises policy research and engagement Asia, Latin America and Africa. His own research and project work has focused on forest tenure and policy, as well as international trade and forest industry. He has a PhD in forest economics and a MA in anthropology from the University of Minnesota.