Sheela Patel is Founder Director of the Society for Promotion of Area Resource Centres (SPARC), a Mumbai-based NGO that has been working on housing and infrastructure rights for the urban poor for since 1984. She also played a key role in the expansion of Mahila Milan, a federation of collectives of women living in slums across India. Patel is also the Chair of Slum/Shack Dwellers International (SDI), an international network of poor people’s organizations and supporting NGOs, active in Asia and Africa. She has represented Sdi as member or advisor in many national and international task forces and committees. Patel has received the David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award from the Synergos Institute in recognition of her extensive efforts to ameliorate urban poverty, and Padmashree a national award from the Indian government for her work on urban poverty issues.