Dr. Urmila Pingle, currently the Managing Trustee of Centre for People Forestry, is also a member of governing body of LEPRA for the past two decades. She attained MBBS and PhD in Genetics from the Indian Statistical Institute. A social and medical anthropologist by profession, whose genetic and dietary research among the tribes has unlocked many new vistas. Dr. Urmila, whose genetic and dietary research among the tribes of the area has opened many new vistas. She is a consultant for many projects and studies of international and national organisations as well as for government at state and national level. She is a member of many professional societies, with four decades of diverse field, research experience in tribal / forestry areas of central India, experience in formulation of natural resource and tribal development policies in India. She has published two scholarly books on Anthropology, Nutrition and Genetic of Tribals in Andhra Pradesh and nearly twenty articles in reputed journals.