Priscilla T. Gonsalves
Partner | Historian, Educator, Social Entrepreneur, Environmental Advocate
Priscilla Tapley Gonsalves is a historian, educator, and social entrepreneur with a lifelong passion for culture, wildlife, and community development. She holds a Ph.D. in History with a focus on East European and Russian studies from Stanford University, where her doctoral research culminated in the book The Austrian Reforms and the Serbian Peasant in Bosanska Krajina, 1878–1914.
Priscilla’s early career included service with the Peace Corps in Afghanistan and research in Yugoslavia, shaping her global perspective and commitment to education and humanitarian work. She moved to India in 1989 alongside her husband, Timothy Gonsalves, for his tenure as Director of IIT Mandi, where she has since made lasting contributions across education, entrepreneurship, and conservation. She founded Willy’s Coffee Pub in Ooty—the region’s first lending library and café—and established EWOK, an NGO supporting women in Himachal Pradesh’s Kamand Valley. She has also served as a Director of Nilgiri Networks (P) Ltd and advised the IIT Mandi Campus School Management Committee.
A lifelong naturalist, Priscilla has extensively documented the wildlife of the Kamand Valley, resulting in two books: From Leopards to Lizards and a children’s edition, Animals of Kamand. She was also the story writer and initial producer for the Academy Award®–winning documentary The Elephant Whisperers and attended the 95th Academy Awards in 2023.
Fluent in multiple languages and deeply committed to environmental and cultural storytelling, Priscilla combines her expertise in history, conservation, and social entrepreneurship at Earth Spectrum to amplify underrepresented voices and highlight humanity’s connection to the natural world.
kartiki Gonsalves
Partner | Academy Award®–Winning Director, Filmmaker, Visual Storyteller
Kartiki Gonsalves is an Indian director, documentary filmmaker, and visual storyteller, best known for her Academy Award®–winning debut documentary, The Elephant Whisperers. She is the first Indian director in history to win an Academy Award, a milestone celebrated worldwide. Kartiki attended the 95th Academy Awards in 2023, where the Oscar® for Best Documentary Short Film was presented to her by Elizabeth Olsen and Pedro Pascal.
Her work has earned international recognition, including the Tara Award from Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla for contributions to human-wildlife coexistence, and the Paul Harris Award from Rotary International for her humanitarian and conservation efforts. She was also named one of GQ India’s Most Influential Young Indians of 2023.
In addition to filmmaking, Kartiki is a Sony Alpha Artisan of Imagery, one of the first women in India to receive this distinction. She collaborates with brands such as Peak Design and Swarovski Optik Nature Explorer 2021, and her photography has been published in The Hindu, Economic Times, Deccan Herald, Scroll.in, Jet Wings, Smart Photography, and Classic Imaging.
Kartiki founded Earth Spectrum in 2018, a production company dedicated to storytelling that highlights biodiversity, environmental conservation, and cultural life. She focuses on amplifying voices of women, Indigenous communities, and underrepresented groups while documenting conservation solutions that inspire hope.
Her work spans both wildlife and cultural documentaries, including contributions as a camerawoman on Discovery Channel and Animal Planet’s On The Brink (2018). She continues long-term projects documenting elusive wildlife and capturing cultural narratives across India.
Through her films and photography, Kartiki brings adventure, culture, and nature together to deepen public understanding of our shared connection to the natural world and to foster empathy, awareness, and positive change.