Work with Nithin
My goal is to connect the world and educate people about modernity and the challenges facing humanity today. Through my writing and my work with NGOs and social causes, I hope to foster positive change globally. I am available as a consultant for NGOs, non-profit organizations, and any such social enterprises that want to make an impact around the world.
I only do projects with progressive non-profit organizations, NGOs and socially conscious companies. This is because I want to use my skills to help make the world a better place.
Past Clients and Projects
- Walk Free – Though the use of innovative trainings, worked on the ground to build campaign capacity of grassroots NGOs working on issues of modern slavery and the environment with a dispersed global team.
- SumofUs – Expanded South Asian partnerships to improve the efficacy of global supply chain campaigns by connecting ground organizations with SumofUS’s global campaign teams.
- Greenpeace – As part of Arctic drilling escalation campaign, I provided real time email and social media support for on-the-ground activists.
- Care2 – Curated rapid response petition and blog content with goal of expanding activist base.
- Kehati – Prepared research briefs on REDD and Access/Benefit Sharing for Indonesian Government and visited field sites to carry out knowledge management and media outreach activities.
- Climate Politics – Research and content manager for groundbreaking initiative aimed at collecting all decisionmaker positions and public statements on climate issues.
- Sierra Club – Dynamic, fast-paced position involved drafting press releases, pitching media, developing talking points and conducting social media outreach around events and campaigns across the country.
Highlights
Greenwashing in the Carpet Industry
As a report writer and editor for Changing Markets, I helped condense large amounts of data, and various case studies, into a groundbreaking report that exposed the carpet industry to high levels of scrutiny.
Domestic Slavery in Hong Kong
In partnership with Indonesian NGO Migrant Care, our multilingual, international media awareness campaign led to Erwiana, a victim of modern slavery, to be named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2014.
How Activists Beat Big Oil
Digital storytelling was key in the surprisingly decisive success of the campaign to stop Shell from drilling in the Arctic. In addition to my social media consulting work, I wrote this case study for Greenpeace’s Mobilisation Lab.What I Offer
Powerful Content
As humans, we feel a great deal of connection to stories, and today, the unprecedented power of digital media allows for stories and memes to spread around the world with rapid speed – and make rapid changes. However, you need powerful content to drive action, and that is where I come in. I write for social change, and my articles are written to force people to think and spur action globally. As a global journalist, my pieces have appeared in The Diplomat, Al Jazeera, Quartz, Atlantic Cities, Indonesia Expat, Penang Monthly, BootsnAll and Southeast Asia Globe.
I can assist your organization in the production of effective content to incite positive actions for your campaigns and provide real, measurable metrics. I provide more than just content – I also can do promotion and outreach, and will help craft a plan to ensure that the content reaches the right audience, in order to garner maximum impact. Use the form below to contact me with your needs and we can begin discussing what type of content makes sense for your campaign.
Covering the historic Paris Climate Talks
I attended COP21 in Paris, France, and wrote 14 articles for on a diverse range of topics for five global media outlets – The Diplomat, Southeast Asia Globe, SciDev.net, Good Magazine, and Triple Pundit.Indonesia's Devestating Fires
Massive amounts of carbon emitted, the health of millions adversely affected, and a once biodiverse landscape in shambles. My pieces, written after conducting field research in Sumatra, were often the only story in that outlet about this disaster, and helped raise awareness about real causes, impacts, and solutions to the unprecedented catastrophe.Global Field Expertise
Today, it is often inadequate to run a campaign or project in a single place. All issues are in some way, transnational, and for you to be effective, you must be able to communicate and collaborate across borders. I have worked on campaigns all around the world, and have acquired unique insight into how to connect people across borders. Too often, the difference between a good campaign and an effective campaign is not the will, but the lack of knowledge of the on-the-ground situation.
As a researcher, I can provide not only high-quality data, but also a journalist eye and perspective for what stories can help raise awareness and gain exposure for your organization or cause. I am available to do field research, prepare report, and do local press outreach, including media events. My goal: create narratives of local experiences for global audiences to push for social change.
Click on the pins to see the research project I focused on in each location.
Various Projects: Indonesia
- 2017 – Conducted investigation on viscose industry for Changing Markets.
- 2015 – Covered historic Indonesian fires for various global media outlets.
- Covered 2014 National Elections for Al Jazeera International
- April 2014 – Suharto’s ghost stalks Indonesia election
- May 2014 – Is Islamic Politics rising in Indonesia?
- June 2014 – What’s left of the left?
- 2013-2014 – Senior Campaigner for Walk Free Foundation (now Freedom United).
- 2010 – Communications Assistant for Kehati Biodiversity Foundation.
Land and Compensation: Nepal
Avoiding the Resource Curse: Uganda
- Worked with an interdisciplinary team to build detailed guidelines for sustainable and ethical development of recently discovered oil fields.
- Final report won the prestigious Dr. Susan Aurelia Gitelson Award during Columbia University 2012 Commencement ceremonies.
Report on Future of Development Aid: Japan
- Our widely-read report written by a team of 11 fellows from diverse backgrounds focused on the current state of Japan’s overseas development assistance, with I specifically assisting the section on sustainability. We also analyzed the effects of March 2011 Earthquake on Japan’s economy and diplomacy.
Testimonials
Nithin was so great to work with! We hired him during an extremely busy time in the #ShellNo campaign and needed someone who would be able to get up to speed and start producing content quickly. Nithin fit the bill perfectly. He created excellent, effective social and email content with minimal guidance or feedback needed. His writing is especially strong – he really knows how to write so that the reader is motivated to act. In addition to being able to turn content around quickly, he has a great strategic mind.
Sarah RasmussenNithin stands out because of his understanding and respect for local context. His personal investment in cross-cultural empathy paid huge dividends when building rapport and trust with global counterparts. Nithin never settled for campaign strategies that just looked good on paper, but rather, took the time to adapt it to the complex cultural and political realities of Indonesia, the country program he was responsible for. He is smart, articulate, and has a wealth of global field experience.
Kyle BuetzowNithin made a major contribution to the start-up phase of Walk Free’s global anti-slavery partner network. He has a very strong work ethic and great brainpower. His ability to think conceptually was very helpful in thinking through how to build the program, and his creative thinking helped us to adapt to different contexts.
Olly BustonNithin worked on a project to reach out to civil society and activist groups in South East Asia for SumOfUs. He worked quickly and did whatever it took to get people to talk – no small feat considering he was working halfway around the world from those he was reaching out to!
Kaytee RiekCost
My goal is to help make a difference. Thus, I include several factors such as location, size of organization, budget, and issue area when determining project cost. My rate is highest for for-profit enterprises and international NGOs, less for local NGOs, and lowest for community organizations. I am also willing to work pro-bono on small projects for specific causes. I am especially open to doing this for indigenous communities or indigenous rights organizations.
Content
General Blog Post/Article: 40 cents/word ($250/post)
In-Depth Feature or Longform Narrative: 60 cents/word
Discount for series or multiple posts.
Hourly Rate
Social Enterprise/Private Rate: $65/hr
Global NGO Rate: $50/hr
Local NGO Rate: $30/hr
