Celine d’Cruz has been advocating for the urban poor in various roles for more than two decades. She began her career working with migrant women and families on the streets of Mumbai and supports urban poor organizations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America as a founding member, urban practitioner, and advisor for Slum Dwellers International. She currently serves as a Visiting Researcher with the International Centre for Climate Change and Development in Bangladesh and leads the Climate Bridge Fund Initiative as a Fellow at the Global Center on Adaptation. She previously spent several years as an urban practitioner for the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights.

Celine joined the Block by Block Board in February 2017 and has participated in Block by Block projects in Hanoi, Nairobi, Kalobeyei, and Addis Ababa. She represented Block by Block at the World Urban Forum in Abu Dhabi and Cairo.  

Celine has been honored as a Yale World Fellow in global leadership and global issues. She speaks English, Hindi, and Marathi. She serves on the sounding board for the New Social Housing Research Center at TU Wien in Vienna, Austria, and on the board for the Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centers (SPARC), of which she was a founding member and previous Associate Director. She is also an advisory board member of Included, which helps migrant laborers throughout Asia. She loves exploring the cities that she lives in and visits on foot.