A wildlife enthusiast and self taught naturalist with several years of practical knowledge around rural entrepreneurship ,Yogender is a repository of knowledge around the local biodiversity of Tehri Garhwal region in Himalayas. An active member of the local village council of Dharkot in Tehri Garhwal, he has also been the Gram Pradhan (Head of the village council) previously. His areas of interest include promoting rural entrepreneurship, wildlife tracking and identification, sustainable livelihood. Currently, he leads community driven conservation activities for EcoSanskriti in Uttarakhand.