Prof. I M Dharmadasa, President     Prof. Dharmadasa (Dharme) is a Professor of Electronic Materials & Devices at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK, and leads the Solar Energy Research Group, within Materials and Engineering Research Institute.   Dharme graduated from Univ. of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka by completing two BSc Honours Degrees covering Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics. He won the Dr. Hewavitharana memorial prize for best performance in 1975, and joined the academic staff of the Physics Department in Science Faculty at Peradeniya. After wining an open commonwealth scholarship in 1977, he completed his PhD thesis in 1980 at the Univ. of Durham, in the UK before returning to his post in Sri Lanka. Because of the deep research interest generated by his PhD thesis, he returned to UK in 1984 and carried out solar energy research at Univ. College Cardiff, British Petroleum Company and Sheffield Hallam University.   Dharme is Fellow of the World Innovation Foundation as well as of the UK Institute of Physics. He referees for over 10 international Journals and currently serves as assessor & panel member for UK funding Council (EPSRC), Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) and the British Council (BC). IMD holds dual citizenship, advises political & business leaders on the introduction of clean energy technologies, and has also been selected for the Sri Lankan Government's Eminent Scientist Exchange Programme.   Dharme is currently working with UK industrial partners on research, development & commercialisation of PV solar technology, and actively involved in the promotion of clean energy technologies for social development and reduction of poverty. By raising DFID funding and co-ordinating a Higher Education Link programme, Dharme has been working over the past 15 years for capacity building in solar energy business in Sri Lanka. This work has helped in establishing an international renewable energy promotional programme (SAREP).   He plays an important role in the Association of Professional Sri Lankans in the United Kingdom (APSL), as one of the Vice-Presidents. His dream is to see Sri Lanka becoming an energy independent "Renewable Energy Island" in the future.

Mr Leslie Dep, Vice President   Chartered Quantity Surveyor   Ove Arup and Partners Ltd, London   Christian College, Kotte   Institute of Practical Technology, Moratuwa   Diploma in Civil Engineering Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS)   Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Member of the Institute of Value Management   Commissioner – Disaster Management Commission Appointed by the President of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors to formulate a “Process Protocol” for disaster management   Member of UK Registered Charity “Hela Sarana” engaged in community projects and tsunami relief works in Sri Lanka.   Music, Cricket, Travelling

Mr Ranjan Perera, General Secretary   Job Title: Manager - Engine Group             Employer: Case New Holland,  (CNH), UK Ltd.     Old Boy of:  St Joseph’s College, Colombo     Universities where gained Professional / Vocational Qualifications:  University of Hertfordshire and Cranfield Institute                                       Memberships: Chartered Engineer Institute of Mechanical Engineers (MIMechE),  Chartered Engineer Institute of Agricultural Engineers (MIAgE)     Other roles activities you are involved in: Alternative Fuel Technology/Diesel Engines     Your involvement / contribution to Sri Lanka         Hobbies / Past times   Bridge, Cycling, Languages

Mr Mohan Siriwardena, Deputy & membership Secretary    Lecturer University of Salford   Mohan graduated from University of Moratuwa Sri Lanka, with first class honours degree in BSc(Honours) in Quantity Surveying. He has 8 years of experience as an academic in both teaching and research.  He has extensive experience in funded research projects in the past few years, mainly focusing on process improvement of construction projects, and through-life knowledge and information management of built facilities. Information technology applications in construction, is one of his teaching and research interests. Mohan is currently an ex-co member of the APSL.

Dr Andrew Nayagam, Ex-Co Member, Immediate Past President   Profession: Consultant Physician – Genitourinary Medicine   Employer : Worthing & Southlands NHS Trust   Old Boy of: St Sylvester’s College, Kandy College(s) / Universities where gained Professional / Vocational Qualifications: MBBS, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sri Lanka. Colombo Memberships / Affiliations FRCP (Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, London) ·     Member of Clinical Governance Committee, BASHH (British Association for Sexual Health & HIV)   Other roles activities involved in Chair, Brighton West Research Ethics Committee ·     Regional Chair, South Thames (West), BASHH ·     Board member, Hove YMCA Involvement / contribution to Sri Lanka ·     Trustee of Vision Lanka ·     Vice President APSL – 2004 to 2007 ·     Co-opted member of SLMDA (Sri Lankan Medical & Dental Association) in the UK ·     Through SLMDA and as one of its past presidents, played an active role in helping the undergraduate medical students in Sri Lanka for the past 18 yrs ·     Collected money and material to help victims of Tsunami Hobbies / Past times Travel, Charity work     VISION             I have been involved with the APSL from its inception Keen to develop it into a broad church that is open to all races, creeds and professions, build        unity and make it a platform for supporting Sri Lanka   PRIORIY             Unite Sri Lankans together and work together for the benefit of Sri Lanka

Mr Leslie Gunaratne, Ex Co Member, Founding President Mr Gunaratne is a Charted Engineer, Fellow of the Institute of Quality Assurance, member of Charted Institute of Building and IRCA registered QMS Lead Assessor.  He obtained MSc and MPhil degrees in Construction and Quality Management at Heriot -Watt University in Edinburgh. Mr Gunaratne has wide experience in Construction Management in different capacities. Some of the positions he held included, Senior Resident Engineer at Abuja Federal Capital Development Project in Nigeria,   Project Manager Norwest Construction in UK, Quality, Safety Manager with French owned Company, OTV. During his career, he has been a full time Lecturer in Construction and Construction Management at College of North West London and a visiting Lecturer in Construction Management at Heriot Watt University.  As a Client Manager with British Standard Institute, he gained first hand experience in developing and implementing ISO 9001, 2000. Currently, he is a Construction Consultant/ Lead Assessor at Lloyds Registry, London.   Among his publications are: Building Up From the Recession- TQM Magazine Road to Total Quality in Construction-World Quality Conference, Jerusalem One Standard for Quality, Safety and Environment- World Quality Conference- New Delhi IOS 9001, 2000 to the Construction Industry- Quality World

Mervyn Silva, Ex Co Member   Mervyn is an IT Consultant working for the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom. Having started his working life as a teacher he moved on to become an IT Trainer in the UK.   A few years later he became the Manager of the IT Training Centre which he managed for the next 10 years. During this period he gained his MBA from Bradford Management School which is among the top ten Management Schools in the UK.   Mervyn has also a graduate with a distinction from Beacon Leadership, Career and Professional Development Programme. He is a Prince 2 Certified Practitioner and a MCMI (Member of the Chartered Management Institute).   He ran his own IT consultancy business during the late 1990s providing consultancy, training and advice to local companies in overcoming the challenge posed by the ‘Millennium Bug Problem’. Also, during this period he taught Business Process Re-Engineering and Database Design skill to the Undergraduates at Leeds Metropolitan University.   He cares deeply for peace and prosperity of Sri Lanka and plays quite an active role among the expatriate Sri Lanka community.  He is currently the Deputy General Secretary and the Web Master of the Association of Professional Sri Lankans in the UK.

Rohan de Alwis   Charles Rohan de Alwis is a corporate/commercial lawyer by profession.  An old boy of Richmond and Nalanda Colleges, Rohan qualified as an Attorney-at-Law in 1982 and then as a Solicitor of England & Wales in 1987.  Rohan worked in the Chambers of H W Jayewardene QC; E R S R Coomaraswamy PC and Mahes Kanagasundrem PC mainly as a Civil/Commercial lawyer.  Working in politically polarised Chambers of opposing parties made Rohan what he is today, namely, being able to work with people from diverse political backgrounds.    Rohan is the founding partner of Charles De Alwis Solicitors and is a Director of Ferrari GB Ltd and a number of UK based Fiat Automotive subsidiaries.  Rohan is also a Trustee of the Surya Lanka Rebuilding Foundation Ltd, a UK registered Charity in the UK for Tsunami affected children in Sri Lanka.  He began his corporate career in the UK as an Attorney with Ford of Europe, Inc.   Rohan was the founding General Secretary of the Association of Professional Sri Lankans in the UK (APSL UK) and currently the General Secretary of the Association of Sri Lankan Lawyers in the UK (ASLL UK).  He is deeply committed to Sri Lanka develop its infrastructure and ‘people building’ to enable it to be a vibrant member of developed and cultured world.

Dr Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Ex-Co Member   Dr Indrajit Coomaraswamy was an official in the Central Bank of Sri Lanka from 1973-1989. He worked in the Economic Research, Statistics and Bank Supervision Divisions. He was also seconded to the Ministry of Finance and Planning (1981-89).   Dr Coomaraswamy was employed by the Commonwealth Secretariat from 1990-2008. During that time he held the positions, inter alia, of Director, Economic Affairs Division and Deputy-Director, Secretary-General's Office.   He is currently Special Adviser at the Galleon Group.   Dr Coomaraswamy completed his undergraduate degree at Cambridge University and obtained his Doctorate at the University of Sussex.

Dr Athula Sumathipala, Ex Co Member Dr Sumathipala originally graduated and trained in Sri Lanka. He obtained an MBBS, Diploma in Family Medicine and an MD (research on Medically Unexplained Symptoms) from Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo, he then re-qualified in the UK, undergoing postgraduate training in Psychiatry and obtaining a Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training (CCST) in the UK (EU). Athula also has a PhD from University of London. He is attached to the Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College, University of London (Section of Epidemiology). In 1997 he returned to Sri Lanka to conduct research during which, with local colleagues, he has established a sustainable network and infrastructure for research, with a strong emphasis upon the interface between physical and mental health. He co-founded and is now the director at the Institute for Research and Development in Sri Lanka which is dedicated both to capacity building and to establishing an ethical research culture in Sri Lanka.   His main research interest is on medically unexplained symptoms and he has carried out the only two controlled clinical trials using CBT for medically unexplained symptoms in the developing world. He proposed and co-founded the Sri Lankan Twin Registry, which, is the first of this kind in the developing world. He is also recognized in the field of Bioethics, validated by the UNECSO as an expert in bioethics. Capacity building initiatives in the region and research into ethics particularly disaster related research ethics is another area of significant achievement.

Gayani starts her career as an EFL Teacher. At presents she work as a coordinator for European Teacher Training Programs and Leonardo da Vinci European projects.    She also follows her Phd  in Linguistics. Her main research area is Analysing Institutional Talk among different ethnic groups in Sri Lank as applied to English.

Mr Janath Jayawardana, Ex-Co Member   Profession: Technical Manager Employer: Johnson Controls, Morgan Stanley, Canary Wharf, London   Old Boy of: Nalanda College, Colombo   Brunel University, Uxbridge MSc in Building Services Southbank University, London, Part BEng. Willesden College of Technology, West London HND   Member of ASHRAE Associate Member of Institute of Refrigeration   Financially assisted to build a Montessori for 120 tsunami effected children. Currently run as partly funded school for educating children from low income families.   Build 3 houses for families effected by Tsunami. Spent time in Sri Lanka after Tsunami rebuilding a ice plant  in Galle fisheries’ harbour shipping parts from UK, providing technical expertise and training  to locals staff.   Gardening, Koi Carps, DIY, Cricket