"Vision without action is just a dream, action without vision just passes the time, and vision with action can change the world."

ElsaMarie D’Silva is the Founder of Red Dot Foundation and President of Red Dot Foundation Global (Safecity), a pioneering platform that documents and maps sexual harassment and abuse in public spaces. As a strategic leader, she has expanded Safecity into the largest crowd-mapping platform on gender-based violence, active in India and 17 other countries. Her vision continues to drive Safecity's mission to empower communities and influence policy changes on gender safety globally.

Beyond her work at Safecity, ElsaMarie co-founded Beyond Black, a social entrepreneurship venture.

Key Roles & Contributions

ElsaMarie is actively involved in multiple leadership and advisory roles:

Board Member and Advisory Member:

  • Red Dot Foundation
  • Red Dot Foundation Global
  • Beyond Black
  • Global Diplomacy Lab - Elected Advisory Council Member (2024-2025)
  • Fair Share, Data Advisory Committee (2024)
  • Women in AI Asia Pacific, Advisory Board (2023)
  • Xprize India, Chair (2018–2021)
  • Whispering Hope Africa
  • Rotary Peace Fellowship Alumni Association (2020)
  • Network Driver (India) - BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt (2018-2023)
  • Network Steering Committee member and former Regional Coordinator (India) - Bosch Alumni Network (2018-2020)
  • Member of the New Voices Fellowship Expert Panel and former Alumni Council Member - Aspen New Voices
  • Communications and Strategy Team Member - Global Diplomacy Lab (German Federal Foreign Office)


Mentor & Jury Member:

  • Vital Voices
  • ILSS Emerging Women’s Leadership Program
  • UNAOC Intercultural Innovation Hub
  • D&AD Impact Awards
  • Anthem Awards
  • Stevie Awards for Women in Business
  • External reviewer for National Endowment for Democracy's Reagan Fascell Fellowship, J M Kaplan Innovation Prize, Rotary International Peace Fellowship


Advisor to:

  • Women7, under the G7 Presidency of Italy (2024) and Germany (2022)
  • Global Diplomacy Lab, Communications and Strategy Team
  • Brave Movement, co-founder (to end childhood sexual abuse)


She also co-founded the Gender Alliance, bringing together networks like BMW Foundation, Global Diplomacy Lab, Bosch Alumni Network, and Global Leadership Academy.


Recognitions & Fellowships:
ElsaMarie has been recognized for her leadership in social impact and entrepreneurship through numerous fellowships, including:

  • Gratitude Network Fellow (2020)
  • International Women’s Forum Fellow (2019)
  • Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow (2019)
  • Yale World Fellow (2018)
  • Chevening Gurukul Fellow, Oxford University (2017)
  • Rotary Peace Fellow (2016)
  • Aspen New Voices Fellow (2015)
  • Vital Voices Lead Fellow (2014)
  • Alumni of the Swedish Institute and the US Department of State Fortune Program


She has also represented Safecity at the Fast FWD Accelerator program, an initiative of the City of Philadelphia, USA, as part of Bloomberg’s Mayors Challenge.


Public Speaking & Writing
ElsaMarie has spoken at various global forums, including:

  • Curator of TEDxVersovaWomen (2018–2020)
  • Aspen Ideas Festival (2015)
  • TEDxMidAtlantic (2015)
  • CityLab London (2015)
  • TEDxLlorenteWomen (2021)


She has contributed articles to CNN, Huffington Post, and The WIP, and her work has been widely featured in international media.


Awards and recognition:

  • Recipient of the inaugural Vital Voices Collective Action award for Safecity.
  • Recipient of the 'Best App to Report Gender-based Violence' award at the Women and Mental Health Summit & Awards by Bharat Dialogues
  • Recipient of the India-UK Achievers Honours Awards 2024 in the 'Society and Policy' category.
  • Recipient of The Anthem Awards 2024 – Human & Civil Rights, Category: ‘Best Use of Data’
  • Recipient of Jury Appreciation Citation for the English Web Podcast category for Believe - Season 2
  • Winner of the Equal Rights and Non-Discrimination award at the World Justice Challenge 2022 
  • Runner up at Trust Law Impact Awards 2022
  • Winner of the Shree Shakti Award by UN Women India and Government of India (MeitY) 2022
  • Winner at Dasra's Data for Good Exchange 2021
  • Season 1 of beliEVE won the Laadli Media Awards for gender sensitivity 2021 in the English Category Podcast 
  • Vital Voices listed her as one of 16 AAPI voices to know
  • Pink Attitude Evolution Inspiration Award 2021
  • Jury member in the Impact Category of D&AD Awards
  • YourStory listed her as one of the 100 Digital Influencers of 2020
  • Featured in BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt's “Change Focus to Change – 50 Years of Inspiring Responsible Leadership”
  • Winner at Booking.com's Tech Playmaker's Awards for Social Impact 2020
  • Vital Voices has featured her in The Vital Voices: 100 Women Using their Power to Empower art exhibition
  • TUMI listed her as one of the Remarkable Women in Transport 2020
  • SheThePeople listed her as one of the Badass Women 2020
  • The Indian National Bar Association has listed her in the publication Phenomenal She 2020
  • Women Achiever's Award for 'Living the Change', by The Young Environmentalists Program Trust
  • YourStory listed her as one of the 100 Emerging Voices of 2019
  • Jury member of the #DigitalWomenAwards by #SheThePeople
  • Jury member of the 5th Global Entreps Awards & 5Gcitizens International Congress
  • Jury member of the #WebWonderWomen campaign by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, India 2019
  • Recipient of the Public Peace Prize 2018
  • Your Story's 100 Emerging Voices of 2018
  • Global Thinkers Forum's Award for Excellence in Women's Empowerment 2018
  • Judge for Stevie Awards 2017 and 2018
  • Womennovator's 100 Women Faces, April 2018
  • The Light of Freedom Award at the Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards in the presence of Hillary Clinton on 8 March 2017
  • Be Bold, Stand Firm - Hear Her Song by The Canales Project
  • Tomorrows Peacebuilder Award by Peace Direct, Dec 2017
  • One of  “50 Most Impactful Social Innovators (Global Listing)” by The World CSR Day in Feb 2017
  • We Are The City - Rising Star of India Award - Oct 2017
  • Most Powerful Women in Business - Impact Women by Business Today from the India Today Group - Oct 2017
  • Google #SMBHeroes Award in the Digital Impact category June 2017
  • Woman of Substance by Rotary District West India in January 2017
  • SheThePeople have listed her Top 30 Champions of Feminism on Social Media in India
  • 2017 Global Peace Index Ambassador by Rotary and Institute for Economics and Peace
  • Identified as one of the top 100 women in Vital Voices for further mentroing and support #VV100.
  • Gold Stevie Award for Female Executive of the Year - Government or Non-Profit -10 or Less Employees 2016
  • Government of India, Niti Aayog's Women Transforming India award 2016
  • Leader of the Month on World Pulse in Aug 2016
  • Mentor with the School Leaders Network
  • Responsible Leader with the BMW Foundation
  • Advisor to Women's Safety XPrize
  • Advisor to PCDNetwork's Career Advisory Board
  • Winner of the StealthEnomics $25,000 Entrepreneurship Award 2016
  • The Pride of India - Community Hero award by WCRC 2016
  • BBC Hindi's Top 100 Women in 2015
  • Female Entrepreneur of the Year Award by Dusan Stojanovic (European Angel Investor 2013) July 2015 
  • The Digital Women Award in Social Impact by SheThePeople.tv in November 2015


Early Career:
Before transitioning to the social sector, ElsaMarie spent 20 years in the aviation industry with Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines, where she served as Vice President of Network Planning and Charters. She was responsible for overseeing the planning and implementation of 500 daily flights and represented Kingfisher Airlines at the Ministry of Civil Aviation on planning and bilateral agreements.

​

Contact:
ElsaMarie is available for speaking engagements, workshops on DEIA, Gender sensitivity, Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, and Holistic Life Mapping. She also offers personalized life coaching and counseling. Contact her here.





- NELSON MANDELA


​​ElsaMarie D'Silva

Social Entrepreneur ​