Sharmeen Soneya Murshid, a sociologist who graduated from University of Warsaw in 1981, is an institution builder with a vision to reorganize communities based on the idea of participatory and inclusive governance. She established Brotee in 2001 and as its CEO has devised and presided over programmes driven by the ancient philosophy of Atma Shakti - ‘start with what you know and build on what you have’.

Her innovation, the participatory methodology for community governance, Gonokriya Gobeshona (GKG) or Collective Action Research (of the poor), has seen success in realising a holistic approach to community wellbeing, human rights defense and resilient SDG villages.

Years of experience in community-led activities prepared Sharmeen S Murshid for Social Business since 2010. She started the Social Business Wing of Brotee in 2021 and began several pilot actions.

She pioneered making surface water potable in Bangladesh through an Ecological River Water Treatment Plant in an arsenic affected region, which is also her first social business success story.

A freedom fighter, Sharmeen S Murshid's works are inspired by an eco-feminist outlook while her role has extended over the years as she has involved herself in activities aimed at strengthening electoral systems and governance, ensuring ecological well-being and building self-governing communities, across the country, especially the marginalised ethnic groups whose language and culture are in need of protection.