Co-founder & Exec. Director, Lend A Hand India
Having grown up in a village in Maharashtra, and after working at an educational institution, Sunanda realized the limitations of existing approaches to education in rural India. Her experiences convinced her that she had to focus on enabling formative students to gain multi-occupational and applicable life skills rather than vocational skills. Through her organization, Lend-A-Hand India (LAHI), she works with the school to alter the timetable for the week and dedicate a full day, each week, to the program.
Sunanda has been working in the development sector for more than two decades. She has held positions as State Director, Program Director, and Consultant in national and international organizations such as CARE, Society for Service to Voluntary Agencies, Management Resources Inc., UNDP, and the World Bank. Sunanda is also a member of the Executive Committee of the New York-based Maharashtra Foundation and has traveled extensively in India and South and Central Asia. Sunanda was conferred the Ashoka Fellowship in 2011.
Sunanda has a master’s degree in International and Public Affairs from Columbia University, and a M.A. in Economics and LLB from Poona University, India.