Nikita Desai is a development sector professional with 10
years of experience spanning social and education
research, strategic philanthropy, voluntary sector
management, education management, skill development
and higher education, corporate social responsibility
consulting and sustainable livelihoods.

She has worked with international development sector
organisations like TechnoServe which is rated no.1 by
Impact Matters for poverty alleviation and the British
Council where she was heading ‘Internationalising Higher
Education’ for West India. She has undertaken research in
education policy, curriculum development and education in
tribal areas and is actively engaged in projects with youth in tribal regions of South Gujarat
as a volunteer at Shrimad Rajchandra Educational Trust. She has been an OXFAM
International Youth Partner between 2010-2013 for her contribution to community projects
and has access to a global network of social sector leaders. She has also worked in the
‘Social and Rural Research Institute’ of the leading market research agency KANTARIMRB and interned with the leading think tank Centre for Civil Society and leading
education NGO Pratham. Her other roles include advising Rami Investments, urban
poverty alleviation projects with Society for Service to Voluntary Agencies (SOSVA) and
as a CSR consultant with Conexus Social Responsibility Services.

She has a Master’s in Development Studies from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences
and has also completed an Advanced Management Programme in Public Policy from
Indian School of Business (ISB).