I lived 6 months in a tribal village in Jharkhand (India) before co-founding Yuwa. I am working to spark youth-led change through team sport, providing a platform for youth, especially young women, to gain confidence to make a change in their world.
Jharkhand (India) has about the same population as the whole of Afghanistan - and many of the same challenges. National headlines are full of stories on Jharkhand - usually about killings of police, hijacking of trains, and the deprivation of its people, a largely tribal population. The villages of Jharkhand where I work can seem worlds away – in access and opportunity – from densely populated, fast-growing metros like Bangalore, Delhi or Mumbai. But young people here are enterprising, energetic, and capable. Their resilience and resourcefulness leaves me in awe.
I want to see young people build a future for themselves with justice, equality and opportunity.
I grew up in Edina, Minnesota (USA), where I was involved in sports and coached alpine skiing. I completed a B.A. and Masters in International Political Economy from the University Professors Program at Boston University and graduated from the Program on Negotiation (PON) at Harvard Law School. Through Harvard, I worked at the Ministry of Finance in Colombia. As a consultant to CII, India's biggest industry body, I worked with company executives on social strategies. At KGVK-India, an NGO, I launched a $10 million, 10-year partnership for food security with Ashoka featured as a model at Clinton Global Initiative 2008. I lived 6 months in a tribal village in Jharkhand before co-founding Yuwa.
