Shailja Mehta is a Managing Partner at Dasra, where she plays a central role in shaping the organization’s strategic direction, overseeing operations, and ensuring long-term institutional strength. With a focus on building resilient teams, effective systems, and values-driven partnerships, she works closely with internal leadership and external stakeholders to advance Dasra’s mission of accelerating social change through collaborative philanthropy. Her work spans fundraising, governance, organizational planning, and cross-functional coordination—supporting Dasra’s evolution as a platform that deepens the practice of strategic philanthropy in India and amplifies community-rooted leadership. She has also helped build meaningful government partnerships, enabling long-term collaboration between public systems and civil society.
Over the past two decades, Shailja has been deeply engaged in issues at the intersection of gender, youth leadership, child rights, and equity. She has helped conceptualize and grow national initiatives such as the 10to19 Adolescents Collaborative, the WomenLead India Alliance, and Youth Ke Bol—a one-million-youth coalition.
Prior to joining Dasra, she co-founded Aangan, an NGO focused on strengthening state accountability to protect vulnerable children, where she served as Executive Director and remains actively involved today as a board member. She is an Aspen India Fellow, a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader, and a Ford Motor Company Fellow. She currently serves on the boards of Aangan Trust, Project DEEP, and Game of Choice, not Chance.