Headline

Bridging education policy and school practice | Building on legacy, designing for the future of schools | Deputy Director, Sri Kumaran Group of Institutions India | Ex-UNICEF · Harvard

About

I am an education leader focused on how schools and school systems grow, improve and stay relevant to the future. Over 16+ years, my work has spanned school reform in India; education systems across Asia, the Pacific, and Europe with UNICEF; and now managing a 60-year-old school group in Bengaluru, grounded in a background in finance (Wall Street, New York) and education policy (Harvard). Working with governments, school leaders and teachers across these contexts has shaped a simple conviction: good schools are built by strong systems, strong leaders and a clear sense of purpose, not by any single programme or innovation. Today, as part of the management team of the Sri Kumaran Group of Institutions, I focus on institutional strategy, growth and the future of K–12 schooling in India. I’m particularly interested in how Indian school groups can scale with quality, how education policy and school practice can learn from each other, and what it takes to prepare schools for a fast-changing future. * All views are personal *

Location

Bengaluru

Work experience

Deputy Director - Strategy and Development at Sri Kumaran Children's Home, Dec 2025 - Present · 11 mos, Bengaluru, * Help lead strategy and growth for a 60+-year, fourth-generation K–12 school group serving ~8,300 students and ~700 educators across seven campuses. * My work spans the group’s next phase of development and growth, improving academic quality and educator development, building the institutional structures to support growing multi-campus group needs, and advancing future-ready learning aligned with NEP 2020. Throughout, I balance the group’s legacy and values with innovation and scale.

Caregiving at Career Break, Jun 2025 - Nov 2025 · 6 mos, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, On approved sabbatical and Special Leave from role at UNICEF.

Chrysalis FUEL Fellow at Chrysalis, Nov 2024 - Apr 2025 · 6 mos, India, Completed a 7-month, 100-hour programme for next-generation leaders of Indian school groups, focused on growing schools into multi-campus institutions. The faculty covered strategy and financing for school education, conscious leadership, quality systems, and school branding.

Acting Chief of Education at UNICEF, Oct 2023 - Dec 2023 · 3 mos, Ankara, Türkiye, *Appointed Officer-in-Charge of the Education Section by UNICEF Türkiye’s senior leadership, alongside my role as Education Manager. * Led a team of 40+ professionals, including 10 direct reports, overseeing an education programme with a USD 125M annual allocation (2023)

Education Manager at UNICEF, May 2023 - Jun 2025 · 2 yrs 2 mos, Ankara, Türkiye, * Drove education strategy and planning for UNICEF in Türkiye across policy, emergency recovery and digital learning, working with government and international partners. * Helped secure $30M for the education response and recovery after the 2023 earthquakes and co-developed the draft medium-term recovery plan with the Government, the World Bank, and partners. * Shaped the education component of UNICEF’s five-year country strategy through evidence-based planning. * Advanced digital learning by supporting 205+ national digital learning centres and early work on Türkiye’s Education Technology Strategy. * Brought key policy studies to completion on out-of-school children, refugee education, COVID-19 learning loss and early childhood investment.

Manager of Humanitarian Sector Coordination Team/Acting National Education Sector Coordinator at UNICEF, Apr 2023 - Jun 2025 · 2 yrs 3 mos, Ankara, Türkiye, *Led national coordination of the education response to the 2023 earthquakes and the Syrian refugee crisis, aligning government, UN agencies, NGOs and civil society. * As Acting National Education Sector Coordinator (Apr–Dec 2023), coordinated national and sub-national education working groups through the earthquake response. * Led the education sector strategy for the regional refugee response plan (3RP), including the 2023 framework and 2024 revision

Education Specialist at UNICEF, Sep 2014 - Oct 2016 · 2 yrs 2 mos, Suva, *Led technical support for a USD 4M Australian Government-funded (DFAT) education programme in Tuvalu. * Developed school quality standards, teacher training frameworks and inclusive education policies, strengthening school management, teaching and early childhood education. * Led education emergency response and recovery planning after Category 5 Cyclones Pam and Winston.

Education

Masters in Education, International Education Policy, Harvard University

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) cum laude with University Honors, Accounting, Management and Sociology, Ohio Wesleyan University