Background and Affiliations

Ramdas was born in Delhi

Delhi

Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 and grew up in Mumbai

Mumbai

Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

, Delhi

Delhi

Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, Rangoon, and Bonn

Bonn

Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....

. She attended high school at the Nikolaus Cusanus Gymnasium in Bad Godesberg

Bad Godesberg

Bad Godesberg is a municipal district of Bonn, southern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. From 1949 till 1990 , the majority of foreign embassies to Germany were located in Bad Godesberg...

, Bonn

Bonn

Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....

, Germany; the Cathedral and John Connon School

Cathedral and John Connon School

The Cathedral and John Connon School is a co-educational, private school located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, established in 1860.According to the Education World-C fore Survey of Schools 2010, the school has been ranked first in the all India ranking of the best schools in India.It was ranked...

, Mumbai

Mumbai

Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

, and graduated from Springdales School

Springdales School

Springdales School is a group of English-language co-educational schools run by the Springdales School Society in New Delhi.There are four branches of the school - at Pusa Road, Dhaula Kuan, Jaipur and Kirti Nagar . The schools are affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education . The...

, New Delhi

New Delhi

New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...

, in 1980.

She studied Political Science at Hindu College, University of Delhi

Hindu College, University of Delhi

Hindu College, Delhi is one of the oldest and well-known colleges in India, that was set up in 1899. It is under the affiliation of University of Delhi.It has seen enviable growth over the years. It offers undergraduate as well as postgraduate courses in Science, Humanities and Commerce...

 for two years until 1982. In 1983 she was awarded a scholarship to Mount Holyoke College

Mount Holyoke College

Mount Holyoke College is a liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It was the first member of the Seven Sisters colleges, and served as a model for some of the others...

, South Hadley, Massachusetts

South Hadley, Massachusetts

South Hadley is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,514 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area....

, where she received her B.A. in international relations in 1985 and her M.P.A. in international development and public policy studies from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs

Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs

The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school has granted undergraduate A.B. degrees since 1930 and graduate degrees since 1948...

 at Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

 in 1988.

Ramdas is a former member of the Global Development Program Advisory Panel to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest transparently operated private foundation in the world, founded by Bill and Melinda Gates. It is "driven by the interests and passions of the Gates family"...

, and serves on the Board of Trustees

Board of directors

A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...

 at Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

, on the Council of Advisors on Gender Equity to the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

, and on the Advisory Council to the Asian University for Women

Asian University for Women

Asian University for Women is an international university in Bangladesh. It is located in Chittagong, port city of Bangladesh.-History:AUW's first academic program, the pre-collegiate , opened in March 2008 with a class of 130 young women from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, Pakistan and...

 and the African Women Millennium Initiative

United Nations Millennium Project

The Millennium Project is an initiative that focuses on research implementing the organizational means, operational priorities, and financing structures necessary to achieve the Millennium Development Goals or . The goals are aimed at the reduction of poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy,...

 on Poverty and Human Rights

Human rights

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

. She is a member of the Henry Crown Fellow's Program of the Aspen Institute

Aspen Institute

The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1950 as the Aspen Institute of Humanistic Studies. The organization is dedicated to "fostering enlightened leadership, the appreciation of timeless ideas and values, and open-minded dialogue on contemporary issues." The...

 and previously served as a board member for the Women's Funding Network.

Work at the Global Fund for Women

Kavita Ramdas has been the President and CEO of the Global Fund for Women

Global Fund for Women

The Global Fund for Women is the largest non-profit foundation in the world funding women's human rights. It was founded in 1987 by New Zealander Anne Firth Murray, and co-founded by Frances Kissling and Laura Lederer to fund women's initiatives around the world...

 since 1996. During Ramdas’ tenure, the Global Fund for Women assets have increased from $6 million to $21 million. Grantmaking has risen to $8 million per year, and the number of countries in which the Global Fund for Women has made grants has nearly tripled to over 160 countries. Ramdas has also overseen the Global Fund for Women's first endowment campaign and the creation of the Now or Never Fund to ensure women’s participation on critical international issues.

Honors and awards

California Institute of Integral Studies

California Institute of Integral Studies

California Institute of Integral Studies is a private institution of higher education founded in 1968 and based in San Francisco, California. It currently operates in three locations just south of the Civic Center district...

, Haridas and Bina Chaudhuri Award for Distinguished Service, 2009 http://www.indiawest.com/readmore.aspx?id=1113&Sid=1

Duveneck Humanitarian Award, 2008

Social Capitalist Award, Fast Company (magazine)

Fast Company (magazine)

Fast Company is a full-color business magazine that releases 10 issues per year and reports on topics including innovation, digital media, technology, change management, leadership, design, and social responsibility...

, 2007

Women of Great Esteem Award, 2007

Girl's Hero Award, Girls' Middle School, 2007

Woman of Substance Award, African Women's Development Fund, 2005

Juliette Gordon Low

Juliette Gordon Low

Juliette Gordon Low was an American youth leader and the founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA in 1912.-Early life:...

 Award, Girl Scouts of America, 2005

Woman of the Year for the Public Sector, Financial Women's Association

Financial Women's Association

The Financial Women's Association is a New York-based network of female professionals from various sectors of the financial world. The organization is focused on enhancing the role of women in finance, as well as fostering the development of young female leaders.- History :In 1956, eight women on...

, 2004

Leadership for Equity & Diversity (LEAD) Award, Women & Philanthropy, 2004

Bay Area Local Hero, KQED-FM

KQED-FM

KQED-FM is an NPR-member radio station owned by Northern California Public Broadcasting in San Francisco, California.KQED-FM was founded by James Day in 1969 as the radio arm of KQED Television. The founding manager was Bernard Mayes who later went on to be Executive Vice-President of KQED TV and...

 Radio, 2004

21 Leaders for the 21st Century Award, Women's eNews

Women's eNews

Women's eNews is a nonprofit online news service based in New York City. It publishes international news articles specializing in coverage of women's lives.- History :...

, 2003

External links

• The high court nominee stays true to her school, 2009
• Women Can Lead the Way to Recovery, 2009
• Thinking Big--and Small, Kavita Ramdas, 2008
• Leveraging the Power of Race and Gender, February 2008
• Kavita Ramdas Defines Entrepreneurship: Video - February 21, 2008
• Global Fund for Women biography
• Princeton biography
• Mount Holyoke Vista
• PBS
• Then and Now, Kavita Ramdas, 2002
• A Women's Work, 2002