Gayatri Mishra Oleti, born and raised in Odisha, has transitioned from a corporate career to the development sector driven purely by her passion for addressing social issues. She has collaborated with philanthropists, foundations and corporations on CSR programs across various states in India. Her work has addressed social sector challenges with resources garnered from the social/private sector interface. She holds a PhD in Women’s Empowerment from Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu; an MBA from Xavier’s Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, and has received a Merit Scholarship from the London School of Economics. Additionally, she holds an MSc degree in Social Policy.

Currently, Gayatri heads the Larsen & Toubro Public Charitable Trust, overseeing interventions in tribal areas through their Comprehensive Community Development Programme. This initiative covers health, education, livelihoods, skill-building and WASH; and integrates technology deployment with gender as a cross-cutting theme. Gayatri has implemented diverse projects supported by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, EU and DFID, collaborating with organizations such as the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, SAIL and L&T. She is a nominated Salzburg Global Fellow from Austria.

Passionate about multi-disciplinary projects focusing on education, health and skill development, Gayatri believes these efforts are crucial in breaking intergenerational poverty and inequities. She is also keenly interested in social policy, advocacy and deploying technology to reach the last mile. She has an interest in the development of data analytics, designing evidence-based large-scale programmes, and influencing policymakers for collaboration and convergence. Gayatri is actively working on institution-building, designing development projects across the various geographies, scaling up pilots and leveraging technology for social good.