Pronita Gupta, Director of Programs
Pronita Gupta joined the Women Donors Network (WDN) in May 2007 as the Director of Programs. She is responsible for designing, planning and implementing WDN’s national and regional programs. Prior to coming to WDN, Pronita was the Research Director for Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP), an organization dedicated to bridging philanthropy and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. At AAPIP, she worked to increase resources and investment in AAPI communities. Formerly the Director of CIPHER (Community Institute for Policy Heuristics Education & Research), she designed and established this in-house research department for the nationally recognized grassroots organizing and progressive movement building institution AGENDA/SCOPE in Los Angeles. Before that, she was the Research Director for the Living Wage Campaign at the LA Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE) and coordinated the campaign to bring major LA public entities, such as the airport and the redevelopment agency, under the purview of the city’s Living Wage Ordinance. Pronita moved to the West Coast 9 years ago after having served as the Executive Director of the community-based think tank, the Institute for Southern Studies, and as publisher of Southern Exposure magazine. She also spent many years in Washington, DC as the Legislative Director of the U.S. Student Association. She has done extensive research and work in the areas of education policy, health policy, land use, subsidy accountability, privatization and labor market/sectoral analysis and development. She holds a Master of Public Policy and Administration from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.