Geeta Rao Gupta Joins Foundation as Senior Fellow - Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

SEATTLE -- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced that Geeta Rao Gupta, president of the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), will join the foundation’s Global Development Program as a senior fellow beginning April 2010. Rao Gupta is internationally recognized for her expertise on gender and development issues, including women’s health, economic empowerment, poverty alleviation, and gender equality. She brings more than 20 years of experience in international development research and program development.

As a senior fellow, Rao Gupta will advise the Global Development Program’s president and senior team on their strategies and offer insight on how to manage projects to achieve the greatest impact. She will advise the program on learning from those it aims to serve, and will offer guidance on a range of cross-cutting issues and projects.

Rao Gupta will join other senior fellows at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, including Dr. William Foege and Dr. Elias Zerhouni who advise the foundation’s Global Health Program.

Rao Gupta became president of ICRW in 1997, and has worked with ICRW in various capacities. She received the 2007 Washington Business Journal’s “Women Who Mean Business” Award. Her other commitments include serving as co-convener of the Social Drivers Working Group of Aids 2031, membership on the Moriah Fund Program Board, and the board of advisors for both the Nike Foundation and the Global Health Corps.

Rao Gupta has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology from the University of Delhi, and a master’s degree and a doctorate in philosophy from Bangalore University in India.

Established in 2006, the Global Development Program seeks to increase opportunities for people in the developing world to lift themselves out of hunger and poverty. The program focuses on a limited number of areas with the potential for large-scale, sustainable impact, including agricultural development and financial services for the poor. The Agricultural Development initiative is working with a wide range of partners to provide millions of small farmers in the developing world with tools and opportunities to boost their yields, increase their incomes and build better, healthier lives. The Financial Services for the Poor initiative is focused on increasing access to safe places to save and other financial tools so people can manage unexpected events, invest in opportunities, and build financial security. The foundation is also working on a number of special initiatives, including sanitation.