Vandinika Shukla is a democracy and movement building leader whose voice and work bridge institutional change and grassroots organizing. Vandinika is the Deputy Director of Global Programs (USA Lead) at the Obama Foundation where she works with young change makers in the U.S. on strengthening democratic culture and values based leadership to build common ground.

She has designed national gender policies at the United Nations, built civic engagement AI products and partnerships at MIT Media Lab, launched a community organizing portfolio at Harvard, and founded organizations to amplify unheard stories for stronger democracies. For her work she has been recognized as a young leader by the G20 and the European Commission. She is a writer and a professional dancer passionate about using her words and practice to further social movements. She serves on the Board of Directors for Fora Network for Change and Represent Women.

Vandinika holds a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and an MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics. She graduated with a B.A. (Hons) in History from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University. She currently teaches movement building for marginalized communities and democratic leadership at Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership.