Rushda Majeed

Rushda Majeed leads the Van Leer Foundation’s programme work globally. She joined the Foundation in 2017 as the Representative for India and expanded the impact of its work in India through an innovative series of partnerships at the intersection of urban development, public health, and early childhood development. These included partnering with India’s urban ministry to launch the Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge for bringing an early childhood lens to city planning and design, and partnering with the health ministry on Paalan 1000, a national-scale early childhood initiative.

Her previous experience covers a diverse range of sectors, including Bloomberg Philanthropies, where she helped manage the India Smart Cities Challenge in collaboration with the Indian government, and Princeton University’s Innovations for Successful Societies, where she led research in 11 countries to analyse reforms that improve government performance and accountability. Rushda has a master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Eastern Kentucky University.