Smita operates from the belief that education will transform the futures of the most disadvantaged populations and regions of India, with her work over the last two decades proving it incontrovertibly. Smita has evolved approaches to address complex social issues; worked at the intersection of different disciplines; built multi-faceted collaborations; employed fresh ways of capacity development. Strategy, design and scale are core to her work. She has worked across multiple states, is a field-focussed person, and brings nuanced understanding of the ground reality. She has substantive international experience. She carries knowledge of many sectors, but her main expertise is in the field of Education.Smita has created large scale intervention models for challenging categories of children in remote tribal areas, migration prone geographies and urban slums. Models ensure no child is left behind, all children demonstrate effective learning outcomes, imbibe future skills and complete secondary education, leapfrogging from ‘the last mile’ to the forefront. Child labour, once rampant in project regions, is largely eliminated. Communities are empowered to lead and sustain this transformation. Over the years her work has touched several million children in over 10 states directly. Her groundbreaking work on learning has addressed the nation's learning crisis, yielding evidence-based, measurable breakthroughs in children's learning outcomes on a substantive scale. Her collaboration with global institutions has led to the integration of research & pedagogy from Finland, Singapore and elsewhere in the rural school context. Now, she is focused on leveraging digital technology and transversal skills to make learning future-relevantSmita authored the book Locked Homes, Empty Schools – The Impact of Distress Seasonal Migration on the Rural Poor with a foreword by Nobel Laureate, Prof Amartya Sen, and her pioneering work on distress seasonal migration and education of migrant children influenced policy at central level. Professional:• A decade with Tata Steel CSR as Head Education, leading their Education Signature Program in 4 tribal States impacting 1.4 million children & 6600 schools,• A decade with American India Foundation as Director Education, leading their Learning And Migration Program • Chief Consultant with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Government of IndiaAwards:1. The apex CSR Award of the Government of India for National Priority Area - Education2. The Wharton QS Global Reimagine Education Award 3. UN Global Compact India Award for SDGs