Shruti's family has a history of giving back to communities in different ways with courage and perseverance. Her grandmother was the ad-hoc matriarch of the neighborhood in India where Shruti's mother grew up. Among other things, Shruti's grandmother enlisted a local gynecologist to work with the domestic worker community to provide education and assistance with family planning, and to help break the cycle of poverty perpetuated by high fertility rates and overpopulation. Shruti's father was born in Multan, a region of South Asia known for producing people with courage in the face of all kinds of danger. She feels that this combined background necessarily led her to New Profit where she now has the opportunity to work daily to boldly forge new paths to drive poverty alleviation and social justice.

Shruti joined New Profit in 2006 after finishing a joint MBA/MPA. Prior to graduate school, she managed a campaign for State Assembly in California while starting up a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping critically ill workers. Before that, she spent seven years working in the private sector, initially as an engineer at Honeywell, an aerospace engine manufacturer, and later in a series of quality management positions at Howmet Castings, an aerospace casting manufacturer, and Jabil Circuit, an electronics manufacturing services company. Shruti holds an SB in Chemistry from MIT, an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, and an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School.

When not rigorously pursuing social change, Shruti meditates, loves cooking-especially trying out new dishes-and works hard to spoil her nieces.

What is your favorite quote?
"Doubt poisons the will"

What books are you reading?
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

What is your newest hobby?
I recently discovered an interest in painting. I love it; it takes my mind to a totally different place and lets me explore and enhance my creative side.