Nalini Ravindranath is the Manager of Foundation Partnerships. She collaborates with the Lab’s education designers and senior leadership to advance a range of business and partnership development activities. Nalini also serves as the primary project manager for the Lab’s fundraising operations including grants management and compliance processes. 

A commitment to expanding opportunities for historically underinvested learners has driven her professional pursuits over the past decade. Nalini began her career with Teach For America as a 7th grade English teacher in New York City. In subsequent years, her teaching and lived experience as a first generation college graduate has informed her work with a range of national nonprofits at the intersection of education and workforce systems. 

Most recently, Nalini led the fundraising efforts of the Forum for Youth Investment. In this role, she provided strategic leadership to the organization’s revenue development activities, worked across departments to translate project goals into funding strategies, and deepened the pipeline of philanthropic partners. Nalini also led the DEI efforts of the organization and implemented practices that expanded internal equity. Prior to the Forum, Nalini managed research projects at the Finance Project supporting state and local Departments of Education devise equitable school financing formulas. During her tenure at YouthBuild USA, she supported the execution of a $20M technical assistance contract with the U.S. Department of Labor, which served 100 local YouthBuild programs across 40 states. 

Away from the Lab, Nalini is an avid long-distance hiker and blogs about her experiences. She completed a thru hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2014. Nalini is also a dog mom to her elderly “Chiweenie,” true crime podcast aficionado, documentary film obsessive, and voracious reader.