Previously, Roopa was a vice president and global economist at Goldman Sachs, where she co-authored the report ‘Dreaming with BRICs: The Path to 2050’ along with other published papers on demographics and long-term structural growth. She is a World Economic Forum young global leader and she is also a member of the Aspen Institute’s India Leadership Initiative. How can young leaders address the challenges that India faces today?

What role can young women play, and how can the process of leadership development fundamentally transform them and their communities? Roopa shared her vision for Avasara, which seeks to catalyze a movement in excellence and women’s leadership. Roopa also discussed her insights from Avasara’s pilot program, Avasara Leadership Fellows - an intensive after-school program that targets motivated and talented adolescent girls from low-income backgrounds, and pushes them to dream big and realize their aspirations.

Chitranshu Mathur, who attended the the talk summarised the key points of the evening in this blog post.