Energetica India Magazine May-June 2021

Deepali Khanna Managing Director, Asia Regional Office, The Rockefeller Foundation Kindly tell Energetica India readers in brief about yourself, your educational background, and how has been your journey so far? D eepali K hanna : I was always fascinated by understanding individuals, communi- ties, and institutions -- their motivations, purpose and functioning. So, I started by pursuing my bachelor’s degree in Sociol- ogy and master’s in social work from the University of Delhi, and as its extension, I pursued the Humanitarian Leadership Program at Harvard Business School. My professional journey was an exten- sion of my educational pursuits. I held multiple leadership positions with Plan International, where I was the Country Director for Vietnam and then moved on to become the Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, where I oversaw the strategic planning within the region and managed operations in 12 different countries. I then served as the Director of Youth Learning with The MasterCard Founda- tion, an independent, private foundation based in Toronto, Canada. My respon- sibilities included a global grant-mak- Greater participation of women in the energy value chain can help in more effective ac- cess to energy. As consumers, women can make more sustainable choices, and tend to have a bigger say in household energy decisions. Including women as key stake- holders in shaping the renewable energy value chain can help in better and more ef- ficient design, production, distribution, and sales of sustainable energy technologies. In an exclusive interaction series with women influencers in the power sector, Manu Tayal , As- sociate Editor, Energetica India, interacted with Deepali Khanna , Managing Director, Asia Re- gional Office, The Rockefeller Foundation. Here’re some edited excerpts from that interaction: 30 energetica INDIA- May-June_2021 WOMEN INFLUENCER