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Mala Thakur
Mala leads NAWB’s programs and partnerships focused on economic mobility, work-based learning, technical assistance, and systems innovation.
She is a mission-driven leader with over 25 years of experience in workforce development and education policy, systems, and network development. Previously, Mala held leadership roles at Results for America, where she directed a fellowship for government teams offering technical assistance on job quality and evidence-based strategies, and at MDC, facilitating cohort-based networks working to advance economic mobility and equity strategies across the American South. She also served as founding Executive Director of the Children’s Opportunity Fund at the Greater
Washington Community Foundation, and as Executive Director of the National Youth Employment Coalition, a membership association dedicated to improving outcomes for Opportunity Youth where she advocated for federal workforce and education policies, including the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
Mala has contributed to policy and system development on advisory panels and through volunteer board service, including the National Assessment of Career and Technical Education to Congress, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Forward Promise Initiative, and as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for the National Human Services Assembly.
Mala is based in the Washington, DC Metro area and holds an M.A. in Education from New York University and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley.