Manjula Dissanayake, an investment banker turned social entrepreneur, is the Founding Executive Director of Educate Lanka Foundation - a non-profit social enterprise with a mission of democratizing opportunity and inclusion for all through a unique merger of technology and social private partnerships.
Manjula’s efforts have been recognized and backed internationally, including by the U.N., USAID, the U.S. Department of State, Mastercard Foundation, and Clinton Foundation. Manjula was named an under-33 “Global Influencer” by Diplomatic Courier and a top 10 social innovator in the U.S. by American Express and Ashoka. He gave a TEDx Talk in 2015 titled “Talent is universal. Opportunity is not.”
Manjula holds a bachelor’s in finance from the University of Maryland and a master’s in social innovation and entrepreneurship from the Fletcher School at Tufts University. He also completed his executive education in social entrepreneurship from Stanford University. He lives in Washington DC and splits his time between the U.S. and Sri Lanka.
