Mrinalini is a passionate advocate for gender equality and social justice with almost 10 years of experience driving meaningful change. She joined Equality Now in 2025 as the Global Coordinator for AUDRi.
In her previous role, she was the Stakeholder Engagement Consultant at the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asian and the Pacific for the 7th Asian and Pacific Population Conference. She was at the forefront of ensuring diverse civil society voices were heard at policymaking addressing issues such as SRHR, gender equality, migration, and climate change.
Previously Mrinalini managed the global platform HowToUseAbortionPill.org for Women First Digital, helping millions access safe abortion information. She has also worked with organizations such as Mozilla and Haiyya, blending tech-savviness with youth campaigning to amplify voices and advocate for a range of rights.
She holds a Master’s in Gender and Development from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, an Undergraduate Degree in International Relations and History from the University of Toronto and an executive education certification in Leadership, Organising and Action from the Harvard Kennedy S
From 2002 to 2024, Melissa was the founding President and CEO of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Inc., an innovative nonprofit philanthropy service launched by the Rockefeller family. Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors’ mission is to accelerate philanthropy in pursuit of a just world. Melissa built RPA into one of the world’s leading philanthropic advisory, grantmaking, research and project management services, facilitating more than US$500 million per year across dozen of countries in all major issue areas. Under her leadership, RPA developed the “Philanthropy Roadmap” series of donor guides with support from the Gates Foundation.
She also developed “The Theory of the Foundation” research program and is the author of multiple reports in that initiative. A frequent speaker, Melissa has been a guest lecturer at universities across the U.S., Europe. Latin America and Asia.
As a widely recognized expert in philanthropy, Melissa has been profiled and interviewed in major media.
An adjunct Professor at Columbia University’s Business School, Melissa is also a director/trustee of Candid, Equality Now, and the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise at Columbia University.
In 2023, Melissa was a Bellagio Center fellow. Melissa holds a B.A. from Harvard University and a Ph.D. from Stanford University.
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Mrinalini is based in Toronto, Canada. In her spare time she enjoys reading, travelling, watching F1 and playing softball.