Dr. Sri Ananda served for over 25 years as a leader in a renowned educational research organization, heading national and statewide research and development efforts related to college and career preparation. Her most recent position was as Chief Program Officer at WestEd, a distinguished not-for-profit organization with 17 offices across the US. As Chief Program Officer, she had executive responsibility over all programs of research, development, and service work, including areas such as early childhood education, science and math education, college and career preparation, literacy, policy, social justice in education, assessment, and evaluation. Prior to her tenure as Chief Program Officer, Sri was WestEd’s Chief Development Officer, the executive in charge of business development and partnerships for the agency. In this capacity, she worked with programs to expand the agency’s portfolio of work. For example, she spearheaded an agency-wide, cross-program business development focus on college and career preparation. The agency grew from annual revenues of approximately $70 M to $120 M under her leadership as Chief Development Officer. Prior to roles as agency executive, Sri served as Principal Investigator and Project Director for several projects designed to investigate and support the integration of career and college preparation for American youth.

Currently, Sri serves the community through her membership on Boards of Directors for non-profit organizations and through other volunteer work. In addition to ConnectEd, she is on the Board of Directors for Women’s Cancer Research Center, a community organization that supports women who have cancer, particularly women with limited resources or who are otherwise marginalized. She is also an active supporter and former member of the Board of Directors for Refugee and Immigrant Transitions, an organization that provides educational and practical support for those who have sought refuge in our community.

Sri is a California native and alumnus of California public schools from kindergarten through graduate school. She earned her BA, MA, and PhD in Educational Psychology (with a focus on Quantitative Methods) from the University of California, Berkeley.