Neela Saldanha

Executive Director, Yale Research Initiative on Innovation and Scale (Y-RISE) at Yale University

Neela Saldanha is the Executive Director at the Yale Research Initiative on Innovation and Scale (Y-RISE) at Yale University. Neela was previously the Founding Director of the Center for Social and Behaviour Change (CSBC) at Ashoka University, India. Neela has consulted with several organizations working in the area of poverty alleviation such as Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, Busara Center for Behavioral Economics, Surgo Ventures, Noora Health, Innovations for Poverty Action (large-scale community mask trial in Bangladesh). Neela combines her skills in the social sector with deep private sector expertise. Neela was mentioned in Forbes magazine as “Ten Behavioral Scientists You Should Know”. Her work has appeared in Harvard Business Review, Behavioral Scientist. Apolitical, Nature Human Behavior, The Lancet Regional Health, among others. She has a Ph.D. in Marketing (Consumer Behavior) from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from IIM Calcutta, India.