Growing up in London with Sri Lankan parents, early on she developed the skill of assessing the reality of her situation and moving forward based on clarity.  With a well-traveled life that resulted in her becoming a United States citizen, she shares amazing insights about seeking equality and nuggets of fabulous advice about critical life decisions that affect your lifetime “What Is”.

Pras Ranaweera is a Senior Program Officer with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Washington, DC.  She leads the K-12 Place-Based Delivery through the design and execution of $70-90M RFPs to fund partners best positioned to close race- and income-based achievement gaps.  Prior to this role, she also worked for the Foundation as a Senior Portfolio Manager.  Her entre to the Foundation was as a Contractor on Assignment both in the United Kingdom and Washington, DC.

With a passion for education and the opportunities it creates, Pras’ background includes being a Partner of Academic Strategy for TNTP (non-profit consulting) and Deputy Chief in the Office of Data and Strategy for D.C Public Schools.  Pras worked for Interpol in a variety of capacities beginning as a Case Officer and ending as a Principal Business Planning Manager for the Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA).  She also taught English in Switzerland and Japan.

Pras has a MA in Educational Leadership from Broad Center for the Management of School Systems, CA and an MA in Intelligence & International Security from King’s College, University of London.  Her BA in Combined Arts (French, German & English) is from the University of Durham, UK.