Sharanya Hariharan

Sharanya is a Senior Associate with the Strategy & Build team at GDI South Asia and is based in India. She currently supports the Global Opportunity Youth Network (GOYN), a multistakeholder initiative creating place-based systems shifts for youth economic opportunity. In her role, she helps drive strategy for scaling on-ground efforts, supports initiative delivery, and works closely with implementing partners.

Before joining GDI, Sharanya spent over six years working in the development sector in India on issues related to education, sexual and reproductive health, and women and youth empowerment. Her work has focused on driving innovation, advancing strategic philanthropy, and strengthening organizational capacity to address complex social challenges. She has worked with organizations such as Dasra, Kaivalya Education Foundation, and Saral Designs, helping deepen program impact and build partnerships across civil society, funding, and government stakeholders.

Sharanya holds a master’s degree in Gender and Development from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She brings a deep interest in systems change and a commitment to applying an intersectional lens to all aspects of her work.