Sarita is a partnership and development professional with more than 20 years of experience within United Nations, NGO, and private sector organizations in Europe and Africa. She has in-depth knowledge of the international health and development landscape, and over the course of her career has advised and worked directly with CEOs, UN and government leaders, as well as human rights activists, youth, and vulnerable and marginalized communities. She specializes in supporting organizations and multistakeholder initiatives to identify their unique value propositions, share good practices, and develop partnering strategies that focus on inclusion, complementarity, and sustainable impact.
Sarita recently completed her PhD on commitment in cross sector partnerships at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business. She engages in research and training in both academic and practitioner settings to build understanding of how multistakeholder collaboration can best drive progress towards the SDGs. Her work is informed by her extensive experience working in the African context on issues such as HIV, adolescent health, gender-based violence, and social protection. Sarita believes that effective collaboration starts at the individual level, and she is passionate about fostering purpose-driven, inner work to facilitate external transformation at organizational, partnership, and societal levels.
A former professional ballet dancer, Sarita holds a BA from UC Berkeley, a MA from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, an MBA from INSEAD, and an ICF accredited coaching certification. She lives between Geneva and Cape Town, is married with two children, and enjoys nature, dance, and the study of ancient Indian philosophy.