Sonalini Mirchandani

"Ms Sonalini Mirchandani has three decades of experience in social sector communication in India. Her work in the subcontinent in communications research, strategic design, capacity building and implementation of interventions has spanned sectors including reproductive health, child rights, communicable diseases, gender-based violence, governance, and others. Sonalini started her career as a civil servant in the Indian Foreign Service. Moving on to work in the private sector, she was Vice- President Operations Research Group (presently AC Nielsen- ORG) before joining Johns Hopkins University (JHU) in 1995 as Resident Advisor on the Innovations in Family Planning Services Project (IFPS) in Uttar Pradesh. Subsequently, as Country Director JHU (2004-07), Sonalini led the design and implementation of a USAID- supported HIV/AIDS communication programme in India. She has handled an array of communication consultancy assignments for the private sector and also for leading bilateral and multilateral organizations including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank, DANIDA, UNICEF and UKAid, among others. Today she heads The Communication Hub, an organisation founded by her in 2007. Besides addressing several forums on communication, she also scripts for documentaries and audio visuals, and is a visiting faculty at leading communication institutes in India."

• Advisory council, Population Foundation of India