Krishanti Dharmaraj has over 25 years of experience working to realize human rights, particularly of women and girls. She is the Executive Director of the Center for Women’s Global Leadership. Ms. Dharmaraj is the founder of the Dignity Index, a human rights measurement tool utilized to ensure equity and inclusion to reduce identity-based discrimination.
Previously, Ms. Dharmaraj was the Western Regional Spokesperson for Amnesty International USA. She is also the co-founder of WILD for Human Rights (Women’s Institute for Leadership Development), the Sri Lanka Children’s Fund and Children’s Fund for Peace. Under her leadership, San Francisco became the first city in the U.S. to pass legislation implementing an international human rights treaty. As a result of passing CEDAW in San Francisco the city implemented a gender analysis in departments that assessed employment, program and service delivery and resource allocation. Currently, the UN Women and the UN CSW NGO committee have adopted this groundbreaking initiative. She also initiated the US Human Rights Network in 1999 in San Francisco, CA, and led an international delegation of 35 advocates to the World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa.
Ms. Dharmaraj is on the Board of Directors of IDEX, a Trustee of the North East Women’s Network, Sri Lanka and is an Advisory Board member if Machik, an organization serving those living in Tibet. She has also served on the Board of Directors of Amnesty International, Women, Law & Development, Horizon’s Foundation, Center for Asian Pacific Islander Women and La Casa de las Madres, a shelter for battered women.
Ms. Dharmaraj has received numerous awards for her cutting-edge work, and has conducted trainings and lectured extensively in the U.S. and abroad. She has an MBA from Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkley.