Ankita is a Senior Program Manager for Gender & Adolescent Girls programs at PCI India. With over a decade of experience in the development sector, working with NGOs, the Government, and Corporate Social Responsibility, she has become an adept development professional. She cares deeply about helping vulnerable and deprived families or individuals through her projects. Currently, at PCI, she leads two projects in Jharkhand state: Umang and DISHA. Umang aims to change restrictive social norms through women collectives to reduce child marriage and support the aspirations of adolescent girls. DISHA is the Holistic Counselling project that promotes career intentionality and preparedness among girl students of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalay. In her role, Ankita handles project planning, design, implementation, government and other stakeholder coordination, team management, donor reporting, and budget management. Before joining PCI, she worked on Women Empowerment projects at Adani Foundation and with Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society in the Skill Development vertical, among other roles. Ankita holds a Postgraduate diploma in Rural Development from Xavier Institute of Social Service, Ranchi.