Chathuranga Hasithi Samarasinghe a food systems researcher and independent evaluation consultant (YEE), working at the intersection of evaluation, sustainable food systems, and evidence informed policy. Her academic background is in Sustainable Food Process Engineering, and she holds postgraduate qualifications in Monitoring and Evaluation, Human Rights, and Diplomacy and World Affairs. She is currently associated with Wageningen University & Research.
Hasithi’s research focuses on mixed methods and integrating natural language processing (NLP) for narratives and discourse analysis. Her work spans agricultural value chains, environmental sustainability, rural livelihoods, and gender-responsive development.
She has contributed to social research and evaluation projects across academia, NGOs, public sector institutions, and the private sector, including serving as Project Lead for the FAO Sri Lanka Digital Village Assessment. She is a founding member and former Co-Lead of EvalYouth Sri Lanka, former Co-Lead of EvalYouth Asia, and currently serves as Lead Coordinator of the Governance Review Committee of EvalYouth Global.
Beyond research and evaluation, Hasithi collaborates with NGOs and international partners on initiatives supporting the empowerment of women and girls with disabilities and marginalized communities. She actively advocates for community ownership of evaluation through participatory approaches, youth engagement, and capacity development.