Geeta Nanda, MHS, DrPH is a social and behavioral scientist with over twenty-five years of comprehensive research leadership and technical expertise in global and humanitarian health and development. She excels at managing the complete research lifecycle—from study conceptualization and design through implementation, analysis, and dissemination—while fostering cross-cultural collaboration with diverse stakeholders, including donors, policymakers, communities, and program teams across multiple LMICs. Most recently, she served as the Director of Research for Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, and Newborn Health (SRMNH) at the International Rescue Committee, where she led field-based implementation and operational research studies in fragile and conflict-affected contexts, translating rigorous methodological approaches into life-saving interventions for the most vulnerable populations. Before joining the IRC, she spent fifteen years at Family Health International 360, where she led and oversaw multiple scientific studies that bridge research and practice. During her tenure, she served as Assistant Director for Research on the global C-Change SBCC project, where she oversaw the entire research portfolio and led teams of senior scientists across studies focused on family planning, HIV prevention, and social/gender norms. Her work spanned diverse technical areas, including contraceptive technology innovation, youth mentoring interventions, menstrual hygiene management, and social and behavior change communication, consistently translating evidence into actionable programmatic insights. She also played a key role in developing strategy and launching FHI 360's RMNCH Unit, demonstrating her leadership in organizational development and technical innovation. She holds a DrPH from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, an MHS from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a BA from Brown University. She has conducted research in several countries, including Albania, Bangladesh, Benin, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
