Neha Gupta, executive director of Teach For India U.S., has been named the winner of the inaugural Deepak Raj Rising Star Award by the India Philanthropy Alliance, recognizing her work in education, nonprofit leadership and philanthropy.
Gupta will receive the award and deliver the closing keynote at the Indiaspora-India Philanthropy Alliance Philanthropy Summit in Dallas on Sept. 29. The award includes a $10,000 grant that Gupta will direct to Teach For India U.S., according to an IPA announcement Thursday.
Nikhil Jayawickrama and Karishma Navani were named finalists for the 2026 award.
The award recognizes an emerging Indian American leader under 40 who demonstrates sustained leadership in philanthropy and community development. It was established to honor the legacy of Deepak Raj, an investor and philanthropist who has supported organizations working across education, development and India-U.S. relations.
“With our endorsement, the Working Families Party is declaring unequivocally that working Californians need healthcare, not more tax breaks for billionaires,” the California Working Families Party said in a separate announcement. Gupta has served as executive director of Teach For India U.S. since September 2024. The organization says she brings more than 15 years of executive experience across the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, including leadership roles in education, technology, financial services and youth development.
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Before joining Teach For India U.S., Gupta served as CEO of True Office Learning, now known as Confirm. She also held roles at organizations including the New York Stock Exchange and Citigroup, according to her Teach For India U.S. biography.
Gupta said she was honored to receive an award named after Raj and expressed an interest in building a community of award winners and finalists focused on addressing social challenges.
“It is an honor to receive an award named after Deepak Raj,” Gupta said. “I look forward to working with current and future recipients who bring their own energy and ideas as we grow a community of award winners and finalists that can inspire the next generation to act decisively — and creatively — on the challenges facing our society.”
Alex Counts, executive director of the India Philanthropy Alliance, said Gupta’s career demonstrated a sustained focus on education and social impact.
“What stood out to our selection committee was how deliberately Neha has taken nearly two decades of executive experience and pointed it at one of the most persistent equity gaps in the world,” Counts said.
Gupta’s education and philanthropy work
Gupta has worked across technology, business and nonprofit organizations, with a particular focus on education and ethical leadership. According to Teach For India U.S., she has helped scale education technology companies and has worked on initiatives involving behavioral science, technology and education. She holds an MBA in Global Business and Strategy and a bachelor’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from Rutgers University.
Gupta has also been involved with the India Philanthropy Alliance before receiving the award. IPA’s 2025 summit communiqué identified her as part of the planning committee for the organization’s philanthropy summit and noted that she chaired a session focused on scaling impact.
Her work has also included writing about the changing nature of Indian American philanthropy. In a 2025 article, Gupta and IPA Executive Director Alex Counts discussed a growing emphasis on strategic and impact-oriented giving.Teach For India U.S. is a U.S.-based nonprofit that supports efforts to address educational inequity in India. Its stated mission is to provide grants to organizations including Teach For India and support efforts to expand educational opportunity.
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Finalists recognized
Jayawickrama, one of the two finalists, serves as co-chair of Pratham USA’s New York Tri-State Young Professionals Board, where he works to engage younger donors and volunteers in support of educational access in India, according to the IPA announcement.
Navani, the other finalist, serves as philanthropic lead at the Janki Foundation, a Boston-based grantmaking organization supporting healthcare, education and women’s empowerment initiatives in the United States and India. She also works as a product analyst at eClinicalWorks, according to IPA.
The award criteria and selection process were developed by IPA’s NextGen Task Force. Members who participated in the process included Eleanor Elliott-Rude, Arthi Krishna, Shannon Paz, Girish Pendse, Dhirendra Pratap Singh, Jahnavi Singh, Shalina Wadhwani and Maggie Walsh.
Award reflects growing Indian American philanthropy
The Deepak Raj Rising Star Award is scheduled to be presented annually to a U.S.-based Indian American under 40 whose work reflects institution-building, community leadership and philanthropy. The $10,000 grant attached to the award can be directed toward a nonprofit working in areas aligned with IPA’s priorities, including education, health, livelihoods, environmental protection, civic engagement and development in India or among the diaspora.
The India Philanthropy Alliance is a coalition of U.S.-based philanthropic and nonprofit organizations seeking to expand philanthropy benefiting India. IPA says its member organizations collectively raise more than $250 million annually, including more than $125 million in the United States, supporting programs that have reached more than 70 million people. The organization has increasingly focused on engaging younger Indian American philanthropists. Its 2026 newsletter described the Rising Star Award as an initiative to recognize emerging Indian American philanthropists pursuing leadership, innovation and giving. Gupta will receive the inaugural award at the September 29 summit in Dallas, where she is also scheduled to deliver the closing keynote.