Anita Kawatra is a leader in the life sciences and global public health sectors, with more than two decades in senior management in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Most recently, she served as Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs, at Kallyope, the New York City-based biotech company. Previously she was Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at nference, the health AI company. Prior to that, she was a founding executive of Inheris Biopharma and in global roles at Elan Pharmaceuticals, Prothena Biosciences, Merck & Co., and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative.

Before her work in life sciences, she served in the administrations of New York City Mayor David Dinkins and New York Governor Mario Cuomo, and she has led policy initiatives in New York City.

Ms. Kawatra is a board member of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, the largest public health system in the U.S. She is vice president of the board of Sanctuary for Families and serves on the board of GrowNYC, a leading environmental nonprofit. In 2020, she was named among the 100 most influential Asian Americans in New York politics and policy. For 10 years, she served as an adjunct professor at New York University. She holds a master’s degree from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree from Yale University.