Rukmini Banerji is the Chief Executive Officer of Pratham Education Foundation. Until recently, she was responsible for Pratham’s programs and activities in several major states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and was also the Director of ASER Centre (the research and assessment unit of Pratham). Initially trained as an economist in India, she did her B.A. at St. Stephen’s College and attended the Delhi School of Economics. She was a Rhodes Scholar at the Oxford University and completed her Ph.D. at the University of Chicago where she also did post-doctoral research at the Population Research Centre. Rukmini worked as a program officer at the Spencer Foundation in Chicago for several years before returning to India in 1996. Since 1996, Rukmini has been with Pratham, one of India’s largest NGOs working in education (www.pratham.org). She has been a member of the national leadership team of the organization and has extensive field experience both in program implementation and in research. She has led the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) effort since it was launched in 2005. ASER has been acknowledged nationally and internationally for its innovative model of household-based, citizen-led assessment which has impacted education policy and practice within India and has also been adapted for use in several countries in Africa and Asia. In 2008, Rukmini was awarded the Maulana Abul Kalam Shiksha Puraskar by the Government of Bihar, India. She was the first recipient of this award. Over the years, she has represented Pratham and the ASER Centre in various national and international forums and is a member of committees both in India and abroad. Rukmini writes frequently on education in both Hindi and English dailies in India and enjoys writing books and stories for children. Originally from Bihar, she is now lives in New Delhi.