Pujya Pascal was a Government Innovation Fellow with the Opportunity Accelerator team working with the Alameda County’s Probation Department to improve rehabilitative and supportive services for formerly incarcerated individuals. Before joining the GPL, Pujya led efforts at the San Francisco Public Defenders Office to build one of the nation’s first deportation defense units serving clients facing federal removal orders. Previously, she worked on access to health with Doctors Without Borders in India evaluating healthcare programs to better serve the marginalized communities in villages affected by severe malnutrition and neglected tropical diseases. Her policy advocacy work culminated in India adopting a disease elimination plan for visceral leishmaniasis (VL), also known as Kala azar, paving the way for treatment and affordable medicines for 35 million of the country’s poorest.  
Pujya recently earned her Master of Public Affairs from the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. She also holds an M.A and M.Phil. in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University and a B.A (Honors) in History from St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi.