Sarita Gupta ’96

  • Alum Trustee, Mount Holyoke College Alumnae Association
  • Silver Springs, MD
Sarita Gupta ’96

Sarita Gupta ’96, Silver Springs, Maryland, is vice president of U.S. Programs, overseeing the Ford Foundation’s domestic work including Civic Engagement and Government, Creativity and Free Expression, Future of Work(ers), Technology and Society, Disability Rights, and Gender, Racial, and Ethnic Justice.

Gupta joined the foundation in 2019 as director of the Future of Work(ers) program, bringing more than two decades of experience working to expand people’s ability to take collective action to improve their workplaces, communities and lives by creating meaningful solutions. She is a nationally recognized expert on the economic, labor and political issues affecting workers and is widely acknowledged as a key leader and strategist for building coalitions and policies that protect and advance the rights of workers.

As director, Gupta spearheaded the launch of several far-reaching initiatives. At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, she brought together a number of major funders to launch the Families and Workers Fund, which now stands at $52 million, and the $50 million Care for All with Respect and Equity (CARE) Fund, to address the immediate needs of low-wage workers and their families and drive long-term policy change. Most recently she made a $25 million grant to support informal workers across the globe for the next five years. She has a long history of working on the national level to break down barriers to economic opportunity for all people, which has been increasingly crucial as the U.S. struggles to rebuild equitably amidst an uneven economic recovery from COVID-19.

Gupta previously served as executive director of Jobs With Justice, a leader in the fight for workers’ rights that shapes the public discourse on every front to build power for working people and create an economy that benefits everyone. There, she led a network of 30+ labor and community coalitions that changed the conversation and moved multiple voices, from labor to faith, into action.

Alumnae Association Board term: Alum Trustee (2023–2024)