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Vidya Putcha

Associate Director

Vidya Putcha is an education specialist with seven years of experience implementing programs and carrying out research to inform early education policymakers, funders and program managers in low- and middle-income countries.

As an associate director for R4D’s education portfolio, she leads projects on early childhood development related to supporting and strengthening the early childhood workforce, and increasing financing for early childhood development services. This often involves strategic guidance for policymakers, funders and implementers on topics such as tracking investments, standards, and training and professional development.

Before joining R4D, Ms. Putcha was a consultant at the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution where she worked on research studies related to financing early childhood development. She also worked at the World Bank providing countries with policy guidance for improving their educational assessment systems. Before that, she taught middle school students in Indian government schools.

Ms. Putcha holds a master’s in international relations and international economics from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and a BA in development studies from Brown University. She speaks English and Telugu.

Articles and other publications

Global & Regional Initiatives

R4D is a globally recognized leader for designing initiatives that connect implementers, experts and funders across countries to build knowledge and get that knowledge into practice.