Mallika Dutt is the founder and president emeritus of the left-of-center nonprofit Breakthrough. ¹ Prior to starting Breakthrough, Dutt was the program officer for the left-of-center center Ford Foundation’s New Delhi, India office. ² Previously she has been on the board of several left-of-center organizations including the pro-abortion Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the U.S. Programs Board at the George Soros-funded Open Society Foundations, Witness, Peace is Loud, and Games for Change. ^{3 4}

Dutt is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, is on the Global Agenda Council on India at the World Economic Forum, ⁵ works with the left-of-center Human Rights Watch, and was a member of New York City’s Commission on Gender Equity. ⁶

Dutt supports the far-left Black Lives Matter movement ⁷ and has called for Americans to “pay the bills from hundreds of years of colonialism.” ⁸

Career

Mallika Dutt is the founder and president emeritus of the left-of-center nonprofit Breakthrough, which uses media, art, and technology to promote activism primarily in the United States and India. ⁹ She founded Breakthrough in 2000 and left the organization in 2017. ¹⁰ Dutt has been the director of her own consultancy firm, Mallika Dutt LLC, since April 2017. ¹¹

Prior to founding Breakthrough, Dutt was the program officer for Human Rights and Social Justice at the left-of-center Ford Foundation’s New Delhi office from 1996 to 2000, ¹² the associate director for the Center for Women’s Global Leadership from 1994 to 1996 where she directed the “reproductive health and economic justice” workstreams, ¹³ the director of the Norman Foundation  from 1992 to 1994, ¹⁴ an adjunct professor at Hunter College, an intern at the Lawyers Collective, and the assistant coordinator at the International Women’s Tribune Centre from 1982 to 1987. ¹⁵

Dutt was a member of New York City’s Commission on Gender Equity from January 2015 to January 2018 ¹⁶ and has sat on the board of directors for the pro-abortion organization Planned Parenthood Federation of America from 2014 to 2015 and the U.S. Programs Board at the George Soros-funded Open Society Foundations from 2010 to 2012. She has also sat on the boards of Witness, Peace is Loud, and Games for Change. ^{17 18}

She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, sits on the Global Agenda Council on India at the World Economic Forum, ¹⁹ works with the left-of-center Human Rights Watch Women’s Rights Project and Asia Watch, The Sister Fund, Asian American/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy, and the U.S. NGO Coordinating Committee for the United Nations World Conference Against Racism. ²⁰

In 2016, Dutt won the left-of-center Skoll Foundation’s Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. ²¹

Political Positions

Mallika Dutt supports the far-left Black Lives Matter movement ²² and has called for Americans to “pay the bills from hundreds of years of colonialism.” ²³ On her Twitter account she has also advocated for an end to deportation of illegal immigrants and worked to “change the cultural norms” that “cause immigrants so much harm,” ²⁴ written that it “takes an uprising” to deal with racism in the United States, ²⁵ and shared links to critical race theory-inspired books written by controversial authors including Ibram X. Kendi and Robin DiAngelo. ²⁶

Dutt led the creation of a video game called “I Can End Deportation” which puts players in the place of illegal immigrants in the U.S. under constant threat of detention and deportation by agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ²⁷

Political Contributions

Mallika Dutt has made Federal Election Commission-reportable contributions to several Democratic Party-affiliated campaign committees and organizations including Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), ActBlue, Obama for America, the Obama Victory Fund, the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC),  and the unsuccessful presidential campaigns of former Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) in 2008 and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) in 2004. ²⁸

Podcast

Mallika Dutt hosts a podcast, Leadership Moves with Mallika Dutt, that is supported by the left-of-center Ford Foundation’s BUILD Program. ²⁹ Her podcast has called the rule of law a “necessary but insufficient condition for justice.” ³⁰

Guests on the program have included members of left-of-center organizations including Color of Change, ³¹ Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights, ³² Center for Law, Justice, and Society – Dejusticia, ³³ Level Forward, ³⁴ SumOfUs, ³⁵ Harvard Law School, ³⁶ the United Nations, and others. ³⁷

Personal Information

Mallika Dutt received an bachelor’s degree from Mt. Holyoke College in 1983, ³⁸ an M.A. from Columbia University in international affairs and South Asian studies in 1986, ³⁹ and a J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1989. ⁴⁰ She also has a certificate in shamanic studies and energy medicine from The Four Winds. ⁴¹

Dutt was born ⁴² and raised in India ⁴³ and resides in New York, New York. ⁴⁴

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31. “Episode 01: Digital Organizing for Movement Building.” Leadership moves with Mallika Dutt. October 19, 2020. https://leadershipmoves.libsyn.com/digital-organizing-for-movement-building.
32. “Episode 02: Cultivating a Culture of Care.” Leadership Moves with Mallika Dutt. October 30, 2020. https://leadershipmoves.libsyn.com/episode-02-cultivating-a-culture-of-care.
33. “Episode 15: Dancing with the Rule of Law.” Leadership Moves with Mallika Dutt. July 29, 2021. https://leadershipmoves.libsyn.com/episode-15-dancing-with-the-rule-of-law.
34. “Episode 14: Money, Movies and Movements.” Leadership Moves with Mallika Dutt. July 1, 2021. https://leadershipmoves.libsyn.com/episode-14-money-movies-and-movements.
35. ^[1] “Episode 13: Harnessing Resources Online to Fuel Your Movement.” Leadership Moves with Mallika Dutt. May 5, 2021. https://leadershipmoves.libsyn.com/episode-13-harnessing-resources-online-to-fuel-your-movement.
36. “Episode 07: Frames, Messages, and Effective Communication.” Leadership Moves with Mallika Dutt. March 2, 2021. https://leadershipmoves.libsyn.com/-episode-07-frames-messages-and-effective-communication.
37. “Episode 05: The Future of Multilateralism.” Leadership Moves with Mallika Dutt. February 11, 2021. https://leadershipmoves.libsyn.com/episode-05-the-future-of-multilateralism.
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