Country Representative, Sri Lanka

Dinesha de Silva is currently The Asia Foundation’s country representative in Sri Lanka. Previously, she served as team leader for The Foundation’s Sri Lanka Local Economic Governance program (2010 to 2012), as assistant director in the Foundation’s Washington D.C. office, (2008 to 2010), and was formerly deputy country representative in the Foundation’s Sri Lanka office. She has two decades of experience in the field of international development, with special interest and experience in economic governance, rule of law, access to justice, and conflict resolution.

From 1995 to 1997, Dinesha de Silva was director of the Foundation’s USAID-funded Citizen Participation (CIPART) Project in Colombo. She also previously served with the Foundation as a program officer for Sri Lanka and the Maldives from 1991 to 1992, focusing on English-language education, women’s empowerment, media development, and economic liberalization. In between positions with the Foundation, she served as a project management specialist for USAID in Colombo in the private sector development office. She also previously served as an economist for the Environmental Foundation Ltd. and for six years as an economist for the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Georgetown University; master’s degree in Economics from Columbia University.