Dinesha de Silva
Chief, Operations, Asia and the Pacific
Dinesha de Silva is currently The Asia Foundation’s chief of operations for Asia and the Pacific. Previously, she served as country representative in Sri Lanka. She also worked as Sri Lanka Local Economic Governance program from 2010 to 2012, as assistant director in the Foundation’s Washington D.C. office (2008 to 2010), and was formerly deputy country representative in Sri Lanka. She has more than 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 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.