SADNA SAMARANAYAKE

Gallatin School of Individualized Study

Master of Arts, May 2009

Specialization: International Development, Business and Social Enterprise

Bio and Resume (.pdf)

Sadna Samaranayake wants to apply private sector efficiencies and market principles to affect sustainable progress in the developing world. She plans to use her combined experience as an entrepreneur, and as a founder of a grassroots non-profit initiative, to create and consult for social enterprises that promote sustainable international development efforts.

Sadna co-created a web design and development business, InSiteLogic, Inc (www.insitelogic.com), which provides websites and custom web based solutions to a broad range of clients, including over 30 professional member based associations across the United States. As a Partner and Director she manages client services, liaising between clients, designers and developers, and handles long term strategic planning, marketing and product refinement.

Originally from Sri Lanka, Sadna co-founded the Sri Lanka Foundation in the aftermath of the 2005 Asian Tsunami. As Director of her Foundation, Sadna has led fundraising, community awareness and organizational initiatives in the US, while working on needs assessments, program management and collaborating with local NGOs in Sri Lanka. To date, the Foundation has set up libraries within existing children’s community centers, established long-term trust accounts for orphaned children and distributed educational resources, school supplies, and books to children at the periphery of the rehabilitation process.

Sadna in interested in social enterprise development, rural small business creation, and micro lending models as tools for creating profit and positive long-term societal and economic gains in developing communities. She continues to explore opportunities for non-profits and for-profits to better achieve mutually reinforcing financial and social returns.

Sadna is a candidate for a Masters of Arts in Social Entrepreneurship and International Development from NYU in May 2009. She received a Bachelors of Arts Degree from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, where she earned a double major in International Affairs and Communication and a minor in Political Economy.