My Journey
I was born and raised in New Delhi — a city that never truly sleeps. If you’ve lived there, you know what I mean: the traffic, the chaos, the constant hum of democracy in motion. It’s a place where protests appear overnight, where every chai break turns into a political debate, and where the air itself feels charged with ideas and arguments. I grew up right in the middle of that, with Parliament visits being my favourite childhood memories and dinner-table family conversations my earliest lessons that politics isn't an abstract idea but a lived reality, a reality that shapes many people's lives, often in disproportionate ways. Today, as a development practitioner specialising in human rights and VAWG, I sometimes struggle to choose one over the other, knowing that every inclusion in my work of certain communities is an exclusion of the others. I try to stay open to partnerships that integrate key areas rather than work that happens in siloes.
Biography
Born and raised in New Delhi, Riya Mohan grew up in the midst of India’s evolving social and political landscape. Her young adulthood unfolded alongside some of the country’s most defining moments — when the Sabarimala judgment allowed women to enter the temple for the first time, when Kashmir’s special status was revoked, when homosexuality was decriminalised, and when the Three Farm Laws sparked mass protests. She witnessed the abortion law evolve to finally include unmarried women and saw the healthcare system collapse during the pandemic.
Riya began her professional journey in India’s publishing and editorial sector, contributing articles and opinion pieces on social and political issues to online magazines and independent media outlets. Her early engagement with grassroots communication and political commentary later pushed her join Itisaras, a non-profit youth-led organisation, where she served as Editorial Head and participated in a legal literacy and governance camp in Adbar village, Mewat, Haryana. There, she participated in field research assessing the reasons for lowest female literacy, engaging directly with community workers and women beneficiaries, and authoring the project’s final research report. This experience introduced her to the intersection of policy, gender, and grassroots development, which continues to define her work today.
Riya holds an undergraduate degree in English from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, one of India’s leading institutions known for its feminist ethos and academic excellence. She has pursued Spanish language training at Instituto Cervantes, a cultural institution founded by the Government of Spain. Later, from UK's University College London (UCL), she earned an MSc in International Relations of the Americas. At UCL, her training centred on international relations, foreign policy with an additional focus on gender, politics, and public policy. Her dissertation, supported by a UCL research grant, involved fieldwork in Montevideo, Uruguay, examining the unintended consequences of a conditional cash transfer programme Family Allowances - Equity Plan (AFAM-PE) on women’s empowerment or disempowerment. Riya has also been selected for the prestigious LokNeeti: Policy, Data & Behaviour Change Programme with the Indian School of Public Policy (ISPP), a programme that equips professionals with tools in design thinking, data analysis, and monitoring and evaluation to create evidence-based interventions across corporate, government, and non-profit spaces.
Professionally, Riya has held leadership roles in the refugee / migration and the violence against women and girls (VAWG) sectors, where she has led fundraising, project management, and strategic communications. Her experience spans designing and delivering humanitarian and refugee initiatives, advocating for systemic reform in VAWG, and building partnerships that drive investment into key initiatives. She has contributed to calls for evidence, government inquiries, and Treasury representations, and has spoken at strategic platforms including the Houses of Parliament, local councils, and universities. Riya has organised peace conferences, policy roundtables, and advocacy events highlighting issues such as Afghan girls’ education under the Taliban, human rights abuses, refugee employment, asylum system reform, and humanitarian aid. She has mobilised UK media around key refugee and gender-based violence initiatives, contributing to press releases, policy briefs, and public statements on behalf of charity organisations, featured across major media outlets.
Riya has also supported Aapka Sahara Foundation in advancing mental health initiatives for the elderly, helping recruit and build capacity for fundraising teams. Her passion for this cause is deeply personal — inspired by her late grandmother, whose love and guidance profoundly shaped her values and who passed away during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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In 2024, Riya served as an Accredited Independent Election Observer for the UK General Elections, conducting election observation across fifteen polling stations in London to ensure fairness, transparency, and adherence to democratic standards. Previously, she got selected as a UN Women UK Delegate for the 66th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
Beyond her professional commitments, Riya mentors individuals affected by violence, conflict, war, political instability, and displacement, guiding them to access education and global opportunities. Drawing on her lived experiences and professional insight, she is driven by the belief that privilege is most powerful when it opens doors for others. She has been invited by University College London to speak as a panellist, sharing insights on strategic career journeys, the value of volunteering, and building careers in the development sector, inspiring the next generation of social change professionals.
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RECOGNITIONS
In 2024, Riya was recognised as a Rising Leaders Fellow (Aspen Institute UK), nominated to be among the finest high-potential leaders navigating an increasingly complex and polarised global landscape.