Professor Meenakshi Gopinath is the Founder and Director of WISCOMP (Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace), an initiative that seeks to promote the leadership of South Asian women in the areas of peace, security and regional cooperation. She is also Chair, Board of Governors, Centre for Policy Research (CPR), and Principal Emerita of Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi, where she served as Principal for 26 years (1988-2014). She has been a member of the University Grants Commission (UGC) in India. Dr. Gopinath was the first woman nominated to India’s National Security Advisory Board (NSAB). In recognition of her contribution to women’s education and empowerment, she has received several awards, including the Padma Shri. She was a Visiting MacArthur Senior Fellow at the Non-Traditional Security Centre of Nanyang University, Singapore, and a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the School of Social Sciences, Monash University (2015). Dr. Gopinath serves on the Governing Boards of research institutes, NGOs, educational institutions and corporate bodies. She has been a Fulbright Scholar and has received several fellowships, including the Australian International Education Foundation Fellowship and the University Grants Commission Indo-Israel Exchange Fellowship, among others.