2026 UCEAP Emerging Leader - Disha Banik
Born in Kolkata and raised in a multicultural area of California, Disha had an international life from the start. She saw the contrast in wealth and poverty from a young age in both India and the US, which motivated her to pursue public service.
A compelling voice in global governance and international policy, Disha is proud to receive the 2026 Emerging Leader Award. She was recently the Head of Partnerships and Communications for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the largest humanitarian organization in the world, in the Congo. She was also a Partnerships Officer in South Africa for WFP's former Regional Office for Southern Africa. WFP aims to end global hunger. In Congo, Disha played a leadership role in transitioning school meals from WFP to government ownership and launching a humanitarian airline, among other successes.
Previously, named a 40 Under 40 Asian American in Politics, she was a foreign and domestic policy advisor in the US Congress in Washington DC. She advised, legislated, and communicated for senior elected officials in both the US House and Senate. In Congress, she was a key player in reauthorizing a bipartisan, global HIV/AIDS program called PEPFAR in March 2024, supporting Cabo Verde in being selected for a regional Millennium Challenge Corporation compact in December 2023, and promoting local leadership in US-Haiti policy by enacting legislation in March 2022.