Poorvaja Sundar (she/her) joins RPPL as Project Manager, bringing a deep commitment to educational equity and extensive experience in leading collaborative projects across varied educational contexts. In her role, she manages research initiatives within RPPL’s professional learning portfolio, working closely with PL providers, researchers, school systems, and stakeholders to implement impactful, evidence-based practices.

Poorvaja’s career encompasses project design, strategic planning, research, policy analysis, and stakeholder engagement. Most recently, as an Evolutionary Learning Fellow at Columbia University’s Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL), she supported school systems through leadership coaching and by developing frameworks for measurement, school improvement, and strategic planning, all with a focus on equity and accelerated learning. Previously, Poorvaja co-founded Ikvanshu, a social innovation lab dedicated to empowering low-income communities in India through localized, innovative solutions. She earned her M.P.A. from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Mumbai, India.

RPPL’s mission resonates with me because it’s about more than just delivering professional learning; it’s about putting teachers in the driver’s seat of their own learning and growth. RPPL’s collaborative, evidence-based approach ensures that the latest insights in PL reach educators in real time, building a bridge between research and practice that ultimately serves all students in the most impactful ways.

Poorvaja Sundar
Project Manager