Ms. Nelun Chrisanthi Gunasekera is a Gender and Development professional with over forty years’ experience in the development sector and is currently an independent consultant on Gender, Social Development and Social Inclusion. She has a BA (Hons) Degree in English from the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka and a MA in Development Studies specializing in Gender and Development from the International Institute of Social Studies, in the Netherlands.

She worked in Sri Lanka and internationally in NGOs and INGOs for over twenty years, then joined the Asian Development Bank (Sri Lanka Resident Mission) as the Gender and Social Development specialist. As an independent consultant she carried out assignments for ADB, World Bank, UN and bilateral agencies, donors, INGO’s and NGOs in Sri Lanka and internationally.

She was a member of the Centre for Women’s Research (CENWOR) Governing Council. She was appointed as Director of Chrysalis (former CARE Sri Lanka) in 2017 and served as the Board Chair and as the delegate to the CARE International Assembly from 2019 – 2025. She was a member of the Governance and Nominations Committee of the CARE Confederation.