Mala Thakur

Mala B. Thakur leads the National Youth Employment Coalition's 250+ membership network in 40 states. Mala oversees NYEC's efforts focused on policy, quality standards, professional development, education, member services, and research. Prior to her appointment as Executive Director, Mala served as the Deputy Director of NYEC.

For over 15 years, Mala has worked extensively in the areas of urban education and workforce development for youth and adult populations. Mala spearheaded the creation of NYEC's education portfolio and has led national and state technical assistance efforts for workforce development, school-to-work, and juvenile justice initiatives. Mala frequently delivers presentations and workshops at national conferences on workforce development, education and youth development policy and practice.

Before joining NYEC in 1999, Mala served as Director of Workforce Development at the New York Citywide School to Work Alliance where she provided technical assistance to School to Work partnerships and tracked federal and state legislation on education and workforce development. Before working at the School to Work Alliance, Mala directed policy, research, and advocacy efforts at the National Puerto Rican Forum pertaining to education, employment, and training issues for Latinos and other underserved populations in New York City. Mala has also worked in dropout prevention programs in the New York City public school system and taught English as a Second Language at the New York Association for New Americans.

Today, Mala serves on the Board of Directors of Advocates for Children in New York and the Steering Committees of the National High School Alliance, the Campaign For Youth, the National Collaboration For Youth and the Youth Policy Action Center in Washington, DC. Mala also serves on the National Assessment of Career and Technical Education Independent Advisory Panel, mandated by the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006. She holds an M.A. in Education from New York University and a B.A. in Political Science with a minor in French from the University of California, Berkeley.