Born in Kandy, Sri Lanka, Majula attended Trinity College, Kandy. He holds a Bachelor’s in Finance from the University of Maryland and a Master’s in International Development and Social Entrepreneurship from The Fletcher School at Tufts University.
Manjula Dissanayake is the Founder and President of Educate Lanka Foundation, a 501-c-3 nonprofit social venture that empowers promising students from underprivileged backgrounds with access to education. Manjula Dissanayake has previously worked in corporate banking and consulting positions with the U.S. State Department and International Finance Corporation at the World Bank.
In 2004, while finshing his senior year at University of Maryland; Majula intiated the “Wave of Hope” Fund raised $20,000 to assist people affected by the Tsunami in Sri Lanka. In 2005, Majula Dissanayake received the Governor’s Citation for the civic duties contributed to the State of Maryland. Since 2006, Manjula Dissanayake has served as a Director of Trinity College Kandy Alumni Association in Washington D.C. In 2010, Manjula established the Sri lankan Cricket Club (SLCC) in the Washington D.C Cricket League dedicated to the Sri Lankan expatriate community. Also in 2010, Educate Lanka ranked 29th among 200,000 non-profits in the US and received a grant of $25,000 from Chase Bank and Facebook.
In 2011, he was a Speaker at Secretary Hillary Clinton’s Global Diaspora Forum at the US Department of State. Manjula Dissanayake won the 2011 Tufts $100K Social Business Plan Competition. In 2012, Manjula Dissanayake was Finalist, UN Volunteer of the Year and received the Global Diaspora Volunteer Award for Partnership by VEGA and USAID. The same year, he was invited to be a Speaker at Assistant Secretary Robert Blake’s South Asian Employee Assocation at the US Department of State and also a Speaker at the Youth to Business Forum at University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. In 2013, Manjula was inducted into the international list of “Top 99 Under 33 Leaders in Foreign Policy” by the Diplomatic Courier and Young Professionals in Foreign Policy. He was the first and only Sri Lankan to be named in this distinguished list. Also in 2013, Manjula Dissanayake was identified as of the top fifteen U.S. Emerging Social Innovators by American Express and Ashoka. IgniteGood and Huffington Post listed Manjula Dissanayake as one of ten global Social Innovation Fellows for 2013. The same year, he was a Panelist and Speaker at Tufts University Social Innovations Symposium. Manjula Dissanayake was a Panelist and Speaker at Clinton Global Initiative University in 2013 and 2014.
Manjula Dissanayake lives with his wife Chara in Washington D.C. and enjoys traveling and exploring foreign cultures. He is a big fan of cricket.
