nikhila natarajan
Nikhila Natarajan was Senior Program Manager, Media and Digital Content, at Observer Research Foundation America in 2021, and a Visiting Fellow in 2022.
Before ORF America and ORF, Ms. Natarajan built a career as an omnichannel communications professional with seven top media brands, spanning print, broadcast and digital. She has several newsroom innovations to her name besides experience in multilingual contexts.
Prior to joining ORF America, Ms. Natarajan’s most recent appointments were with Observer Research Foundation, (Fellow, Digital Content), Firstpost/ Network18 (Senior Editor, US). She is also a Contributing Editor at Indo Asian News Service, where she co-led coverage of the US presidential elections 2020.
Ms. Natarajan has co-authored In Pursuit of Autonomy: AI and National Strategies and Indo Pacific 5G Survey: Connections and Conflict. Her essay Doctors as Storytellers featured in The Viral World, an Observer Research Foundation and Global Policy Journal publication. Her NewsForKids podcast is available on Soundcloud.
Ms. Natarajan is a Chevening Scholar and was a national champion in junior tennis. She continues to mentor kids on the joys of fitness and this sport. She received her bachelor of arts degree in Economics from Madras University, India, and her MS in integrated marketing communications from Medill School at Northwestern University. She is currently studying for a Ph.D. in media, communications and information at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
