Raj Vinnakota
Rajiv Vinnakota is the seventh president of the Institute for Citizens and Scholars (formerly the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation). Prior to joining C&S in July 2019, Raj served as the EVP of the Youth Camp Engagement division at the Aspen Institute. For 18 years, Raj was the co-founded and CEO of The SEED Foundation, the nation’s first network of public, college-preparatory boarding schools for underserved children.
Raj’s work has earned him recognition in the form of fellowships from Echoing Green, The Ashoka Foundation and the Aspen Institute, as well as awards such as Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson Award, Harvard University’s Innovation in American Government Award, and Oprah Winfrey’s Use You Life award.
Raj is a board director for two public companies: Enovis Corporation and ESAB. In addition to being a former trustee and executive committee member for Princeton University, Raj is the former national chair of its annual giving committee. Raj majored in molecular biology and also earned a certificate of studies from the Woodrow Wilson School of International Affairs in Public Policy.