Born and raised in Sunnyvale, Pooja is a Bay Area lifer who always knew this was the place to be—which is exactly what she told her Houston-based high school boyfriend (now her husband, Vivek) when she declared that if he wanted to keep dating her, he'd have to move West. After 10 years of long-distance, he finally listened.

Pooja went to Cal (Go Bears!) where she played field hockey, and after a classic post-college stint in San Francisco, Pooja and her family made the move to Burlingame in 2019 just before the pandemic. The timing was lucky, and the choice was intentional—she and her family were drawn to Burlingame’s excellent schools, great weather, and strong sense of community.

Professionally, Pooja's career began in the private sector, working in investment banking and corporate development. But a desire to drive impact led her to pivot into the nonprofit education world after business school. She’s since led finance and strategy at national organizations committed to expanding equitable access to education for low-income families. After becoming a mom, she swapped long hours and boardrooms for an equally demanding (and far more fun) life as a “professional volunteer.”

Since then, she has served as the National Board Chair of Playworks, Board Treasurer of an SF-based public charter school, PTA Co-President, and de facto Playworks Recess Coach at McKinley. 

Pooja and Vivek have been together for 28 years and are proud parents to Kaya, a 6th grader at BIS, and Ahren, a 2nd grader at McKinley. Her passion for public education and belief in equitable opportunities for all students led her to join the BCE Board as Co-President. As someone who benefited from public schools herself, she knows how crucial BCE is in filling the gap between what public funding provides and what students truly need to thrive.

When she's not wearing her "professional volunteer" hat, you can find Pooja at Ray Park or Bayside with a whistle coaching her kids' softball and baseball teams, obsessing over Bay Area sports, jamming out at every concert (both in and out of town), exploring the world, or holding the honor of being the first woman ever to be officially rostered on the McKinley Dad’s Club Softball Team (glass ceiling = shattered).