Rekha Lakshmanan is the Director of Advocacy and Policy for a non-profit. She develops and implements public policy strategies and advises organizations to create and scale statewide grassroot community engagement programs. She has successfully passed legislation to improve access to care and health outcomes. She advises states and organizations on how to build advocacy networks, teaches constituents how to advocate with lawmakers, and is a frequent speaker on state advocacy and policy initiatives. Prior to her non-profit work, , Rekha spent over twelve years in the private sector helping health care organizations develop preventative and chronic care protocols to improve health outcomes.

Her interests include the intersection of politics and policy development and creating advocacy systems to move policy initiatives. She is a contributing expert to Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and serves as a board member for The Houston Area Parkinson’s Society. Lakshmanan holds a master’s degree in healthcare administration (MHA) from Texas Woman’s University- Houston Medical Center and a B.A. in government from The University of Texas in Austin.