History of US-SLFC
Today
Outreach and America250
US-SLFC boasts an impressive alumni network of 2,000+ who are top performers in various fields. We are committed to island-wide outreach, collaboration, and mutual understanding between the U.S. and Sri Lanka, particularly as the U.S. celebrates 250 years.
2022
70th Anniversary of US-SLFC
U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung attends the 70th Anniversary Celebration of US-SLFC alongside Fulbright alumni and dignitaries from America and Sri Lanka.
2017
Fulbright TEA Awards
The Teaching Excellence and Achievement (TEA) Awards become part of The Fulbright Program following its establishment at the U.S. Department of State. TEA awardees are secondary-level school teachers in schools with primarily local Sri Lankan students who spend six weeks in the U.S. on a non-degree program.
2002
50th Anniversary of US-SLFC
US-SLFC celebrates 50 years as a commission, the oldest in South Asia.
1996
Release of “A Depression in the Bay of Bengal”
Filmmaker and US-SLFC alum Mark LaPore releases his documentary film “A Depression in the Bay of Bengal,” shot during his Fulbright scholarship in Sri Lanka between 1993-1994. A response to Basil Wright's 1934 "The Song of Ceylon," it was preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2014.
1989
25th Anniversary of US-SLFC
US-SLFC celebrates its 25th anniversary, commemorating its status as the only independent, non-governmental academic exchange program in the country at this time.
1987
Partnership with East-West Center
Over 400 participant awards are granted across a 27-year partnership with the East-West Center, including 53 degree seeking students. Sri Lankan scholars and practitioners participate in research workshops ranging from ‘Asian Labour migration’ to ‘Botanical pest control research.’
1979
Establishment of the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship
The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship is for mid-career professionals who will help solve the world’s most pressing problems. US-SLFC sends one Humphrey Fellow to the U.S. each year for a ten-month non-degree program of graduate-level academic coursework and practical professional experiences.
1964
US-SLFC Achieves Permanent Status
The program gains permanent status in 1964 through the establishment of the bi-national commission and adopts the name United States-Sri Lanka Fulbright Commission (US-SLFC).
1952
Establishment of US-SLFC
The United States-Sri Lanka Fulbright Commission (US-SLFC) is established by an Agreement signed by the U.S. and Sri Lankan governments on November 17, 1952 under its original name: the United States Educational Foundation in Sri Lanka (USEF/SL).
Message from the Executive Director
Truly my dream job in a tropical paradise! Please reach out to connect with us and pursue your dream too.
I am delighted to welcome you to Fulbright Sri Lanka. It is truly an honor to serve as the Executive Director of the bi-national United States-Sri Lanka Fulbright Commission. This builds on over 30 years of my international experience, including time as a Fulbright-Nehru Senior Scholar and a Fulbright Regional Travel grant to Sri Lanka.
When I was a Fulbrighter, my family and I had many transformational experiences. Now I get to partner with great people here in Sri Lanka and the U.S. to create life-changing experiences for students, scholars, artists, professionals, government officials, and community leaders. Truly my dream job in a tropical paradise! Please reach out to connect with us and pursue your dream too.
–Patrick McNamara, PhD, US-SLFC Executive Director
Our Team
Board of Directors
The US-SLFC board is binational. Three members are nominated by the Government of Sri Lanka and three members are nominated by the U.S. Ambassador.
Sharlina Hussain-Morgan
Treasurer
Director for Public Engagement, U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka
Romola Rassool
Director of the Postgraduate Institute of English of the Open University of Sri Lanka
Senior Academic Expert of the Accelerating Higher Education Expansion and Development (AHEAD)
Prabha Manuratne
Professor, Department of English, University of Kelaniya
Director, Centre for Gender Equity/Equality at the University Grants Commission
Ravindra Dias
Chairman of the Board, Carson Cumberbatch PLC
Chairman of the Board, Seylan Bank
Staff
Our US-SLFC staff is excited to meet you. Email us to ask questions, schedule a visit to your area, or make an appointment
Menaka Nayyar
Chair
Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka
Menaka Nayyar is the Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka. She is responsible for overseeing the embassy’s public outreach through media engagements and cultural programs and grants.
She has served in a variety of roles in Washington, Poland, Russia, Italy, Estonia, Pakistan, Thailand, and The Gambia, and was most recently a policy advisor in the Bureau of Global Talent Management.
She was also an Una Chapman Cox Sabbatical Fellow and a participant in the Secretary’s Leadership Seminar at Harvard Business School. Menaka received a B.A. in Individualized Studies (Sociology and European Studies focus) and an M.A. in Media Studies from New York University, an M.Sc. in Human Rights from the London School of Economics, and an Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Georgetown University. She is married to fellow Foreign Service officer Anthony Pirnot, and they are joined in Colombo by their son Nico.
Sharlina Hussain-Morgan
Treasurer
Director for Public Engagement, U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka
Sharlina Hussain-Morgan holds a B.S. in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a M.A. in conflict resolution from Georgetown University. She is an experienced and innovative multilingual American diplomat in communications and international education, and has led teams of 20-40 people from various backgrounds to be highly organized, detail-oriented, resourceful, innovative, and forward thinking. Her experiences in international engagement and policy span five continents. During her Foreign Service, she covered human rights issues in North Korea, Cambodia, and Thailand in the Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Prior to her DC assignment, she served in Ghana, Pakistan, Egypt, and the United Kingdom. While in Karachi, Pakistan, she served as spokesperson and led interagency U.S. government communications for Sindh and Balochistan provinces.
Romola Rassool
Director of the Postgraduate Institute of English of the Open University of Sri Lanka
Senior Academic Expert of the Accelerating Higher Education Expansion and Development (AHEAD)
Dr. Romola Rassool is the Director of the Postgraduate Institute of English of the Open University of Sri Lanka. Previously, she served as the Senior Academic Expert of the Accelerating Higher Education Expansion and Development (AHEAD) project which was funded by the World Bank and implemented by the Ministry of Education of Sri Lanka. She is an experienced academic who specializes in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) and Sociolinguistics. Her PhD, which she obtained from the University of Melbourne, was based on a multi-sited study of the Sri Lanka Malay community’s ideologies on the endangerment of their mother tongue. Her present research interests include the lesser-known languages of Sri Lanka, the nexus between language, politics, and identity, and Academic Literacy as a means of supporting Bilingual Education and English Medium Instruction. Romola completed her MA in TESOL from Teachers College, Columbia University, as the recipient of a Fulbright Award.
Sonia Dandona Hirdaramani
Investor
Founder, Ivy League Alumni of Sri Lanka (IVYSL)
Sonia Hirdaramani began her career in finance and entertainment, but after relocating to Sri Lanka from the United States, she shifted her focus to personal investing and non-profit work.
Sonia leverages her extensive background in finance from her tenure at the investment bank, Morgan Stanley, towards her portfolio and role on the Investment Committee of HERCapital in Sri Lanka, the country’s first gender smart ESG fund. A staunch advocate for gender equality, Sonia also has focused past efforts on UN Women (HeForShe) and microfinance at the UNDP.
Previously, she successfully co-managed her family’s South Asian entertainment company, earning recognition from the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and the Minister of State for Overseas Indian Affairs.
She also actively promotes stronger ties between the United States and South Asia through her involvement in various non-profit organizations, including serving as a member of the Board of Columbia University’s International Advisory Board, Nexus Global’s India Steering Committee and the Board of the US-Sri Lanka Fulbright Commission.
A graduate of Columbia University, Sonia founded IVYSL, a networking group for the Ivy League alumni of Sri Lanka. A life-long learner, Sonia has continued her education through courses and programs at Harvard University, Harvard Business School, Columbia Business School and the Indian School of Business.
Prabha Manuratne
Professor, Department of English, University of Kelaniya
Director, Centre for Gender Equity/Equality at the University Grants Commission
Prabha Manuratne is Professor, Department of English, University of Kelaniya, and currently serves as the Director, Centre for Gender Equity/Equality at the University Grants Commission, Sri Lanka. She was the Founding Director of the Centre for Social Reconciliation at the University of Kelaniya and former Director of the Inclusivity Centre of the University of Kelaniya. Her research focuses on violence and representations of violence in literature and cinema, with a special focus on structural violence. She is a public intellectual who regularly speaks on women’s rights and education rights, and is currently working on curbing institutional and institutionalized violence within the Sri Lankan university system, particularly ragging/hazing and sexual and gender based violence. She holds a PhD in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo and was a Fulbright Scholar at the Department of English, Kansas State University.
Ravindra Dias
Chairman of the Board, Carson Cumberbatch PLC
Chairman of the Board, Seylan Bank
Ravi Dias had a distinguished career in banking, retiring as Managing Director/CEO of Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC. He also served as Managing Director of Commercial Bank Development and a Director of Commercial Insurance Brokers. He earned an LLB and was honored to be named a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in the UK. He was a Humphrey Fellow in which he spent 10 months in the U.S. studying banking and finance.
Ravi is presently Chairman and Independent Non-Executive Director of Carson Cumberbatch PLC. He is also the Chairman of Seylan Bank PLC, Senkadagala Finance PLC and Ceylon Tea Marketing (Pvt) Ltd. Ravi additionally serves on the Board of Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka) PLC as Independent Non-Executive Director. He is past Chairman of Senkadagala Finance PLC. Other boards he served on include Lanka Clear and Lanka Financial Services Bureau. Ravi was a past Council Member of the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon and Committee Member of Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.
Patrick McNamara
Executive Director, Board Member (Ex-Officio)
Patrick McNamara, Ph.D., serves as Executive Director of the United States-Sri Lanka Fulbright Commission. He has worked with universities, governments, corporations, nonprofits, and foundations for over 35 years. Before joining Fulbright Sri Lanka, Patrick was at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) where he taught conflict resolution, sustainable development, and social entrepreneurship. At UNO, he also served as Senior International Officer, Director of the International Studies major and minor, Director of the Sustained Dialogue Initiative and Director of the Omaha World Affairs Council. Dr. McNamara achieved distinction as a Fulbright-Nehru Senior Scholar in India in 2011, during which he spent time on a Regional Travel Grant to Sri Lanka.
Other past experience includes: Director of Philanthropic Services at Omaha Community Foundation which annually donated over $80 million to nonprofits; Director of the Omaha Hate Crimes Project, a partnership funded by the U.S. Department of Justice to fight hate and discrimination; managing a printing ink manufacturing company; litigation paralegal at a Wall Street law firm; and Capitol Page in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is on the governing board of Initiatives of Change, a global interfaith NGO “building trust across the world’s divides.” Patrick’s TED Talk is Water Conflict, Water Peace.
Dr. McNamara earned a Ph.D. from the School of Public Administration at UNO. His dissertation research, funded by a fellowship from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, focused on public-private partnerships to solve homelessness. He earned a M.Sc. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University with specializations in international and organizational dispute resolution. His B.A. in Religion is from Swarthmore College where he studied comparative religions and ethics.
Patrick may be reached at patrick@fulbrightsrilanka.org.
Soraya Fajudeen
Executive & Program Assistant
Soraya Fajudeen has served as Executive and Program Assistant for 20 years at US-SLFC. She works closely with our staff to successfully administer the Fulbright programs. Prior to joining the Fulbright Commission, she worked at the Asia Foundation-Sri Lanka, Television Trust for the Environment-Sri Lanka, and in the NGO and the corporate sectors.
Soraya may be reached at soraya@fulbrightsrilanka.org.
Shanaka Premarathna
Program Officer
Shanaka Premarathna is the Program Officer at the United States-Sri Lanka Fulbright Commission. He brings skills and experience in education, business, strategic planning, program management, stakeholder engagement, and outreach. He has played a key role in enhancing U.S.-Sri Lanka collaboration in various capacities. Shanaka previously served as Coordinator of the American Corner Matara, a U.S. Embassy-supported information center, where he oversaw daily operations, developed strategic initiatives, and fostered partnerships with NGOs, educational institutions, and private sector organizations. Previous to that he was Chief Executive Officer of the Matara District Chamber of Commerce & Industry. He holds an MBA from University of Ruhuna.
Shanaka may be reached at shanaka@fulbrightsrilanka.org.
Nuwan Dinushka
Financial Manager
Nuwan Dinushka is Fulbright Sri Lanka’s Financial Manager. He works closely with the Executive Director and other staff on all finance activities. He has over eight years of accounting and auditing experience and previously worked at Deloitte Sri Lanka and IBM World Trade Corporation.
Nuwan may be reached at finance@fulbrightsrilanka.org.
Isa Spoerry
EducationUSA Adviser
Isa Spoerry is the EducationUSA Adviser to Sri Lanka. She obtained her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from New York University, where she studied Social & Cultural Analysis, Global & Urban Education, and Peace & Conflict Studies. Isa brings prior advising experience as a Club Life Adviser in the Center for Student Life at NYU and as a private college consultant.
Originally from the United States, Isa relocated to Sri Lanka in 2023 to deepen her understanding of her own heritage and is delighted to work with highly motivated Sri Lankan students pursuing U.S. higher education.
For Fulbright-related matters, Isa may be reached at isa@fulbrightsrilanka.org. For EducationUSA-related matters, Isa may be reached at ispoerry@educationusa.org.
Fahim Aslam
Strategic Engagement Consultant
Fahim Aslam is the Strategic Engagement Consultant at the United States-Sri Lanka Fulbright Commission, where he oversees the integration and daily management of the Salesforce CRM system, supports alumni engagement initiatives, and assists with outreach and engagement planning.
He brings over seven years of experience in international development, evidence-based policy, and program management across South Asia. Previously, Fahim served as Team Lead at Marga Institute, where he led research professionals and directed interventions from project planning to policy brief development and publications. At the United Nations Development Programme, he coordinated multi-stakeholder initiatives on social cohesion and peacebuilding, authoring policy briefs adopted by government agencies.
Fahim holds a Master of Development Studies from the University of Colombo, an MBA from the University of Bedfordshire, and is currently a PhD candidate exploring the intersections of human development, digitization, and entrepreneurship in the humanities. He is a Global Research Committee Member of the Trust and Safety Foundation, representing South Asia.
Fahim may be reached at fahim@fulbrightsrilanka.org.