About
Fulbright Sri Lanka

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

Founder, IVYSAM, Ivy League Alumni of Sri Lanka
Director of Development for the Geoffrey Bawa Trust

Sonia Hirdaramani began her career in finance and entertainment before relocating from New York to Colombo, where she shifted her focus to private investing and non-profit work. Drawing on her experience at Morgan Stanley, she manages her own investment portfolio. She also serves as Director of Development for the Geoffrey Bawa and Lunuganga Trusts.

A strong advocate for education, she works with Oxford Royale to connect South Asian students with global academic opportunities and is the founder of IVYSAM, a network for Ivy League alumni in Sri Lanka. She has held various leadership roles with Columbia University and currently serves on the Board of Columbia College Women.

Sonia serves on the Board of the US–Sri Lanka Fulbright Commission and is a Citizen Liaison Volunteer at the U.S. Embassy. She is a member of the Creative Council of the Ceylon Literary Festival and writes the column Island Life, Global Views for the Daily Mirror. Her writing includes a contribution to the Indian bestseller Your Best Day Is Today, and her essay “Lessons in Quarantine” is part of Columbia University’s COVID-19 Archive Collection.

Previously, she co-managed her family’s South Asian entertainment company, which received recognition from India’s Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs. Her work has been featured by the Associated Press, Reuters, CNN, and The New York Times, and she appears in the coffee-table book Jewels of India, which highlights prominent Indian-American figures. Earlier in her impact career, she worked with HERCapital and the UNDP.

She continues to expand her academic and professional interests through courses 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.

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.

Events and Communication Coordinator

Financial Coordinator

Overview

The United States-Sri Lanka Fulbright Commission (US-SLFC) was established by an Agreement signed by the U.S. and Sri Lankan governments in 1952. We are an autonomous, bi-national, non-governmental commission. Our mission is building bridges of understanding and peace between people of the United States and people of Sri Lanka through educational, artistic and professional exchanges. We also oversee EducationUSA which promotes study in American colleges and universities.

We are seeking an experienced and organized Financial Coordinator to work in a small team environment. The Financial Coordinator reports to the Executive Director (ED) of the Fulbright Commission and works collaboratively with all US-SLFC staff, outside vendors, key partners, funders, and Fulbrighters both in the U.S. and Sri Lanka.

Key Responsibilities

The position of Financial Coordinator reports to the Executive Director. The applicable work hours for the Financial Coordinator is 40 hours per week. The Employee may be required to travel within Sri Lanka. All US-SLFC positions have performance plans, benchmarks and annual reviews. The Employee is expected to abide by the policies and procedures of the US-SLFC Employee Handbook and to perform all such duties and responsibilities as reasonably assigned by the Employer to the Employee.

The duties of the Financial Coordinator may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Oversee all accounts, financial transactions, payables and receivables, and investments of Fulbright Sri Lanka at the direction of the Executive Director.
• Manage logistics for annual audit by outside auditing firm contracted by US-SLFC.
• Plan, organize, and execute strategies to maximize cost savings and investment earnings of US-SLFC at the direction of the Executive Director and Board.
• Produce financial reports for U.S. Department of State and other funders, Board of Directors, donors, investors, Executive Director, and others, as requested by Executive Director and Board.
• Work with Board Treasurer to responsibly, ethically, and transparently steward the resources of US-SLFC.
• Oversee petty cash accounts which are managed by other staff members.
• Manage human resources’ functions such as leave time, overtime, comp time, etc.
• Catalogue and track inventory of assets owned by Fulbright Commission.
• Ensure that expenditures stay within budget and meet organizational goals.
• Closely work with banking partners.
• Collaborate with US-SLFC staff on activities that include financial expenditures.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required and Preferred Qualifications

• Positive and collaborative spirit, high ethical standards, and honesty required.
• Relevant educational qualifications required; Bachelor’s degree or professional qualification in finance or accounting preferred.
• At least 3 years of work experience in a relevant field such as bookkeeping, accounting, auditing or business required; experience in an international organization preferred.
• Detail oriented skills required; ability to collaborate with others on tasks and timelines preferred.
• Fluency in written and spoken English required; fluency in Sinhala and/or Tamil preferred.
• Strong computer skills including Microsoft Excel and Office, QuickBooks, WordPress, Google, and other platforms required.
• Strong financial analysis, reporting skills, and sound knowledge of budgeting.
• Attitude “no-task-is-beneath-me” required.
• Ability to work in a team environment as well as on your own required.

Salary and Terms

This is a full-time position, 40 hours per week, with some ability to work remotely except when meetings, events or other commitments require. Salary commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Timeline

Applications will be reviewed as they are received on a rolling basis. We hope to fill this position in June 2026.

To Apply

Application must include:

1. Cover Letter
2. CV/Resume
3. List of three professional references who can be contacted if you are short-listed for the Financial Coordinator position

The cover letter should specifically explain in detail with examples how the candidate’s past experiences fulfill the key responsibilities and meet both the required and preferred qualifications above. Please include your present salary.

The list of professional references must include each referee’s name, position, circumstances of knowing the applicant, and contact number and email.

Please send application material as a single .pdf file to inquiries@fulbrightsrilanka.org.

Please Note: No follow-up phone calls, personal visits, or inquiries related to this vacancy will be accepted. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.