Mala Persaud is the director of communications for Milken Institute Philanthropy. A former journalist, Persaud is a mission-driven communications leader with expertise in science and health communications. Persaud started her career with NBC News, first in New York and then in London, where she covered hundreds of breaking and feature news stories. From there, Persaud put her international journalistic and storytelling skills to work in strategic communications, first at GMMB, and then at Fenton, two leading DC-based consulting agencies. As a consultant, Persaud’s clients included the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Johnson & Johnson, PATH, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation. In her roles, she built communications strategies and ghostwrote for leaders focused on issues including vaccines, infectious and rare diseases, maternal health, global agriculture, and much more. At the Institute, Mala works closely with MI Philanthropy’s thought leaders, shaping and elevating their narratives so that complex scientific concepts become accessible to all, and communications achieve their intended impact. Persaud is based in Washington, DC.