Rushda is responsible for the Bernard van Leer Foundation’s work in India. Previously, she helped manage Bloomberg Philanthropies’ India Smart Cities Challenge, a competition to select 100 cities for central government funding as part of the country’s Smart Cities Mission. Rushda has led research in 11 countries for Princeton University’s Innovations for Successful Societies to analyse reforms that improve government performance and accountability. She has also served as a core team member on the re-election campaign of a two-term Member of Parliament, advised a World Bank team on case study research, and managed a global leadership programme for a New York-city based non-profit. Rushda has written numerous case studies on institutional reforms, and her writings on the subject have appeared in Foreign Policy magazine’s Democracy Lab. She has a Master’s degree in international affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and a Bachelor’s degree in computer science from Eastern Kentucky University.