[December 11, 2017]

Dr. Geetha Murali Appointed Chief Executive Officer of Room to Read; Erin Ganju to Transition to Emeritus Board

Room to Read, a leading global nonprofit organization focused on literacy and girls' education, today announced that Dr. Geetha Murali has been appointed Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2018. Current CEO and Co-Founder, Erin Ganju, announced earlier this year that she planned to transition out of the role in early 2018. Ganju will serve on the Emeritus Board of Room to Read beginning in January 2018.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171211005099/en/

Dr. Geetha Murali (Photo: Sergio Villareal)

Dr. Murali has been at Room to Read for nearly nine years and is a respected and highly valued member of Room to Read's Management Team, having most recently served as Chief Development & Communications Officer. In this role, she has led staff across nine interational locations and has been responsible for global fundraising, marketing, public relations, and communications, while also working directly with the organization's largest investors. Under her leadership, Room to Read has embarked on several key initiatives, including the development of major institutional and cause-marketing partnerships as well as the launch of legacy giving and multi-currency crowdfunding programs. Dr. Murali also has helped the organization scale its impact by building innovative public and private partnerships.

Room to Read's Board Chair, Scott Kapnick, said, "Geetha is a highly accomplished executive who possesses the experience and next-generation vision to lead Room to Read's operations and further advance the organization's world-class reputation and global mission of helping to improve the quality of education for millions of children around the world. She has the full support of Co-Founders Erin Ganju, Dinesh Shrestha, and John Wood, as well as our entire leadership team. We're all looking forward to her continued contributions as we work together to expand Room to Read's impact and reach."

Dr. Murali has nearly 20 years of diverse experience across the corporate and non-profit sectors. This includes working as a statistician for multinational companies and with large-scale technology programs such as the Digital Equalizer Program (American India Foundation) and Adobe Youth Voices (Adobe Systems (News - Alert) Incorporated). As CEO, Dr. Murali will now oversee Room to Read's global operations, which include programmatic work in 15 low-income countries, a global network of investors and volunteer chapters, and a worldwide staff of more than 1,500 employees.

"It's an honor and privilege to lead Room to Read into our next phase of growth," said Dr. Murali. "The accomplishments of the leadership team since Room to Read's inception have made it a best-in-class organization, and I'm committed to ensuring that we continue to accelerate our growth to transform the lives of even more children around the world."

Ganju added, "Geetha's impressive background, extensive accomplishments and inspirational leadership style make her the perfect choice of CEO to further our mission. I look forward to helping her make a seamless transition, and I'm confident she will be an outstanding leader for this organization."

About Room to Read

Room to Read is a global organization transforming the lives of millions of children in low-income countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Founded in 2000 on the belief that World Change Starts with Educated Children®, our innovative model focuses on deep, systemic transformation within schools in low-income countries during two time periods that are most critical in a child's schooling: early primary school for literacy acquisition and secondary school for girls' education. We work in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations and governments to develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children and ensure girls can complete secondary school with the skills necessary to negotiate key life decisions. By focusing on the quality of education provided within the communities and ensuring these outcomes are measured, we have created a model that can be replicated, localized and sustained by governments. Room to Read has benefited 11.6 million children across over 20,000 communities in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Grenada, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Rwanda, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Vietnam and Zambia, and aims to reach 15 million children by 2020. Learn more at www.roomtoread.org.

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