She seeks to strengthen community resilience by surfacing often-overlooked stressors through mixed-methods research, and translating insights into experiential and visual forms for diverse stakeholders.
As Associate Executive Director at Mandala Arts, a MacArthur award-winning performing arts organization in Chicago, Das leads Creative Placemaking in partnership with civic agencies including the Chicago Transit Authority and the Forest Preserves of Cook County. Previously, Das served as an Associate at the South Asia Institute at Harvard, where she co-curated Hum Sab Ek, an international exhibition and science communication initiative on the pandemic’s impact on daily-wage workers in India. She has also contributed to research on the impact of extreme heat on social housing in Paris.
She holds a Master in Design Studies from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor’s in Industrial Arts and Design Practices from the Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore.
Her recent projects span transit-oriented development, public health, housing, and education, bringing government, community, and research partners together around shared public challenges. Her projects include Hum Sab Ek (2024–2026), Do No Harm (2024), Forest Futures (2024), and The Black City Astrolabe (2023), supported by the World Bank Group, the Self Employed Women’s Association, the Global Fairness Initiative, and Harvard’s Center for Green Buildings and Cities.