Ford Foundation Director of Future Work(ers) Program
Sarita Gupta is a nationally recognized expert on the economic and political issues affecting working people, particularly low-wage workers, and is a key leader and strategist in the progressive movement. Throughout her 20-year career, she has worked at the intersection of workers’ rights, immigrants’ rights, global justice, racial justice, and women’s rights issues.
She was named one of the 19 Young Activists Changing America by Bill Moyers and has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Politico, and The Hill, and on MSNBC and Al Jazeera America. She writes regularly for The Huffington Post, The Hill, and Bill Moyers.
On July 10, 2019, Ford Foundation announced the appointment of Sarita as director of its Future of Work(ers) program based in New York. In this role, she will lead the team that oversees Ford’s efforts to actively shape a future of work that puts workers and their well-being at the center. Gupta will begin her new position in October 2019, succeeding current director John Irons who joined the foundation in 2016 to lead a broad body of work on inclusive economies.
Under Sarita’s direction, Jobs With Justice lead the fight for workers’ rights and an economy that benefits everyone by anchoring strategic campaigns and shaping the public discourse to build power for working people. Sarita began as a community activist and grassroots organizer, playing an integral role in the student movement as the elected president of the United States Student Association. She has since held several leadership positions at Chicago Jobs With Justice and national Jobs With Justice, becoming executive director in 2007. Sarita also serves as co-director of Caring Across Generations.
She serves on the boards of directors for the International Labor Rights Forum and the Institute for Policy Studies and on the Discount Foundation Board of Trustees. She is a Prime Movers Fellow as well as a graduate of the Rockwood Leadership Training Program, and is a recipient of the National Priority Project’s Democracy Champion Award and Corporate Ethics International’s BENNY Award. Born in the United Kingdom and raised in Rochester, NY, Sarita currently lives in Silver Spring, MD with her husband and daughter.