Minoli Ratnatunga

Strategic Planning and Executive Advising

Minoli brings her curiosity and research skills to Lotus Economics’ engagements with mission-driven organizations, acting as both a source and a sounding board to leaders thinking through complex strategic choices. 

Her recent consultancy work with Star Insights has involved co-creating successful strategic frameworks for several of Los Angeles’ most prominent institutions: 

• Philanthropy: California Community Foundation, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation.

• Arts & Culture: The Huntington Library, Art Museum & Botanical Gardens, and LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes.

• Public Sector: Los Angeles County Office of Education

Navigating Mission-Driven Contexts

Enthusiastic about the impact of mission-driven innovation, Minoli started her career at Social Enterprise London, a small nonprofit that aimed to build capacity in the social business sector in the U.K. Two decades later, she continues to support cross-sector collaborations that take novel approaches in creating community benefit.

Selected as a FUSE Corps executive fellow, Minoli spent two years in the public sector helping Los Angeles County with long-term planning, coalition building, and stakeholder consultation. She served as a trusted adviser to senior management at the County Area Agency on Aging, offering counsel as they navigated major shifts in state and county aging policy.

Place-Based Research and Economic Development
Previously, Minoli led the regional economics research group at the Milken Institute, where she focused on the strategies and best practices that drive regional prosperity.  She continued to research and develop pragmatic and effective policies to spur economic renewal as a fellow with Heartland Forward. Minoli regularly reached out to policy makers and the media in cities around the US to help them understand and use her findings. This connection to local practitioners was driven by Minoli’s own experiences in economic development; for eight years, at the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, she analyzed and advanced policy solutions to improve Pittsburgh’s competitiveness and quality of life. 

Minoli earned a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Economics from the London School of Economics and a Master of Science in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University. Based in Los Angeles, she remains committed to helping her community thrive.