In Conversation

Malavika Rajesh, 18, is the award-winning author of two books exploring themes of cybercrime and child trafficking that have been featured at international book fairs and in national media. She is the founder-executive director of The Informed Inquirer, a youth-led media organization that now comprises of than 20 young journalists and works to expand opportunities in journalism and narrate underrepresented stories. The Informed Inquirer has an established presence at global youth conferences such as YOUNGA, book fairs, schools, and universities. Malavika also currently serves on the advisory board of Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation, where she works to further youth mental health worldwide. She previously worked at The Parvai Shop, a for-profit social enterprise, where she helped in amplifying the difficulties faced by disadvantaged Indian handloom weavers. An alumna of The Stanford Daily’s journalism program and The School of the New York Times, her works have appeared in publications such as Gulf News and The Stanford Daily. Malavika is currently a freshman at New York University Abu Dhabi, where she is pursuing Economics with double minors in Applied Math and Computer Science.