Hi! I’m Meenakshi.
I’m the Founder & Principal of By Menon Consulting. I’m a seasoned non-profit and philanthropic leader, strategic advisor, coach, and writer.
I’m infinitely curious about people, and skilled at helping organizations and individuals unlock their greatest potential. I’m also deeply committed to working with U.S. and global movements for social justice to build a more equitable, free, and inclusive world.
Over the course of the last 15+ years, my work has centered around advancing the freedom, liberation, and bodily autonomy of people of color and LGBTQIA+ people, interests cultivated from an early age by my family.
Born in New York City to Malayali immigrants from India and Malaysia, I grew up in the South Asian diaspora, and was raised across Singapore, Malaysia, India, and the U.S. (Texas).
My grandfather, born in 1899, was an Indian Independence Movement activist. From my elders, I inherited a deep allegiance to grassroots organizing, and movements in the global South building collective power across borders to resist racialized capitalism, colonization, imperialism, military occupation, and apartheid.
Weaving together my lived experience with my eclectic professional background in community organizing, public health, human rights, reproductive justice, and philanthropy, I’ve had the opportunity to build and scale dozens of organizations, work on and fund projects in over 30 countries, lead 2 non-profit organizations, and raise over $100 million. As the Interim Co-Executive Director and Chief Development Officer of Groundswell Fund and Groundswell Action Fund, I also co-authored and co-organized The Time Is Now Pledge, calling on philanthropy to radically increase funding for abortion access, and better resource grassroots reproductive justice organizations after the fall of Roe v. Wade.
After several years of battling with chronic illness, long COVID and a surprise tumor diagnosis necessitated me taking an extended sabbatical in 2023. While my sabbatical may have begun as a forced exercise, during my journey I was able to reclaim my joy, reconnect with my personal mission, and reimagine what work could look like for me.
I’m passionate about racial and gender justice, wealth redistribution, and narrative and cultural change. My consulting practice supports social justice leaders, organizations, and philanthropic institutions via three main offerings: coaching & capacity building, philanthropic advising, and narrative & cultural change.
