Mili Maria Thomas is a development professional with 18+ years of experience spanning social protection, digital public infrastructure, education, disaster management, environmental sustainability, and livelihoods. With a multidisciplinary background in Urban and Regional Planning and Architecture, she brings a systems perspective to solving complex development challenges and advancing citizen-centric approaches to public service delivery.

She currently serves as Programme Lead, Tamil Nadu, where she leads system reform interventions to strengthen public service delivery and improve access to social welfare entitlements through process re-engineering, technology design improvements, and last-mile service delivery innovations.

Her expertise lies at the intersection of public systems strengthening, programme management, research and evidence generation, stakeholder engagement, and partnership development. She has extensive experience in designing and implementing programmes, leading multi-stakeholder collaborations, conducting qualitative and quantitative research, and translating evidence into policy and programmatic recommendations.

Over the course of her career, Mili has worked with a diverse range of organisations, including UNDP India, World Vision India, Teach For India, Karadi Path Education, and several government and civil society partners. She has led and contributed to initiatives in education, ICT for development, social protection, disaster risk reduction, environmental management, and community development across multiple geographies in India.