Vilas Dhar

Biography

Vilas Dhar serves as a Trustee of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, a US based philanthropy creating positive social impact through the application of information technology and science, with a particular focus on vulnerable populations. Along with Vilas’ philanthropic work, his career has included work as board director and lead investor in several high impact private companies, acting as CEO and managing partner of a US law firm, building public strategies on digital services, entrepreneurship, and innovation programs, and founding the Next Mile Project, a first-of-its-kind incubator where social change organizations received access to a suite of philanthropically funded customized services to support and scale their impact - leveraging private sector expertise for the public good. The Next Mile Project was acquired in January 2017.

Through his private office, Vilas now manages a global portfolio of direct, venture, and philanthropic investments, advises international entities on social and economic investing strategy, and sits on several public and private sector boards. He has served as the Gleitsman Fellow on Social Change at Harvard University, and as the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the University of Illinois. He holds a J.D. from NYU School of Law, an M.P.A, from the Harvard Kennedy School, and dual Bachelor’s degrees in Biomedical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Illinois, where he was named University Chancellor’s Scholar.