Gokul Gopalan Ramachandran

Gokul is from the state of Kerala, in the southern tip of India, nestled between the lush green mountains and the Arabian Sea. After graduating as an engineer, he pursued his passion for public service by joining the prestigious Indian Administrative Service, the topmost civil service of the country. He underwent two years of training at the National Civil Services College where topics of study ranged from NPV analysis to navigating the chilly waters of the Ganges. After that, Gokul had worked extensively in the difficult, hilly districts of Kerala, as a deputy chief executive and then as a chief executive. His efforts led to substantial improvements in the education and employability of forest-dwelling tribes, last mile connectivity of Government services and settlement of land rights. He completed his summer internship in Trivandrum, India, with Kudumbashree, the poverty eradication and women’s empowerment program implemented by the State Poverty Eradication Mission (SPEM) of the Government of Kerala. Gokul enjoys a game of football in his free time and loves long distance running. He also hopes to improve his tennis and learn cooking while at Princeton. Gokul’s wife, Anjali is a Ph.D. in engineering and is a post-doctoral scholar at the University of Edinburgh. After graduation, Gokul will join the Government of Kerala as the head of an administrative department.