Neelu Panth

Neelu Panth
Community Development Advisor, St. Louis Zone

Neelu Panth has been working in the community development field for many years, first as an educator followed by on-the-ground work in human capital development, community capacity building and organizational development. Previously, she worked as the development director and entrepreneurship lead at Better Family Life, where she was instrumental in steering the organization toward becoming a thought leader in disrupting the cycle of intergenerational poverty and advancing social and economic equity.

Panth was instrumental in the design and implementation of the Better Family Life Small Business Development program, along with a microloan fund that helped start several community-based businesses. She helped raise over $2 million through direct grant writing and strategic partnership building that resulted in facility build-out and program enhancement. Panth developed a three-year strategic plan for Better Family Life to help scope out their work as a place-based community development organization with the help of a competitive pro-bono service. She managed an extensive agenda for building and maintaining high-profile partnerships and organizational visibility.

Panth holds a master’s degree in social work with a research specialization from the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis and a bachelor’s degree from Delhi University in New Delhi, India.