Anuradha Mittal

Anuradha Mittal is an American activist and executive. She is the founder of the Oakland Institute, a progressive think tank, and chaired the independent board of Ben & Jerry's from 2018 to 2025.

Early life Mittal grew up in Kanpur, India. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the Indraprastha College for Women at Delhi University, and later earned a Master of Philosophy in political economy and education at Oxford Brookes University. Mittal has cited the 1984 Bhopal disaster as the inspiration for her activism.

Career In 2004, Mittal founded the Oakland Institute, She chose the organization's name to invoke the Black Panther Party.

Mittal has endorsed the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. She said, "This October, Unilever-Magnum executives threatened me with defamatory statements in their forthcoming prospectus if I did not resign. At the same time, they offered me a prominent role in a multimillion dollar Unilever-funded non-profit if I gave in."

Personal life Mittal has a daughter.