Aashika Nagarajan is a graduate associate with a background in research and strategy consulting and a passion for supporting community wealth generation and building inclusive economies where BIPOC small business owners, entrepreneurs, and creatives can thrive.

At Urbane, Aashika leverages her analytical and planning skills to support projects for the Research and Consulting division and Mangrove at Flatbush Central. Prior to joining Urbane, Aashika worked as a consultant for private and corporate U.S. foundations. Her work focused on researching and designing philanthropic strategies and initiatives to build more equitable and inclusive economies, particularly for BIPOC- and women-owned small businesses.

While in graduate school, Aashika worked as a summer intern at the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, where she supported the Office of Neighborhood Strategies on their programs to reduce tenant harassment and displacement in rent-stabilized buildings and to guide faith-based organizations on affordable housing development. Aashika has also supported the East Village Community Coalition, a NYC-based nonprofit, on designing and managing a social media marketing platform for East Village small businesses.

Aashika is a Master's in Public Administration candidate at New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. She also holds a B.S. in Health: Science, Society and Policy (HSSP) and Business from Brandeis University. Aashika was born in Tamil Nadu, India and raised in Massachusetts. She now lives in Brooklyn and enjoys spontaneous dancing and discovering new songs to listen to on repeat.