Berkley Center

Olcott Gunasekera is the founder and President of the Dharmavijaya Foundation, founded in 1977 under the patronage of the late Most Venerable Madihe Pannasiha Mahanayaka Thera. The foundation was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1979 with the objective of total development of man, namely, moral, health, education and economic, in accordance with Buddhist principles. He has previously served as a member of the prestigious Ceylon Civil Service and a Consultant with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation based in the Regional Office in Bangkok, Thailand. He has been appointed a member of the Presidential Steering Committee to commemorate the 2600th anniversary of the Enlightenment of the Buddha that falls on May 17, 2011 by His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka. Olcott has been conferred with the title Deshabandhu by the Government of Sri Lanka for his services to the nation.