Berkley Center

Vinya Ariyaratne, M.D., is president of the Sri Lankan Sarvodaya Shramadana Sangamaya, an NGO founded by his father in 1958 and inspired by Buddhist principles. He was also founding chairman of Deshodaya Development Finance Company (DDCC), Sarvodaya’s microfinance arm. Ariyaratne has been a lecturer at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, and Brandeis University. He is currently involved in conflict resolution and peacebuilding, acting as lead facilitator for the One Text Initiative and as a member of the Council of the Arigatou Foundation’s Global Network for Children. He holds a doctorate in medicine from De La Salle University in the Philippines, a doctorate in community medicine from the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine of the University of Colombo, and a master's degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University.