The Women and Media Collective (WMC) is very pleased to introduce Tharanga de Silva as our newly appointed Executive Director. She transitioned from her previous role as Director Operations to Executive Director on 1 May 2026.
Tharanga joined the Women and Media Collective in 2017 as Director Operations, where she has provided overall supervision and leadership across all aspects of the organisation’s work and administration.
Tharanga started her journey in the NGO sector with the International Center for Ethnic Studies (ICES), Colombo in 1996 where she was the Manager of Administration, HR and Projects at the ICES until she left in 2010. Trained in Management Studies, Tharanga has expanded her scope of work and interests over the years to a range of substantive issues. At WMC she engages in our research and advocacy particularly in the areas of women’s rights, unpaid care work, climate justice, migrant rights, women’s political representation, and queer rights. She therefore plays a unique role combining executive functions with the core work of the organization. She also serves as a Board Member of Dabindu Collective and is a member of the International Centre for Ethnic Studies.