Rekha Bhatt is senior vice president of programs at FareStart, where she leads job training and student support programs that build skills, stability, and pathways to economic mobility. She oversees cross-functional teams that integrate workforce development and wraparound services across FareStart’s social enterprise businesses, supporting over three hundred adult and youth students annually.

Rekha’s education and nonprofit leadership is grounded in the early advocacy of her immigrant parents for her in her own schooling. Their example shaped her enduring belief in what is possible when institutions are designed to support all learners.

Most recently, at the Washington State Charter Schools Association, Rekha served as co-president of innovative schools, leading school design, leadership development, and a multimillion-dollar grant portfolio. A founding leader of Washington’s charter sector, she helped launch more than twenty of the state’s first charter public schools, supporting more than five thousand students and contributing to Black, Latine, and low-income students consistently outperforming their district peers in math, English language arts, and science.

Rekha was part of the founding leadership team of a Building Excellent Schools middle school in Brooklyn, and she began her career with Teach for America as an English teacher in West Philadelphia. There, she established her school’s first AP English program and was recognized with the Christian and Mary Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching.

Rekha serves on the board of the True Measure Collaborative and is an alum of the University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown University. In her free time, she enjoys adventuring around the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her wonderful family.