Sonali Gupta
Countries of Expertise
Specialties
- Addiction/Drugs/Drug Policy
- Caste Discrimination/Persecution
- Climate-Related Issues
- Disability
- Document Authentication
- Ethnic Discrimination/Persecution
- Forced Marriage
- Gender-Based Violence (GBV)/Domestic Violence/Family Violence
- Healthcare Access/Health Systems Capacity
- Honor-Based Violence
- Prison Conditions
- Religious Discrimination/Persecution
About Sonali Gupta
Dr. Sonali Gupta, LL.B., Ph.D. (UCLA), is an anthropologist, legal expert, and educator specializing in migration, asylum, cultural resilience, and narcotics law. As President and Co-Founder of the Himalayan Conservation and Preservation Society (USA) and Founder-Director of the Himalayan Institute of Cultural and Heritage Studies (India), she has devoted over two decades to research, migration policy, and community engagement across the Himalayas and South Asia. Her experience includes six years of legal practice in India, handling asylum, migration, and narcotics cases, which provided in-depth insight into both legal and prison systems. She has also worked as legal staff in the United States, conducted extensive ethnographic research on caste, gender, resilience, and climate-driven migration, and served as adjunct professor at UCLA in anthropology and regional studies.
Dr. Gupta’s work creates bridges between ground-level realities and global advocacy frameworks, advancing social justice and sustainable development for marginalized communities. She leads initiatives on cultural preservation, legal empowerment, and grassroots healing—from founding a migrant memory hub in Delhi and innovative field programs in Himachal Pradesh, to advising governments and NGOs on heritage, narcotics policy, and social equity. As an invited speaker, project leader, and published author, her research has been featured in academic journals, media, and policy platforms. Fluent in multiple languages, Dr. Gupta champions interdisciplinary solutions that center local voices in tackling migration, caste, gender, narcotics, prison systems, and climate challenges.
