Manju began her career working first as a planning consultant for regional development agencies and subsequently as an urban researcher of context and evidence-based planning and design practices in southern and western India. A wish to expand her horizons led Manju to enroll in CUNY Graduate Center’s M.A. in Liberal Studies program in 2014. Since then she has worked in advocacy, capacity building, and community service activities with New York City’s at-risk youth and under-served communities.