Anuradha Mittal
American activist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anuradha Mittal is an American activist and executive. She is the founder of the Oakland Institute, a progressive think tank, and chaired the independent board of Ben & Jerry's from 2018 to 2025.
- Indraprastha College for Women (BA)
- Oxford Brookes University (MPhil)
Anuradha Mittal | |
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| Education |
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| Children | 1 |
| Website | oaklandinstitute |
Early life
Mittal grew up in Kanpur, India.[1] She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the Indraprastha College for Women at Delhi University, and later earned a Master of Philosophy in political economy and education at Oxford Brookes University.[2] Mittal has cited the 1984 Bhopal disaster as the inspiration for her activism.[1][3]
Career
In 2004, Mittal founded the Oakland Institute,[1] and has served as its executive director.[4][5] She chose the organization's name to invoke the Black Panther Party.[3] The Nation included Mittal in its list of "Most Valuable Progressives of 2008".[6][3]
Mittal joined Ben & Jerry's in 2007, and chaired its independent board from 2018 to 2025.[5][7]
Mittal has endorsed the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.[8] In 2021, she praised Ben & Jerry's decision to end sales of its ice cream in the Israeli-occupied territories.[8][3] That year, the pro-Israel group StopAntisemitism named Mittal as "Antisemite of the Year" over the decision.[3] In August 2021, Mittal said during a webinar hosted by Americans for Peace Now, "We never talked about boycotting Israel. That was never on the table."[3]
In November 2025, Ben & Jerry's parent company Unilever said Mittal "no longer meets the criteria" to serve in her role as chair of Ben & Jerry's board.[5] Mittal later left Ben & Jerry's, after a new rule that imposed a nine-year term limit for board members.[9] She said, "This October, Unilever-Magnum executives threatened me with defamatory statements in their forthcoming prospectus if I did not resign. At the same time, they offered me a prominent role in a multimillion dollar Unilever-funded non-profit if I gave in."[7]
Personal life
Mittal has a daughter.[1]