Vinaya Swaminathan is a UK-based Senior Programme Officer at Foundations of Success (FOS). FOS’s mission is to amplify the collective impact of the global conservation community by providing practitioners with the skills and tools needed to be more effective and efficient in their efforts to foster thriving ecosystems, conserve natural resources, and advance human well-being.

Since joining FOS in 2006, Vinaya has guided multi-cultural teams in applying adaptive management principles, theory of change-based monitoring and evaluation, and collaborative learning to complex challenges at the nexus of conservation, climate, and human well-being. She specialises in bridging gaps between policy, science, and practice through evidence-based program design, evaluation, and learning. Vinaya works with donors, implementers, and multi-stakeholder initiatives to refine strategic investments, assess impact, and build capacity for landscape-level conservation across diverse ecosystems.

Vinaya holds an MSc in Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a BSc in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation from the University of Texas at Austin.