Anisha Chikarmane

Can you tell us a bit about your job responsibilities?

I lead global strategy & operations for the Google Assistant (Google's voice assistant) Partnerships group - in other words, I help Google's BD team identify, prioritize, and launch initiatives with global partners for users on the Google Assistant. On a day-to-day basis, this could look like analyzing data behind whether to partner with a certain organization, building a strategy for which international markets to launch a feature in, or developing an operational roadmap for launching a major initiative. Some of my favorite features that the Google Assistant team has launched include a Donations feature to allow users to donate to the Center for Policing Equity in support of racial justice, a feature called Tell Me a Story that reads popular children's bedtime stories, and features letting users change the voice of Google Assistant to the voices of celebrities such as John Legend and Issa Rae.

Why did you choose NYU Wagner for graduate school?

I wanted to understand more about managing and scaling purpose-driven organizations, and experience the exhilarating joys of living in NYC!

How did your experiences at NYU Wagner prepare you for your career?

In addition to the solid foundation that Wagner's intro courses gave me (Finance, Stats, Econ - I see you!), a few of the best things about Wagner include learning how to incorporate critical thinking and analysis to day-to-day professional life and the importance of maintaining a solid network. I remember frequently engaging with the Wagner alumni community when I was a student, and receiving incredible mentorship, guidance, and exposure to opportunities from them. I still feel very connected to the Wagner community today - even as an alumna who works across the country and in a very different industry.