CHETAN PANDA

Chetan Panda is the Executive Director of Community and Economic Impact for the Urban League of Philadelphia. (ULP) In this role, he oversees and directs the ULP’s substantial business development and community economic impact portfolios. His key priorities include:

• Starting a CDFI to make loans to bolster Black and Brown small businesses and homeowners

• Launching a supplier diversity initiative with the City of Philadelphia and two other nonprofits to ensure municipal procurement reflects the city’s demographics 

• Building Well-Being centers that will include the first permanent free primary care clinics in the city

• Creating Affordable, Transitional housing for returning citizens

Chetan joined the ULP Leadership Team in 2023 after earning his MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. During his time at Wharton, he worked as a Consultant for the ULP, supporting its economic development and social impact programs.

Before attending Business School, Chetan served as a Portfolio Manager at Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA), managing billions of dollars in Mutual Funds. He also ran DFA’s $350M securities lending program, earning additional shareholder returns.

Chetan has dedicated much of his career to identifying and addressing critical systemic and societal issues. He was a Candidate for U.S. Congress in Texas and garnered 10% of the vote in a five-way primary. In addition, Chetan has dedicated his time to several campaigns and social impact organizations. He served on the board of the Indian American Coalition of Texas, co-founded Blue Chip Austin, a Texas Democratic Party Young Professionals Group, and served on the leadership committee of Austinites for Progressive Reform, a good governance group.

Chetan graduated magna cum laude and as a Phi Beta Kappa scholar from Georgetown University with a B.S.F.S in International Economics in 2013. While at Georgetown, he completed Economics coursework at The London School of Economics and Political Science.