Anya Kannan

Villars Fellow ’24 & Global Studies/Business Entrepreneurship Student, Arizona State University | USA

Anya Kannan is a student leader and emerging systems thinker committed to advancing gender equity, education access, and community-driven development through social entrepreneurship. She is a final-year Honors student at Arizona State University pursuing degrees in Global Studies and Business Entrepreneurship, with minors in Economics and Spanish. Anya is an ASU Pat Tillman Scholar and 2024 Villars Fellow, recognized for her leadership and work at the intersection of social impact and systems change. She has held youth leadership roles with organizations including RISE Tutoring, where she served as Executive Director providing academic support to refugee students, The Alekain Foundation, where she works to expand educational opportunities for Afghan women and advocate against gender apartheid in Afghanistan, and the WE Empower UN SDG Challenge, where she highlights women entrepreneurs around the world through digital content creation. Anya is also a Senior Associate at the Arizona Microcredit Initiative, empowering underserved entrepreneurs through consulting and access to capital. Her global service-learning experiences in India, Barbados, and Panama continue to shape her systems-oriented approach to sustainable problem solving.