Anneka Wickramanayake was born and raised in Oregon, USA. She has been living in New York, USA for the past four years. Anneka has a passion for working with marginalized populations and health concerns. She aims to understand them through targeted research and to garner public awareness for these populations, thus engaging the global community in health. Anneka previously worked in a leadership role in developing a Center of Excellence in diabetes management in rural Uganda. She has also been intellectually involved in research in the pathophysiology of malnutrition-modulated diabetes. Her passion for working with refugee communities has led her to work with displaced populations in Uganda, India, Nepal, and the United States. In her free time, Anneka seeks adventure, from hiking and camping, to scuba diving and bungee jumping. Empowering underrepresented communities means actively listening and engaging in their lived experiences; Anneka wants to leverage this and enable herself to be a champion for health equity.