Shruti Shankar Gaur, Ph.D.

Dr Shruti Shankar Gaur is a global visionary leader championing resilience, empathy, and humane education in the era of AI disruption. A polymathic entrepreneur, her work spans inclusion, diversity, socio-cultural change, AI, and education. She has 20+ published works, both academic and non-academic, including research articles, reflective essays, and policy briefs. She is a published poet and a prolific blogger with Four Decades and Pain & Bliss, respectively.

Dr Gaur has served on multiple panels, bringing her thought leadership to global platforms including the G20, the World Economic Forum, UNGA, and Cannes Lions. She has been recognized with a University Gold Medal and a Certificate of Academic Excellence by India’s Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. Dr Gaur has vast and diverse experience as an entrepreneur, academician, storyteller, researcher, and mentor. 

Through her initiative, RIEDU, she has been shaping global youth narratives through the Young Editors Program, Project PoleStar, and The Marshmallow. RIEDU works with a mission to reimagine learning by nurturing future scions as inclusive beings with curious minds and kind hearts, thus conserving humanity in an AI-driven world. She strongly believes that we must guide children to think, question, and feel deeply; otherwise, algorithms will decide for them.

At The Digital Economist, a Washington, D.C.-based global think tank, she has served as Senior Fellow and Program Director at the Center of Excellence, driving global partnerships, interdisciplinary collaborations and contributing to global discussions on AI, policy, education, and socio-cultural change.

She has also worked as a creative partner, mentor, and strategist for the Asia market at Sankarsingh-Gonsalves Productions, Ontario, Canada, where she was responsible for ideation, creation, and curation of content aligned with Asian socio-cultural sensibilities to ensure diversity, inclusion, and representation.

As an advisor, Dr. Gaur provides specialized guidance, mentoring, and strategic support to research projects at Aristos Erevna Consulting, New Delhi, India.

Dr. Gaur is also a partner at The Bonsai Life, where she mentors young professionals to overcome overwhelm caused by rapid change, digital overload, and decision fatigue, thus helping them stay productive under pressure without burnout.

Currently, she is infusing her energy into building the cultural narrative at Once More Films, where humanity is celebrated in the era of AI disruption.