Ananya Roy is Associate Dean of International and Area Studies and Associate Professor of City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley. She has a B.A. (1992) in comparative urban studies from Mills College and an MCP (1994) and Ph.D. (1999) in city and regional planning from the University of California, Berkeley. Born and raised in Kolkata, Dr Roy researches, teaches, and writes about issues of urban poverty and international development. At UC Berkeley, she is the recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award, the highest teaching honour conferred by the campus. Her most recent project, funded by the National Science Foundation, is titled Poverty Capital: Microfinance and the Frontiers of Millennial Development.