Deepa Shankar is the director of partnerships at UL Research Institutes. In her role, she manages sponsored research activities, along with scientific awards and prizes; hosts partner events like the ULRI annual research symposium; manages the advisory board to the chief research officer; and directly supports executive leadership in forming strategic partnerships and alliances

Through memberships with global organizations, she positions organizational leaders as subject matter experts on key global platforms—making sure their research insights are heard.

Previously, she served as senior education partnerships manager at an entity within the UL enterprise, focusing on building educational partners for the organization.

Shankar has a dual master’s degree in business management and marketing. She also holds certifications from Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship for corporate social responsibility, and from Northwestern University for leading diversity, equity and inclusion within an organization. Her work leading diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at ULRI earned her the Diversity Leadership in Industry Award at the 2023 Women of Color STEM Conference by Career Communications Group. Additionally, in 2019 she won the UL Mark of Excellence Award, the highest honor in the UL enterprise.