Deepa Shankar

Deepa Shankar is UL Research Institutes’ chief of staff for the Office of the Chief Research Officer and director for the Office of Partnerships, Extramural Research, and Administration. In her role, Shankar serves as a strategic and operational partner, advancing the organization’s mission to conduct rigorous, independent research in safety science. She works closely with the chief research officer to drive strategic initiatives, ensure effective execution of cross-institute priorities, and provide high-level administrative and operational oversight through her leadership of OPERA.

Through OPERA, she directs extramural research, oversees sponsored research activities, manages the advisory board to the chief research officer, and hosts UL Research Institutes’ annual research symposium. Her memberships with global organizations position UL enterprise leaders as subject matter experts on key platforms, ensuring their research insights are heard and shared.

Previously, Shankar served as senior education partnerships manager within the UL enterprise, focusing on building educational partnerships for the organization. Shankar holds dual master’s degrees in business management and marketing. She is certified in corporate social responsibility by Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship and in leading diversity, equity, and inclusion within organizations by Northwestern University. Her work leading culture efforts at UL Research Institutes earned her the Diversity Leadership in Industry Award at the 2023 Waves of Change STEM Conference by Career Communications Group. In 2019, she received the UL Mark of Excellence Award, the highest honor in the UL enterprise.