Utpala is a development professional with more than seven years of experience in monitoring and evaluation, community engagement and project management. She has a masters degree in Dalit &Tribal Studies and Action from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. Since 2015, she has worked on issues related to child rights, women empowerment, gender justice, resilient leadership building of women and youths from Dalit and other marginalized communities. Prior to joining NFI, Utpala was project administrator at Dalit Human Rights Defenders Network (DHRNet).