Nikhita Chawla is a manager with Manatt Health. She brings extensive experience in health policy and management, particularly focused on health equity, strategic growth and health technology.

Before joining Manatt, Nikhita was a key contributor at Optum Advisory Services, a division of UnitedHealth Group, where she co-founded the firm’s first Center for Health Equity and led several groundbreaking initiatives in the areas of maternal health, homelessness and unconscious bias in health care. She was instrumental in expanding the firm’s Health Equity Task Force and creating the inaugural Inclusive Leaders Program, which fostered leadership development for minorities within the organization. Nikhita also led several client projects in payer and provider strategy, delivering high-impact solutions that drove millions in savings and improved customer experiences.

Nikhita also worked at Kaiser Permanente, in the Strategic Consulting Services division, where she developed and proposed strategies for improving service line efficiency and evaluated innovative growth opportunities for the firm based on financial, operational and population health criteria.

Nikhita holds an M.B.A. and M.P.H. from the University of California, Berkeley, where she served as Vice President of Academics for the Consortium and Co-President of the Haas Healthcare Association. With a passion for community service, Nikhita has volunteered with various organizations, including Help at Your Door and Secondhand Hounds. She is fluent in English and Hindi and proficient in Spanish.