Megha Tolia grew up visiting the ashram, or spiritual school, that her aunt and uncle ran for nearly 60 years in Gujarat, India. “They wanted to give their life to service,” says the Dallas-based president and COO of Shondaland, the company behind Netflix’s “Inventing Anna” and “Bridgerton” and other hit shows like “Grey’s Anatomy.” The couple took over the school in 1958, providing elementary classes to boys in rural areas and encouraging girls, who were historically taught to focus on homemaking, to pursue education.
Over the years, the ashram expanded to include a teacher training program for widows and young women, as well as an orphanage, where Tolia spent most of her time during her visits. “Being able to change a child’s life socially, emotionally, developmentally—that’s what we can do with the orphans,” she says. Today, the ashram is a model for 17 neighboring communities. “We offer up our playbook to get those communities started,” Tolia says. The school has seen more than 20,000 young adults graduate from its high school program, and several hundred widows and girls live on campus full-time.
Tolia serves as a fundraiser and adviser, providing business expertise to her relatives who are the boots on the ground. She says the ashram has taught her the importance of diversity and true inclusion. “It’s enabled me to see that it’s not about your pedigree,” she says.
As leadership of the ashram passes to the next generation, Tolia hopes to take on a larger development role. “I’m passionate about bringing new programs to the curriculum,” she says. “And I would love to scale our efforts.” Eventually, she hopes her own children will benefit from visits to the ashram, too. “It’s a place of giving and learning, and it’s a spiritual experience,” she says.
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