18 years ago, when she started her job as a gifted and talented teacher, she noticed that there were only a handful of immigrant and minority children in the gifted programs. Lalitha’s belief is that given the right resources and experiences, every child can reach his/her true potential. Through starting educational outreach programs and organizing workshops, she started to reach out to the underrepresented groups in her school and in her community.  Today, she has strong advanced-level programming for all of her students where more minority and immigrant children are participating.She was chosen as one of the top 21 International Rotary Peace Fellows in 2019 and spent three months in Thailand. She is one of the 2023 Kohl's Fellows for her skill as a leader and agent for positive change and her superior ability to inspire a love of learning. Her commitment to advancing STEM education has earned her recognition as the 2023-24 Globant STEM Award Winner for the Inspiring Leader Category for the USA and Canada region.