Anuradha Mittal is an American activist and executive. She is the founder of the Oakland Institute, a progressive think tank, and chaired the independent board of Ben & Jerry's from 2018 to 2025.
Mittal grew up in Kanpur, India. She studied at the Indraprastha College for Women at Delhi University. [1] Mittal has cited the 1984 Bhopal disaster as the inspiration for her activism. [1] [2]
In 2004, Mittal founded the Oakland Institute, [1] and has served as its executive director. [3] [4] She chose the organization's name to invoke the Black Panther Party. [2] The Nation included Mittal in its list of "Most Valuable Progressives of 2008". [5] [2]
Mittal joined Ben & Jerry's in 2007, and chaired its independent board from 2018 to 2025. [4] [6]
Mittal has endorsed the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. [7] In 2021, she praised Ben & Jerry's decision to end sales of its ice cream in the Israeli-occupied territories. [7] [2] That year, the pro-Israel group StopAntisemitism named Mittal as "Antisemite of the Year" over the decision. [2] In August 2021, Mittal said during a webinar hosted by Americans for Peace Now, "We never talked about boycotting Israel. That was never on the table." [2]
In November 2025, Mittal was dismissed from her role as chair of Ben & Jerry's after its parent company Unilever said she "no longer meets the criteria" to serve in the role. [4] Mittal later said, "This October, Unilever-Magnum executives threatened me with defamatory statements in their forthcoming prospectus if I did not resign. At the same time, they offered me a prominent role in a multimillion dollar Unilever-funded non-profit if I gave in." [6]
Mittal has a daughter. [1]