What if the most responsible thing a public health professional could do was slow down?

Global health rarely asks that question. It runs on urgency, on deadlines, crises, lives that cannot wait. The work matters because it has to. And for a long time, Manjot moved at that speed too.

At seventeen, Manjot had already begun medical school to become a doctor. Not unusually early in the Indian context, where careers in medicine or engineering are often seen as the safest and most respectable paths—but early enough that life began moving fast before she had much reason to question it. In many Indian households, medicine isn’t just a profession; it’s a promise of stability, honour, and upward mobility.

Still, within Manjot’s first few years of practice, another awareness surfaced. Not dissatisfaction, not doubt, just a quiet wondering: Can I keep doing work that matters without losing myself to its pace? She did not rush to answer it.

Instead, she followed the work where it led her next. Manjot served in the Indian Navy for 5 years as a medical officer, which brought discipline and structure, as well as an understanding of how large systems move and what they demand of the people inside them. An MBA in Finance widened her lens again, shifting her focus from individual patients to strategy, scale, and long-term decisions.

Over the past 15 years, Manjot has worked across tuberculosis and HIV programmes, supporting complex health systems initiatives in India and beyond. The impact was undeniable, and so was the pressure. Urgency became a constant background noise, and rest was postponed for later.

Eventually, the question she had parked years earlier returned, clearer this time: What does it take to keep doing meaningful work without slowly disappearing inside it?

About five years ago, she chose to step back from full-time roles. Not out of burnout or frustration. But out of intention.

Consulting gave her room to breathe. Eureka Idea Co. (EIC) gave that breathing room shape. Since joining EIC nearly four years ago, Manjot has worked in a way that feels different—human. Boundaries are spoken out loud and respected. People are trusted to do good work without being watched. Thoughtfulness is valued as much as efficiency. Collaboration is encouraged, not micromanaged. Wins are shared, not claimed. And in a field where urgency often overshadows everything else, care for the work, for people, for balance, actually shows up in how things are done.

Through EIC, she has contributed to projects with WHO and CIFF, particularly in the sexual and reproductive health space, stretching beyond her long focus on TB and HIV. On a WHO project, she led key informant interviews in India, drawing out nuance, context, and lived reality that no dataset could surface on its own. The numbers told part of the story. The voices finished it.

Some of what she’s most proud of does not come with a title or deliverable. It’s introducing the right person to the right team. Strengthening collaborations quietly. Knowing when to slow things down—not to stall progress, but to protect its quality.

Right now, Manjot is spending a month in the mountains of northern India, studying Ayurveda with an experienced healer. As a trained physician, I do not reject science or modern medicine, she said. It’s curiosity expansion and a reminder that health is not only clinical, it is also cumulative, embodied, and lived.

Yoga is part of Manjot’s daily routine, as is stillness and a space where speed once lived. Manjot isn’t chasing more, but choosing what can be sustained.

At EIC, Manjot is known for her steady clarity, thoughtful pace, and quiet leadership—bringing depth and calm to even the most complex work. She’s found her own answer to the question: Yes, meaningful work can last—when done at a human pace. She’s not chasing more—but choosing what can be sustained.

If you found inspiration in her story, follow Eureka Idea Co. on LinkedIn or explore the diverse voices of our community on the Member Spotlight page. These are just a few of the powerful perspectives reshaping what it means to work with care in global health.