Before moving to the US, Monika lived in Pune, India where she contributed to publications such as Uppercrust, Midday, DNA, Inside Outside, Verve, Jetwings, India Abroad and Jaipur Journal. She was also actively involved with many not-for-profit organizations such as Intach, The Madhavi Kapur Foundation, YI (Young Indian) and Muskan for The Ishanya Foundation. She has coordinated fundraisers and events, managed live and silent auctions for fundraisers. Monika is on the New York board of Foundation for Excellence, a not for profit that provides scholarships to help needy but brilliant students pursue their dreams of becoming doctors, engineers, lawyers and pharmacists by studying at some of India’s top schools such as IIT, IIM etc.