I became CEO of a company that has helped millions of kids read—here's my no. 1 piece of career advice

For Dr. Geetha Murali, the topic of education is a deeply personal one.

As the CEO of Room to Read, a leading non-profit organization with the mission to create a world free from illiteracy and gender inequality, she is acutely aware that the power of education could break cycles of poverty and inequality around the world.

"We've done a lot of reflection on [the] skill sets that children need, which are sort of those gatekeeper, foundational skills that allow [them] to overcome other limitations in their lives, and when you look at young children... the fundamental skill set you need is being able to read,” Murali told CNBC's "Make It."

"Once you're able to read, all of a sudden, the world opens up to you, and you can develop the learning pathways that can help you make good, informed choices," she said.

Globally, about 754 million adults cannot read and write, two thirds of whom are women, according to a 2024 publication by UNESCO. And in 2023, UNESCO reported that 250 million children were not in school.

Since it was founded in 2000, Room to Read has benefitted over 45 million children across 24 countries and deployed about $850 million into improving foundational learning for children around the world. Murali joined the organization in 2009 as a manager, and has since risen to become the company's top leader.

Murali was also selected to be part of "CNBC Changemakers: Women Transforming Business," an annual list spotlighting women whose accomplishments have left an indelible mark on the business world. 

Murali was born in New York and spent some of her early years on the East Coast. Like many children of immigrants, she was given a different fate than her parents had.

She spent her childhood in a developed country where she had access to decent education, unlike her mother, who grew up in India.

"We came from a family where child marriage was quite the norm," she said. "My grandmothers were married at the ages of two and 14."

Murali said her mother — the eldest of seven — was brilliant and had completed high school at the age of 12, but nevertheless was expected to pursue marriage over her education.

She had aspirations to continue her studies, but her father only wanted to pay for their eldest son — the fourth child — to go to university.

"There were three girls before him, and so with that, my mom kind of had this real sense of injustice," said Murali. "She wanted to go to school, and they wanted her to get married, and so she did something that was pretty revolutionary at the time."

Murali's mother rebelled against her family's wishes and began taking classes by herself in their community. Later, she joined the Indian Army as a nurse, which became her ticket to go to the U.S. on a nursing visa.

"So, she comes to the U.S., puts herself through university, and ultimately becomes a biostatistician with a pretty illustrious career," so much so that she is able to send money back to her siblings in India so that they could also continue their studies, said Murali.

"I say this pretty often when I'm talking about her, and the parallel to what we do at Room to Read with girls education — one decision that she made to not get married really created that ripple effect for an entire generation," she said.

Today, Murali's aunts, uncles and cousins ​​have been able to continue their education and pave their own path to success, and it was all because of that "shift in the importance of education in the household, especially for girls," said Murali.

Hearing these stories growing up shaped Murali in a profound way.

Naturally, she took after her mother and was a star student. By 22, she had already earned two bachelor's degrees in biostatistics, one master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and was working full-time in big pharma.

Growing up in this environment, Murali was highly achievement oriented.

"I think a lot of what defined the early part of my life was just... I kind of kept my head down and studied all the way through," she said. "You know, collecting degrees, demonstrating competencies, and realizing that I have the privilege of choosing how I apply those skills in a very different way than [my mom] had."

Murali was working in a large pharmaceutical company, doing clinical trial support and data analysis when she realized that she wasn't fulfilled.

"I was, like, early 20s, with a great job, kind of looking around for the first time, going: 'Is this really what I'm going to do for the next 45 years of my life?'"

During this time, she was also working towards getting a PhD in South Asian Studies at UC Berkeley. Over the course of many conversations and exploration, Murali decided to pivot her research into the social sector.

As part of her research, she began taking trips to India where she spoke directly with locals to learn more about voting patterns.

And while she was on the ground, she gained much more insight than anticipated.

"I think some of the most meaningful [experiences] were really when we were doing surveys with parents... and when we were talking about expectations from government — it turned into expectations for me," she said.

The parents would ask her for basic needs like having a light set up on their street so it would be safer for their kids to walk around at night, or for a school to be built closer to their community so they don't have to travel so far.

"In the end, all the conversation we could have about... the various concepts that we were applying through my PhD process was not as important as the fact that I couldn't get a light on the street, like I would have given everything up to get a light on that street," said Murali.

From that point on, Murali decided that she wanted to do work that was directly tied to social impact and community development, and to this day, that is exactly what she's done. Under her leadership, Room to Read has also stayed true to being an organization that implements and makes direct measurable change.

Murali reflected on some of the biggest lessons she's learned in her career:

"What I try to share with others is that we're not limited by what came before us."

"The human being, if given the basics... you are capable of so much more than you really think you are. So, I always tell people, when you think you're at your limit, just push yourself a little bit further."

Upon reflection, Murali thinks what propelled her to become a leader was simply hard work coupled with a tendency toward being bold.

"I wasn't afraid of hard work. I was willing to put the hours in, and I was very achievement oriented," she said. "I no longer have the fear of: 'Let's just do incremental change and not take risks.'"

"I'm sort of at the point where I believe that these basic rights should be a given, and the moves we have to make must be bold [in order] to make them happen," Murali continued. "So I think there's a level of boldness that has come in this part of my career that probably allows me to push Room to Read a lot faster than it has been in the past."

To young people, Murali offers one key piece of advice: "I think a plan is good, but not over planning. Like a GPS can be helpful, but don't be afraid to do some off roading."

"In the end, having really strong, functional skill sets that you can apply is really the way that I would start my career, because you can't quite predict, especially in this day and age, all the different job opportunities and career paths that are going to be available in next five to 10 years."

Building these skill sets early on and learning how to be adaptable to also leverage them for different functions is highly valuable, she added.

Additionally, when choosing a career path, learning how to "drive your passion" and not letting your passion drive you is important. Developing a level of pragmatism by getting good at functional skills can help you find financial security while still doing something you love. It doesn't have to be one or the other, she said.

To date, Room to Read has distributed over 42 million books around the world. In October, the organization released "She Creates Change," the first nonprofit-led animation and live action film project to promote gender equality.

Along with its foundational learning initiatives for young children, Room to Read also focuses on helping adolescents, particularly female, develop the life skills necessary to break cycles in their own families and to be the changemaker in their own communities.

The organization is working to teach the "skill sets [adolescents] need to navigate the day to day challenges that they face, be it something like early marriage... or many others — violence against women, trafficking, child labor, food scarcity or water scarcity," Murali told CNBC "Make It."

"They have to figure out how to navigate in very practical terms and be able to negotiate with their families, negotiate with their communities to keep in school."

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