Deepthi Welaratna

Principal at Thicket

Deepthi is a Principal at Thicket, a creative agency that specializes in cultivating lasting cultural change.

Deepthi Welaratna has spent two decades building and launching new campaigns, products and services at venture-backed startups, creative agencies, and market research firms, often in the early days of a new industry or issue. She worked on startup teams in the early days of podcasting and online food delivery, and her work to educate the public about the diamond industry made its way into the Wikipedia entry on conflict diamonds. Other memorable experiences include helping launch California’s first statewide down-ballot progressive voter guide in 2020, documenting the first hackathon held in Haiti, and live tweeting a former president to an audience of millions.

Her work in print, interactive, and radio has been featured by USA Today, Fast Company, San Francisco's KQED Public Media, Stanford Social Innovation Review, and Makeshift Magazine among others. Featured speaking or facilitation engagements include SXSW, Parsons School of Design, Magnum Foundation, and the Institute of Medicine. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce (RSA) and serves as an ambassador for the Southern California region.

Deepthi releases music as a solo artist under the name Dark Spring Thunder and is also one half of Society of the Wing and Scale along with Disparition. Her sound and video design work for live performance has been shown at venues in the SF Bay Area and NYC.

Deepthi was born in England, raised in Silicon Valley, has lived in Paris and New York, and her family is from Sri Lanka. She speaks English fluently, French carefully, and Sinhalese colloquially. She currently makes her home in Los Angeles. Her pronouns are she/hers and sometimes they/them.