Dr. Withanage holds a Master of Business Administration (University of Wales - United Kingdom), a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Finance (University of Colombo - Sri Lanka), an Associated Charted Management Accountant (ACMA - United Kingdom) and a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA - United States). After completing her Bachelor's degree, she started her career as a management trainee at Dialog Axiata - Sri Lanka, a subsidiary of Axiata Group Berhad - Malaysia. After completing the trainee program, she worked as a Senior Executive - Funding and Loan Portfolio Management in the Group Finance Department. She later moved to IBM World Trade Corporation - Sri Lanka and worked there as a Senior Executive. Subsequently, she was employed as Assistant Manager - Customer Value Management and Loyalty at Etisalat Lanka Private Limited - Sri Lanka, a subsidiary of Etisalat Group - United Arab Emirates. Her research interest is in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).