Dr Prativa Pandey

Founder, CEO Herveda Botanicals Pvt. Ltd. / Catalyst Technology Pvt. Ltd.

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Dr Prativa Pandey, Founder/CEO of Catalyst Technology and Herveda Botanicals, is a researcher and a science entrepreneur. She is a researcher at Research Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology and a visiting faculty at RECAST, Tribhuvan University. Her research is focused on the value addition of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of Nepal. She has. a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry and Nanotechnology from Northwestern University, USA. She has completed certifications in Management and Leadership from Northwestern University and Harvard University respectively. She has 15 years of research and industrial experience in the US, Singapore and Nepal and has been awarded with various national and international S&T awards. She has published several research reports, articles, and holds 3 US patents. She serves as an executive and advisory board member of various organizations related to innovation, leadership and entrepreneurship, as an STI expert. She is co-leading efforts to initiate Business Development Centers (BDC) at Federation of Women Entrepreneurs’ Association Nepal (FWEAN) as a Board member. She has also contributed significantly in drafting the most recent Intellectual Property (IP) Policy, and Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy of Nepal in coordination with the relevant ministries.

DR SABINA SHAH PAHARI

MBBS(India), DCH(Nepal), MRCPCH(UK) Consultant Paediatrician

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Dr Sabina Shah Pahari has volunteered in the field of Child Health as a Consultant Paediatrician in institutions like Ek Ek Paila and Kathmandu Institute of Child Health. Dr Pahari is a certified trainer of Child Protection (safeguarding children) and Pediatric Life Support. Furthermore, she is one of the board members of Birat Nepal Medical Trust Nepal (BNMT Nepal) and Kathmandu Sachey Foundation. She is also an active member of Zonta Club, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. Dr Pahari had served as Consultant Paediatrician for the SAARC secretariat, Nepal and an Appraiser for International Trainee Doctors (UK).

RAMYATA LIMBU

Director, Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF)

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Ramyata Limbu is the Director of the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (kimff). She is a journalist, communicator and researcher working with community, national and international organisations. She has co-directed and co-produced several award winning documentaries, including “Daughters of Everest” which followed the first team of all women, Sherpa climbers to ascend Everest, “The Sari Soldiers” about the conflict in Nepal told through the stories of six women, and, “Drawing the Tiger”, an intimate portrait of the price a family pays to educate their daughter. She is a mentor for the South Asia Young Women’s Leadership and Mentoring Initiative (SAYWLM) and is a correspondent for Al Jazeera English.

PREETI THAPA

Deputy Country Representative, The Asia Foundation

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Preeti Thapa is The Asia Foundation’s deputy country representative in Nepal. She is a peacebuilder, lawyer, mediator, and certified master trainer in mediation and dialogue with more than 23 years of experience in law, human rights, gender, peacebuilding, and governance. Preeti provides support in managing the Foundation’s work in Nepal including program development, implementation, grant management, administration, financial management, and office security.

Preeti has worked for The Asia Foundation for over eighteen years in various capacities, most recently as director of Justice and Governance in Nepal. During her tenure with the Foundation, she has developed expertise in access to justice, strategic peacebuilding, and governance through community mediation and multi-stakeholder dialogue; mentored staff members on project management, oversight, and capacity building of local partners; served as liaison with the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers’ Gender Empowerment and Coordination Unit, the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction, the Office of the Attorney General, and the National Human Rights Commission; and played an instrumental role in building strong relationships with government officials, members of the judiciary, civil society, and donors.

Thapa worked with Nepal’s Ministry of Law and Justice on mediation policies and, in particular, contributed to the passage of the Mediation Act and Regulation. Most recently, she played an integral role in supporting Nepal’s continued peacebuilding through the transition to a federation of provinces. Thapa is a member of the Nepal Bar Association and of the Community Mediators’ Society Nepal. She is a visiting faculty member at Kathmandu University, the Army Command and Staff College, Shivapuri Nepal, Folke Bernadotte Academy, Sweden on Mediation and Dialogue.

Education: Preeti Thapa has a master’s degree in Law from the University of New Hampshire, School of Law, and a bachelor’s degree in Law from Tribhuvan University, Nepal Law Campus.

RAVEENA DESRAJ SHRESTHA

Acting CEO, Mega Bank Limited

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Raveena Desraj Shrestha is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Mega Bank Nepal. She was elected as the vice-chairman of Women Entrepreneur Development Committee appointed by the (FNCCI). Raveena started her career as trainee assistant in Standard Chartered Bank. She joined Mega Bank Nepal Limited as the Chief Business Officer and corporate affairs. She is a member of Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) in the Bank, Finance & Insurance Committee. She is the vice-chair of Women Entrepreneur Development Committee appointed by the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI).

DR RASHMEY (PUN) GURUNG

Consultant Clinical Oncologist

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Dr Rashmey (Pun) Gurung is the consultant Clinical Oncologist working in Nepal Medical College Teaching Hospital & National Cancer Hospital and Cancer Research Center, Jawalakhel. She is also a Fellow of Global Clinical Scholars Research Training (Harvard Medical School).

MS BARSHA SHRESTHA

Business Head, ICRA Nepal

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Ms Barsha Shrestha has 3 decades of experience in the banking and finance industry. She currently leads ICRA Nepal as the Business Head. She started her banking career at Nabil Bank Limited and later became Head- of Privilege Banking. She was the first woman to join Clean Energy Development Bank Limited (CEDBL) as General Manager. She has contributed to enrolling CEDBL as a member of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values in 2013, the first and only bank from Nepal to do so.

Ms Shrestha was awarded ‘National Woman Award 2009’ by the Civil Voice for Peace and Development, and ‘Woman Manager Recognition Award 2010’ by the Management Association of Nepal (MAN).

She serves as a board member of Asian Network for Sustainable Agriculture Bio- resource Nepal (ANSAB), IDEA Studio Nepal, Nepal Ambulance Service (NAS), Karnali Basin Conservation Foundation (KBCF). Ms Shrestha is also a member of Governing Council of Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS) and a board adviser in Nepal Institute for Policy Research.

BHUMIKA SHRESTHA

Vice president of Sexual and Gender minorities’ Nepal

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She is a Transgender woman working as an activist since 2004 for the rights of LGBTI people in Nepal. She has been affiliated with Blue Diamond Society. Ms. Shrestha is also a vice president of Sexual and Gender minorities’ Nepal. She is a spokesperson in Women commission. She is recipient of Nai Ram laxmi award, 2013, and the winner of transgender beauty pageant contest, 2007. In 2019, she was included in Apolitical World’s 100 Most Influential People in Gender Policy. She has also been awarded the Government of Nepal Public Service “Shree Panch” 2078. More recently, she has been awarded International Women of courage Award 2022. She was the first person in the LGBTIQ community to travel with (O) Passport.

LAXMI BAKHADYO

Assistant Professor at Kathmandu School of Law, Advisory Chair at Saa:phu (Education For All)

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Ms. Laxmi Bakhadyo holds a Master of Laws in Criminal Law and Justice. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the Faculty of Law, Tribhuvan University. She is also involved as an Assistant Professor at Kathmandu School of Law, Advisory Chair at Saa:phu (Education For All) (Napal), and Attorney and Researcher at JuRAL Center. Ms. Bakhadyo is also a recipient of research fellowships from Mayor Research Fellowship Award 2021/22, KSL Research Grant 2021, Social Science Migration Research Fellowship 2019, Child Reach Research Grant, FIAN Research Grant, and Center for Legal Research and Resource Development (CeLLRD) Research Grant. She believes that change is possible with every single effort we make. She says,” To make positive changes in society, we need to take our step ahead first Only then can we expect others to follow the same path.”

NAMRATA SHARMA

Journalist; Founder, Center for Micro-Finance in Nepal

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Namrata Sharma has over 30 years of work experience in Journalism and women’s rights. Also, she has been a campaigner to abolish Violence Against Women. She has worked in Nepal, the UK, Kenya, India. She was one of the first women to be editor in Nepal’s weekly English newspaper in the 1990s called “The Independent”.

She is the founder of the Center for Micro-Finance in Nepal and the first Director of the Indian School of Microfinance for Women, Ahmedabad, India. She has been a visiting Research Fellow at The University of Bath. Ms. Sharma had led the Knowledge, management, and Training department of MicroSave India, Lucknow. She is the first woman Chairperson of the Center for Investigative Journalism (CIJ) Nepal. One of her stories exposing human trafficking in Luxemburg won the Amnesty International Luxemburg award 2022. Currently, she is doing cross border investigative stories.

DR PALESWAN JOSHI LAKHEY

Professor and Head of the Department of Surgical Gastroenterology, Institute of Medicine

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Dr Paleswan Joshi Lakhey is a consultant surgeon in the Department of Surgical Gastroenterology, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, doing all complex GI and HPB surgeries, including therapeutic ERCP. She is a gold medalist in MS General Surgery. She has the credit of being one of the first women to take up General Surgery in Nepal, and the first MCh in Surgical Gastroenterology in Nepal. She has published numerous publications in various national and international peer-reviewed journals. She is the mother of two daughters. She enjoys traveling, watching movies, listening to music.

SONIKA MANANDHAR

Co-Founder/Chief Technology Officer Aloi Technologies

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Sonika is a computer engineer turned impact entrepreneur. She has been using her decade of engineering experience to design tools to bridge the financing gap for women microentrepreneurs in the green energy and agriculture sectors.

She is a fintech founder and together with her company, Aloi, she has won several awards from organizations such as the United Nations Capital Development Fund and the UNESCAP, Welthungerhilfe, and she has been named as one of seven in the world, a Young Champions of the Earth 2019 by United Nations Environment Programme and an Emerging Explorer by National Geographic Society.

Sonika holds a degree in computer engineering from Tribhuwan University, was trained in Silicon Valley at Singularity University and Korea Aerospace Research Institute.