Team

Founder of Daayitwa Abhiyaan and former Senior Research Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership, Pukar has spent two decades organizing youth-led innovation across government, business, and civil society. A former Senior Innovation Policy Specialist at the World Bank and Silicon Valley engineer with two US patents, he holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Cornell, along with degrees from Swarthmore and Harvard Kennedy School.

Susit has an interdisciplinary background across coaching, corporate finance, investment banking, public sector consulting, research, and non-profit management in the US and Nepal. He holds an MBA and an MPA with a Certificate in Public Finance from UC Berkeley and the University of Pennsylvania, both on full scholarship.

An advocate and Senior Associate at Pioneer Law with an LL.M. from the University of Texas at Austin, Apurba has been with Nepal Leadership Academy since 2018. Her practice sits at the intersection of leadership, law, and governance.

With a Master’s in Politics and International Relations from Japan and a deep interest in women’s leadership in Nepal, Juni works at the intersection of socio-economic development and effective leadership. She brings cross-cultural perspective from her prior work in education and a commitment to interdisciplinary, evidence-led change.

Dilasha leads strategic communications, public relations, and stakeholder engagement for NLA, amplifying the organization’s public image through targeted outreach. 

Srijana heads NLA’s finance team, specializing in budgeting, financial reporting, and office management. Her analytical rigor and attention to detail underpin efficient resource planning and seamless daily operations.

Puja manages human resources and operational functions at NLA, leading staff engagement and organizational development to foster a positive, efficient work environment.

A development professional with an MBA from the South Asian Institute of Management (Pokhara University) and a BA in Economics from UNC Greensboro USA, Anushka has led work on youth engagement, GESI, entrepreneurship, and monitoring & evaluation across Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. She brings a systems-oriented approach grounded in evidence-based decision-making and inclusive impact.

With an academic foundation in Mathematical Physics and Sociology and prior engagement with the Federal Parliament of Nepal, Pratisha designs strategic collaborations that strengthen evidence-informed governance and public sector innovation. A national-level public speaking champion and published policy researcher, she works to ensure that knowledge systems translate into community-centered impact.

Bibek works at the intersection of education policy, leadership development, and learning innovation. As a Leadership Coach at the Nepal Leadership Academy, he has led leadership courses for Daayitwa-supported rural entrepreneurs and facilitated adaptive leadership programs for government officials, political leaders, international scientists, and policy researchers. As a Consultant with the Global Partnership for Education, the world’s largest fund dedicated to education in lower-income countries, he has co-led partner engagement strategy supporting 80+ countries. He holds a Master of Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Bachelor of Arts from Bennington College.

Ajit Bhatta

Coaching Advisor

Executive Director at Social Lab and a development practitioner with over eight years across Nepal’s social innovation, education, and youth engagement landscape, Ajit has consulted for Habitat for Humanity, UN SDSN Youth, and Daayitwa. A Bidhya Bhusan awardee and Young Global Changer 2022, he holds a Master’s in Development Studies from Kathmandu University.

Rakshya Silwal

Coaching Advisor

A graduate of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s in Gender and Women’s Studies, Rakshya bridges youth and government through high-level policy dialogues, national symposiums, and fellowship programs that produce evidence-based research. Her work is grounded in a commitment to social inclusion, gender justice, and the empowerment of marginalized voices.

Medha Sharma

Coaching Advisor

Medha is a feminist leader and public health expert with over 15 years advancing women’s leadership and social justice. She is President of Visible Impact, a young-women-led organization in Nepal working on leadership development, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and movement building, and has amplified grassroots voices at global platforms including the UN Commission on the Status of Women, CEDAW reviews, and the World Health Assembly. She is currently pursuing a PhD at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, where her research explores the gendered implications of AI and pathways for inclusive and equitable AI governance.

Juliana Shrestha

Coaching Advisor

Juliana is a social entrepreneur working at the intersection of tourism, education, and gender equity, with expertise in business development, partnerships, and scaling purpose-led ventures in emerging markets. A Chevening Scholar, she holds an MA in Intercultural Communication and International Development from the University of Sheffield and a BBA from Kathmandu University. She is co-founder and head of business development at Duluwa Outdoors, a women-led experiential travel curator in Nepal, and has been recognized as a 30 Under 30 for Social Impact by The Bloom and with the Zonta Women in Business Leadership Award 2025.