Tara D. Gurung, from Pokhara, is a development practitioner by profession actively involved in progressive development work at the grass-roots, local and national levels for the last three decades and has worked for national, bilateral and multilateral development agencies. She served as the Director of Development Policy and Programmes and the Country Manager for the Australian government’s aid programme in Nepal, managing Australia’s bilateral development cooperation in Nepal. With the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Nepal (GoN), she worked in the capacity of Tourism Planning and Monitoring Specialist for the Tourism for Rural Poverty Alleviation Programme (TRPAP). Tara Gurung started her development journey in April 1991 with the world class Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP). She worked with ACAP in different capacities, including as the Officer-In-Charge of its Sikles Regional Office and as the Senior Conservation Officer leading on ACAP’s work in Sustainable Agriculture and Tourism Development. A conservationist from heart, and an advocate of inclusive development, she is also the Immediate Past Chairperson of the Chandra Gurung Conservation Foundation (CGCF), which has been established to carry forward the legacy of late Dr. Chandra Prasad Gurung, a world renowned leading conservationist from Sikles, Kaski. Currently, Tara Gurung sits in the Board of Trustees of Gandaki University.
Tara Gurung holds a Masters in Rural Development from Tribhuvan University and a Post Graduate in Parks Recreation and Tourism Management (including International Rural Development) from the Lincoln University in New Zealand.
Dr. Sherpa is originally from the Khumbu region of Solukhumbu district. He holds a Ph.D. in Forest Resources from the University of Washington, USA, and has over 30 years of experience in natural resource management and conservation of mountain ecosystems and cultures. He worked for the Government of Nepal’s Department of National Park as Conservation Officer from 1980-2000. Later, he joined The Mountain Institute and worked as foreign expert in TAR China followed by the Co-Director of in Regional program in Nepal. He is a recipient of a Fullbright student scholarship in 1985 and a Fullbright Post-Doctoral Fellowship in 2009. Dr. Sherpa has a broad national and international experience as an advisor and expert consultant. He has also worked actively in conservation and promotion of mountain cultures and indigenous knowledge including language.
Dr. Thakali is from Mustang distrtct. He holds a Ph.D. in Environmental and Development Governance from Lincoln University, New Zealand. He has over 25 years of experience working on environment, poverty, forestry, community development and tourism issues. He served as an Education and Information Director for the National Trust for Nature Conservation, Program Manager for The Mountain Institute and as a Livelihood Advisor for UK’s Department of International Development, and provided advisory and expert services to a number of national and international organizations. He has successfully handled many large-scale projects including GEF funded projects. Most recently he is leading the Darwin Initiative and Snow Leopard Conservancy funded project in the Manang and Everest regions.
Yankila Sherpa is among the first women to get a university-level education from her community of Olanchung Gola. Ms. Yankila has spent over twenty-five years advocating for sustainable and responsible tourism and for the cause of women empowerment. She is the managing director of the Snow Leopard Trek, vice president of the Trans Himalayan Environment and Livelihood Program. She also serves as an advisor to various organizations in Nepal.
Ang Rita Sherpa, a native of Khunde village of Khumjung 4 of Solu Khumbu, is the Chairman of The Partners Nepal (www.thepartnersnepal.org) in an executive member since its inception in 2012. Mr. Sherpa was the former Senior Program Manager at The Mountain Institute and had over 30 years of experience in protected area management, eco-tourism and community-based tourism, protected landscape management, natural and cultural conservation project planning and implementation, and sustainable development programs. Mr. Sherpa holds M.Sc. in Protected Area Landscape Management from the University of Wales, the UK, in 2000 and an undergraduate degree in Parks and Recreation and Tourism from Lincoln University, New Zealand, in 1986. He has volunteered for the National Parks Service in the United States, where he spent nine months working in Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Shenandoah, and Smoky Mountain National Parks. Ang Rita Sherpa was responsible for implementing the Ambassador Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP)-funded program in Pangboche Monastery, a 600-year-old Buddhist monastery’s oldest monastery in the whole Khumbu region and also in the Limi Valley in mid-west Nepal in Humla district. He was the former executive and Chairman of the Himalayan Trust that Sir Edmund Hillary established in 1964. Mr. Sherpa is the president of the Everest (Sagarmatha) Chapter Committee under the Climate Alliance of Himalayan Communities. He is also a founder and life member of Mountain Spirit. Selection committee member of Mingma Norbu Sherpa Memorial Scholarship to New Zealand. Advisor of the Climate Alliance of Himalayan Communities (CAHC), Advisor and life member of the Khumjung School Alumni Association (KSAA), Mr. Sherpa, received the Sir Edmund Hillary Mountain Legacy Medal in 2011.
Dr. Pasang Dolma Sherpa, Executive Director of Center for Indigenous Peoples’ Research & Development (CIPRED) has been working with Indigenous Peoples, Women and Local Communities for the recognition of the indigenous peoples’ knowledge, cultural values and customary institutions that contributed for sustainable management of forest, ecosystem, biodiversity and climate resilience for more than a decade. Ms. Sherpa has obtained her PhD at Kathmandu University in 2018 on Climate Change Education and its Interfaces with Indigenous Knowledge. She has already served as Co-Chair of International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC), Co-Chair of Facilitative Working Group (FWG) of Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples’ Platform (LCIP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC ), to the board of UN-REDD, Participant Committee of FCPF, World Bank. Presently, she is the Chair of IUCN CEESP Specialist Group on Indigenous Peoples’ Customary and Environmental Laws and Human Rights (SPICEH), visiting faculty at Kathmandu University as well as representing in the different forums, networks and institutions both at national and international levels.
Mr. Lhakpa Tenji Lama (Sherpa) is originally from Tumbuk village of Solududhkunda-2, Solukhumbu district. He holds a Masters in community development and planning in tourism management from Lincoln University, New Zealand, and Masters in Tourism Studies from Purbanchal University, Nepal. He is one of Mountain Spirit’s founding members. He has worked as Senior Field Coordinator for EU funded Community-based forestry project in Sagarmatha National Park, Project Officer for The Mountain Institute, Executive Director and Chairperson for Mountain Spirit, Tourism Lecturer for Kathmandu Academy of Tourism & Hospitality, newsreader & program producer in Sherpa language for Radio Nepal and Country Coordinator for AWC-UK. He is also an expert advisor and consultant for a number of national/international organizations in project management, communication, rural development, project impact assessment, baseline survey, monitoring and evaluation, and participatory planning and training.
Mr. Nima Lama Hyolmo is originally from Shermathang village of Kiul VDC, Sindhupalchowk. He joined MS in 1999 and became an executive member in 2008. He was elected as general secretary of MS from 2010 to 2012 and and served as president of the organization from 2012-2014. He also served as secretary of Foreign Affairs for the Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN). Professionally, he is a tourism entrepreneur and is actively involved in various community and social organizations such as Trekking Agencies’ Association Nepal (TAAN) and Yangrima Trust.
Mr. Ang Phinjo Sherpa, a founder member of Mountain Spirit, is originally from Namche Bazar in Solukhumbu. He received a bachelor’s degree at Monterey Peninsula College and a master’s degree at Rushmore University. In the past, Mr. Sherpa also served as the general secretary and executive director of Mountain Spirit. He has played a significant role in the implementation of the MS-CESVI project in Sagarmatha National Park. He is also the chairperson and executive board director for various organizations dedicated to supporting mountain communities, such as EcoHimal Nepal, Farming for Health, and Khumbu Agro Tourism.
