Santoshi Gautam (President)
I’m Santoshi Gautam, a passionate mental health advocate and dedicated community volunteer. My journey into community service began at 16 with Bal Kalyan Samaj in Nepal. Since migrating to Australia in 2010, I have continued my active involvement in volunteer work. I also provide phone counselling through Open Support Australia. Professionally, I am an accredited registered mental health nurse with SA Health, also works as SAPOL nurses, bringing my skills and compassion to both my professional and volunteer roles. I’m actively involved with the Lions Club, organising fundraisers, health workshops, and community programs. Since 2022, I’ve proudly served as a Justice of the Peace for South Australia. Along the way, I’ve received awards such as the NRNA Australian Women’s Award 2023 and the Excellence Award from the City of Marion.

Key Roles Justice of the Peace, South Australia (2020–present), Counsellor-Volunteer, Open Support Australia, Active Member, Lions Club (since 2021), Nepali Group Program Coordinator, Marion Council (2022–present), President, Adelaide Nepali Samaj (2013–2015), Volunteer/Teacher, Adelaide Nepali Bidhalya (2015–2023), Deputy-Coordinator NRNA SA (2019-2021),Advisor, NRNA SA (2021–2023). I’ve led multiple projects, including domestic violence support initiatives and cultural celebrations, and I’m committed to breaking the stigma surrounding mental health.

0420 705 048 sghappy85@gmail.com | santoshigautam@yahoo.com | Santoshi.Gautam2@sahealth.gov.au

Jwala Bista – NSW State Coordinator
Zeenat Burdwick – Canberra State Coordinator
Laxmi Bashyal Dhakal – South Australia State Coordinator
Subee Bista – Victoria State Coordinator

Dr Raju Adhikari (Founding President/ Advisor): Dr Adhikari, a Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO Material Science and Engineering in Melbourne, graduated from the University of Delhi in 1986. He did his post doctoral research from Australia and Germany and has over 25 years of research experience in the organic, bio-medical and flexible electronic polymer chemistry. He is the founder president of Nepali Association of Victoria (NAV), a member of the Non Resident Nepali International coordination Council (NRN-ICC) and chairs the NRN ICC task force on skill knowledge and innovation exchange. Email: r_adhikari@hotmail.com, Phone: 0061-412 853 603

Harsha Gautam (Coordinator): An engineer with post graduate degrees in Water Resources and Environmental Engineering Science, Harsha is working with a state-owned utility company in Sydney for the last 16 years. His areas of interests are history, philosophy and religion. He is actively involved in various community organizations in Sydney and has been working with HeNN Australia, Sydney, since 2004. Email: gautam_harsha@yahoo.com.au, Phone: 0061- 415 537 971

Dr Raj Gaire (Executive Member): Raj is an IT professional and a bioinformatician with an interest in medical research. and is serving as the General Secretary since 2007. He is actively involved in various Nepalese community activities in Melbourne and joined HeNN-Australia in 2006. Email: rajgaire@gmail.com

Dr Govinda Poudel (Public Officer/ Secretary): Dr Govinda Poudel works as a research scientist at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. He has a PhD from University of Otago, New Zealand. He is an avid fan of social/ community works and joined HENN Australia in 2012.

Shree Pant (Treasurer): Shree did his Bachelor in Civil Engineering from Nepal. Currently he is working with the State Government of Australia. He has been the treasurer of HeNN Australia since 2007. Shree takes a keen interest in social and charitable activities. Email: sppant@hotmail.com

Laxmi Adhikari (Project Coordinator/ Executive Member): Laxmi holds a Masters degree (Hons) in Highway Engineering (Belorus). He is currently working as a senior engineer with the Road Authority (Vic Roads) in Melbourne. Before coming to Australia, he had worked as a senior engineer for Kathmandu Metropolitan City. He is actively involved in various Nepalese community organizations in Melbourne. Email: laxmiadhi@yahoo.com

Diwaker Basnet (Public Officer/ Executive Member): One of the founding members of HeNN Australia, Diwaker holds a Masters degree in Renewable Energy and a Bachelors in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. He is currently working as a policy advisor for the Victorian State Government. Email: dbasnet@hotmail.com

Bhupal KC (Executive Member): Founding member of HeNN Australia, he holds a degree in Electrical & Computer Engineering from Monash University, Australia. He is currently working as a senior IT (Storage) engineer at Fujitsu Australia. E-mail: bhupalk@hotmail.com

Indra Ban (Executive Member): Email: indra.ban@helpnepal.net

Jog Limbu (Executive Member): A founder member of HENN-Australia, Jog holds advisory roles in various Nepalese community organizations. He holds a Masters degree in Power System Engineering and postgraduate degree in Professional Business Management. Currently, he is a project director. Email: jog_limbu@hotmail.com

Ranjan Vaidya (Executive Member): Founding member of HeNN Australia, he has served as the president of Nepalese Association of Victoria (NAV) in the past. He’s the current advisor of NRN Australia and NAV, coordinator of Melbourne Chautari radio, and holds a Masters degree in Industrial Engineering and Management, and a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering. He’s currently working as a senior protection & control engineer for Victorian Energy Utility Company. Email: ranjanvaid@yahoo.com.au

Bom Yonzon (Executive Member):  Bom is a businessman in Melbourne. He is also the president of Nepalese Association of Victoria (NAV). He takes keen interest and is involved in community welfare activities. Email: byonzon@hotmail.com

Parsuram Sharma-Luitel (Executive Member): Parsuram is an active community member in Melbourne. He was also an executive member of Nepali Association of Victoria. He is currently the NRN Victoria Coordinator and is also the president of Bhutanese Community of Australia. Email: parsuramluital@hotmail.com

Madhu Pokhrel (Executive Member): Madhu is a very active member of the Nepalese community. He is in the advisory body of Nepali Association of Victoria. By profession, he is an electrical engineer and has been a member of HELP NEPAL Network since its inception. Email: madhupokhrel@optusnet.com.au

SYDNEY

Tara Shrestha (Executive Member): Tara went to Delhi School of Planing and Architecture and is a trained architect with graduate studies in Urban Design from Harvard University. Tara has established a successful architectural practice, DOME, in Nepal and has been living in Sydney since 1992. Currently, he is working as a design manager in a diversified property company. Email: tpshrestha@gmail.com

Saleena Shrestha-Macarthur (Executive Member): Saleena is currently working as a PMO Finance Lead in Westpac Banking Corp. She completed her degree in finance and accounting from UTS- University of Technology Sydney and currently, is also undertaking her Chartered Accounting Program part-time. Saleena has been with HENN Australia since 2007.
Email: sshrestha@westpac.com.au, saleena_s@hotmail.com

Dila Kharel (Fundraising Coordinator ): Dila is an accountant and a financial planner by profession. He has successfully completed his M. Com. degree from the University of Ballarat. He is a Fellow of the Association of Taxation and Management Accountants (FTMA), a full member of Mortgage and Finance Association Australia (MFAA) and an associate member of CPA Australia and currently holds a credit license from ASIC, as a credit advisor. Dila is also a practical philanthropist. He has been heavily involved in fundraising and philanthropic projects through many social, community and charity organizations in Australia and Nepal. Email: d_la@hotmail.com, Phone: 0061-434 392 347

Neelam Pradhananga (Member- NSW): Neelam is undertaking a Doctor of Philosophy (Architecture) at the University of Newcastle. Her interests lie in heritage conservation, community participation and indigenous systems. She has been actively involved in various volunteer-driven organizations such as Service Civil International, Nepal, and International Volunteers for Peace (IVP), Australia, and is currently involved with Guthi Australia, apart from HeNN Australia. Email: neelam_pradhananga@yahoo.com

CANBERRA

Dr Krishna Hamal (Executive Member): Dr Hamal received his MS degree in Ag. Economics from University of New England, Australia, and a Ph.D in Development Economics from University of Alberta, Canada. Currently, he is working as a senior economist at the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics in Canberra. Dr Hamal is involved in various community activities in Australia. He is the president of Australia-Nepal Friendship Society of Canberra and executive member of International Coordination Committee- Non Resident Nepali Association. Email: Krishna.Hamal.Canberra@gmail.com

Dr Durga D Kandel (Executive Member): One of the founding members of HeNN Australia, Durga holds a PhD in Hydrology from University of Melbourne and a Bachelors in Agricultural Engineering from India. He is currently working as a senior hydrology modeler for Australian Government. Email: ddkandel@yahoo.com

Dr Hom Moorti Pant (Executive Member): Hom is a senior economist with Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics– Bureau of Rural Sciences, specializing in international trade and climate change policy. He holds a PhD from the Australian National University and currently lives in Canberra with his family. Email: hom.pant@gmail.com, hom.pant@abare.gov.au

Dr Prem Thapa (Executive Member): Email: pjtathome@grapevine.net.au

PERTH

Dr Santosh Aryal (Executive Member): Santosh is a water resources engineer working in the areas of water research. He is the current president of Nepali Association of Western Australia. His interests are in the areas of water resources monitoring and development in Nepal and rural women-children health. Email: santosh_aryal@yahoo.com

ADELAIDE

Kush Shrestha (Executive Member): Email: kushrajshrestha@hotmail.com

Deepak Bista (Executive Member): Email: dbista@hotmail.com

PAST EXECUTIVES:
Ranjan Koirala, Raju Shitoula, Bhawana Bhatta Kaudel, Dr. Arun Gurung

Dr Deepak Dhungana (Chief Coordinator): Dhungana is working as a senior research scientist at Siemens. Email: emailaustria@helpnepal.net, Phone: +43 51707-35934

Aayushma K.C. (Member)
Churchill Bista (Member)
Deepak Malla (Member)
Dhurba Paudel (Member)
Dilip Kapali (Member)
Prabhu Shrestha (Member)
Rabi C. Bhattarai (Member)
Samir K.C. (Member)
Sarita Paudel (Member)
Shiva Sapkota (Member)

Navin Dhakal (Coordinator): Navin was born in a village in Kaski and completed his secondary education from Budhanilkantha School. He graduated from University College, London with a B.E in Chemical Engineering. After completing his PGCE in Chemistry from King’s College, London, he returned to Nepal to fulfill his 5-year bond with the government, and taught at the same school where he had spent 11 years of his school life. Subsequently, he taught at the United World College of the Adriatic (Trieste, Italy) for four years, during which he founded HeNN Italy in 2000. Navin is currently teaching IB Chemistry at an independent school in Vancouver, Canada. Email: navin.dhakal@gmail.com, Phone: 001-604-283-8169

Sunisha Neupane (Coordinator): Sunisha is a public health and international development graduate, currently residing in Montreal. She is passionate about working towards improving health and education in under resourced communities. She believes that sustainable development is possible through locals’ active participation and empowerment, which also aligns with HeNN goals.

Purushottam Shrestha (Coordinator): Purushottam studied civil engineering at the University of Roorkee, India and did his MSc from the University of Calgary, Canada. He taught at the Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk, from 1986 to 2009. Currently, he is working as a senior engineer at the Banner Environmental Engineering Consultants Ltd in Canada. He has a keen interest in charitable causes, hence the involvement in HeNN.

Som Nath Sapkota (President): Sapkota completed his Bachelors in humanities from Nepal and has been living in Europe since 1996. He is the general secretary of Portugal Nepal Friendship Association, vice-president  of Nepali Samaj, Portugal, life member of Nepal Red Cross Society, chief of foreign affairs at Keudanya Rishi Asram, Devghat and the President of NRN NCC, Denmark. Email: somsapkota123@yahoo.com, Phone: 0045 2839 1482

Buddha Maya Khatri (General Secretary): Khatri has taken up Danish citizenship and has been living in Denmark since 1992. Her interest in social work inspired her to join HeNN Denmark.

Ram Sharan Bhatta (Treasurer): Bhatta is a mechanical overseer from BTI and studied at South Zealand College. He is the president of Chitwan Society, Denmark.

Surya Prasad Tiwari (Member): Tiwari completed his Masters degree from Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, Chitwan and is now living in Denmark with a Danish Green Card.

Subarna Datta Gautam (Member): Gautam is doing his Masters and he is also the general secretary of Galkot Samaj, Denmark.

Laxman Timilsina (Member): Timilsina completed his Masters in Business Studies in 2004. He is interested in social work and has been living in Denmark with a Danish green card.

Saraswoti Karki (Member): Karki completed her Bachelors in Education from Nepal and has previously worked as a journalist in Nepal.

Prabin Khadka (Coordinator): Email: prabinkha@yahoo.com, Phone: +971555469928

Sagar Lama (Chief Coordinator): Mr Lama has been living in Ireland since 2005. He was the vice president of Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA)-Ireland from 2013 to 2015. He has been involved in various charitable activities like fundraising for the Bagmati Disabled Home, he was also involved in aid distribution on following the 2015 earthquake. Email: lamasgar333@gmail.com, Phone: 00353871838445

Avedya Gautam (Member)
Shiva Thapa (Member)
Lina Gautam (Member)
Karuna Thapa (Member)

Ankita Sigdel (President): Ankita works in a biotechnology company in Auckland. Originally from Kathmandu, she believes in giving back to the community. She brings a fresh perspective of the younger generation to the HeNN NZ team. Ankita loves traveling and is also an obsessive reader. She has been in New Zealand since 2012. Email: ankita805@hotmail.com, Phone: +64211521698

Ashok Kumar Shrestha (Vice President): Ashok actively works, coordinates and contributes to the community. He believes that a small donation can make a huge difference in the lives of those who need it. He works as a seafood manager at Ilam New World, Christchurch. He has been living in New Zealand with his wife and two children since 2001.

Sarina Manandhar (General Secretary): Sarina is from Kathmandu and lives in Palmerston North, New Zealand with her husband and seven-year old son. She did her PhD in Plant Science (Horticulture) from Massey University and works for the New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Ltd. She strongly believes that money’s true purpose should be for the welfare of a community. Email: sarina.manandhar@plantandfood.co.nz, Phone number: +64212642833

Laxman Bhattarai (Treasurer): Laxman Bhattarai came to New Zealand as a student of finance in 2014. He works for LaserTek Profiles Ltd. Tauranga as a Customer Service Representative.

Krishna Hari Sapkota (Member): Krishna Hari Sapkota is a chef and has been running his own restaurant since 2005. He has been living in New Zealand with his family since 2001.

Sadhana Shrestha (Member): Sadhana has been living in Wellington, New Zealand for the past 15 years. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Teaching (Early Childhood Education). She is very passionate about children, their wellbeing and development. Through HELP NEPAL, Sadhana hopes to get in touch with those in need.

Supriti Basnyat (Member): Supriti Basnyat came to New Zealand in 1998. She lives in Auckland, New Zealand and is a graduate student of health psychology.

Shreedhar Basnyat (Advisor): Shreedhar used to work for Nepal Airlines before coming to New Zealand. He is currently conducting a research on social practices and strongly believes in giving back to the community. He presents a Nepali program for the New Zealand-based community radio (www.planetaudio.org.nz). It is important for Shreedhar that communities interact and come together for positive change. A fan of Nepali music, Shreedhar is also enthusiastic about soccer, badminton and tennis.

Raj Maharjan (Advisor): Raj Maharjan is a planner at Auckland Council. He feels that every Nepali should do something for their country. Raj has been involved with HeNN NZ since 2011.

Dr Bhola Pradhan (Advisor): Dr Bhola Pradhan has been living in New Zealand since 1996. At present, he is living a retired life with his family.

Lokesh Adhikari (Member): Adhikari has been working at Napoli Bakeries in Doha since 2007. Earlier, he was a teacher and was actively involved in environmental and community health awareness, and educational issues. He loves literature and photography, and is a strong believer of positive values in life. He thinks that our small efforts can bring huge changes in other people’s lives. Email: adlokesh@yahoo.com, Phone: 00974 55540584/ 44580022

Bhawan K. Pradhan  (Member): Pradhan works at Family Food Center, Rayyan. He used to be a school teacher and was also associated with Plan International Nepal for nearly a decade. He is associated with Nepalese Welfare Fund, Qatar, and Red Cross Society, Nepal. He believes that compassion towards poor & needy is vital to change the society. Email: bhawan_pradhan@yahoo.co.in, Phone: 97466049573

Rakesh Pant (Member): Pant works for Memar Trading and Contracting Company in Qatar. He is associated with various Nepalese organizations. Email: rakeshpant05@yahoo.com,  Phone: 00974-33117491/ 44696493

Nar Bahadur Tamang (Member): Tamang believes that helping hands are better than praying lips. He is actively involved in various Nepalese social organizations. He works in the IT department at Family Food Centre, Qatar. He is interested in literature, photography and traveling. Email: nar_bahadur@family.com.qa, Phone: 00974-66927390

Dr Upendra Mahato (Member): Nepal’s first DSc (Doctor of Sciences) in Technical Science, Dr Mahato is a highly successful multinational entrepreneur and well reputed philanthropist. He is the founder president of Non-Resident Nepali Association and president of Russia Nepal Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Email: upn@rubin.ru

Jibanath Lamichhane: Lamichhane holds a MSc in Civil Engineering (Moscow) and is a multinational entrepreneur. He is the vice-president of Non-Resident Nepali Association and the director of Russia-based Technotrust Co. Ltd., and Nepal-based Kantipur Engineering College, Molnia Power Pvt. Ltd., and Medicare National Hospital. Email: jibalamichhane@gmail.com, Phone: 0074-9596-95065

Dr Bhishma Acharya: Acharya holds a PhD in Political Sciences (from Russian Friendship University, Moscow) and is an author of a book, The Impact of Political Culture in Political System of Nepal published in Russian as well as Nepali languages. He is the secretary general of Russia-Nepal Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and the deputy director of Moscow-based Elion Line Company. Phone: (095) 111 15 53 (W)

Tej Bahadur Thapa Magar (President): Email: helpnepalksa@gmail.com, chotuthapa@gmail.com, Phone: 0096 650 125 9311

KB Yaba (Vice President)
Prem Thapa Magar (Vice President)
Hiramani Bhusal (General Secretary)
Tek Nath Nepal (Secretary)
Narayan Prasad Gurung (Spokesperson)
Hom Gurung (Treasurer)
Dipak Regmi (Member)
Saroj Ale Magar (Member)
Jhiwa Timale (Member)
Sandip Baral (Member)
Chandra Ale (Member)
Bal Bahadur Thapa (Member)
Kumari Sunari Magar (Member)
Tulasa Maya Gurung (Member)
Hum Bahadur Sunari Magar (Advisor)
Ram Bahadur Belbase (Advisor)
Bidur Koirala (Advisor)
Rudra Kumar Karki (Advisor)
Dilchan Budha Magar (Advisor)
Tara Bhandari (Advisor)
Krishna Thapa Magar (Advisor)
Yam Bahadur Bhusal (Advisor)
San Bahadur Pun (Advisor)

Rudra Sharma (Patron): Sharma hails from Parbat district. He is a successful businessman and a social worker. He was the founding member of Rotary Club of Pokhara and the Non-Resident Nepali Association- South Korea. Currently, he serves as an advisor to NRNA- South Korea. He has a keen interest in philanthropy and has done a lot of charity work in his home district. Email: rudra32@hotmail.com, Phone: 0082-10-3977-4848

RP Devkota (Chief Coordinator): Devkota is from Nawalparasi district. After graduating with an MBA from Ajou University, he started running his own travel company (Link Asia Tours) in South Korea. He has a great interest in social work and strongly believes that we can bring positive change in our society by working together with honesty and sincerity. He finds a close connection with HELP NEPAL’s mission and vision. Email: rpdevkota@gmail.com, Phone: 82-10-58775512

Pushpa Lamichhane (Member): Lamichhane was born and brought up in Bharatpur, Chitwan. Apart from his regular work, he is associated with Hello Nepal Korea (www.hellonepalkorea.com). He is the treasurer of Federation of Nepalese Journalists in South Korea. Social worker Pushpa Basnet inspires him to contribute to the society. Lamichhane is also an amateur filmmaker.

Saroj Kumar Khadka (Member): Born and brought up in Sarlahi district, Khadka is currently studying MBA at Hanyang University, South Korea and is also associated with Hello Nepal Korea (www.hellonepalkorea.com). He is heavily inspired by HELP NEPAL Network’s philosophy of ‘practical philanthropy’. Khadka believes in ‘speaking through action’, which, he thinks, is the only way to bring about positive change.

Sher Bahadur Rawal PhD (Member): Rawal is a research professor at Inha University, South Korea, from where he did his PhD in Chemistry. He has a keen interest in charity, hence the involvement in HELP NEPAL Network. Email: sbrawal@inha.ac.kr, Phone: 82-10-8470-6870

Ishwor Dahal (Member): Dahal is from Rautahat district and has been working in South Korea for the past few years. He loves music, traveling, photography and reading books.
Phone: 010-6447-8488

Khem Karki (Member): Karki is from Chandrapur municipality of Rautahat district and is currently working in South Korea. Apart from his regular job, Karki is also an active journalist and serves as the president of Pardeshi Life (www.pardeshilife.com), an online news portal. He has previously served as the president of Federation of Nepalese Journalists in South Korea and ex-central committee member of NRN Korea.

Registered Charity 1088951

Dr Pranab Gyawali (President): Founding member of HELP NEPAL Network and currently the president of HeNN UK, Pranab is a graduate of prestigious Guys and St. Thomas Hospital in London. Despite his exhaustive full-time job as a consultant at a hospital in East London, Pranab has consistently remained the backbone of HeNN right from its inception.
Email: pgyawali@doctors.org.uk

Kuldeep Pradhan (General Secretary)

Sachin Shrestha (Treasurer): Sachin comes from Gorkha district. He has completed his BCS, BSc and ACCA, and is currently working as a Chartered Certified Accountant. He was involved with Worldwide Nepalese Students Organization and helped HELP NEPAL Network in various ways before joining HeNN UK team in March 2010.
Email: sachinsth@hotmail.com, Phone: 07888 812 312

Prashidha Pradhan (Co-Treasurer): Prashidha joined HeNN UK in its initial days and served as its treasurer for many years. He has been teaching at a private accountancy college since 2002. He also offers practical training courses to accounting professionals in various firms. Prashidha is a football enthusiast and plays for Greenwich Football Club.

Bhagirath Yogi (Media Co-ordinator): Bhagirath is a London-based journalist and media consultant. He worked with the BBC Nepali Service in Kathmandu and London for over 20 years. He has been affiliated with HELP NEPAL Network since 2004. He is also Editor of www.southasiatime.com – a news portal published from London. He has published hundreds of articles on Nepal’s politics, economy, social and development issues. Email: bhagirath.yogi@gmail.com

Pradeep Paneru (Project Co-ordinator): Pradeep joined HeNN UK team in 2006. Since his association with HeNN UK, he has been involved in various aspects of its activities. He graduated from University of West London and is currently working in the field of software engineering. In his career, he has worked for global businesses to help them design and build sophisticated enterprise software solutions on the web. He has gained invaluable experiences in the industries like stock/foreign exchange market, travel, retail, online marketing, digital media management and inflight entertainment. He is currently working for a global inflight entertainment business. Email: pradeep.paneru@helpnepal.net, Phone: 07791 170 955

Yadav Bhandari (Member)

Pratima Joshi (Member): Pratima is a member of Association of Accounting Technicians (MAAT) and holds a degree from Angila Ruskin University. She has been affiliated with HELP NEPAL Network since 2009. In April 2010, she ran British 10K with a group of Nepalese youths to raise funds for HeNN. She is the chair of London Chhalphal, a Nepal-facing discussion forum.

Ranjan Baral (Member): Ranjan is a system analyst at a London-based INGO. Before moving to London, he was working with the Government of Nepal, and was involved in planning and implementation of e-government and ICTS for development projects. He was also the secretary of Association of Computer Engineers Nepal (2007-2008), the umbrella organization of computer engineers and ICT professionals in Nepal.

Surya Gurung (Advisor): Former president of NRN-UK, Gurung is a well-known name in the expatriate Nepalese community in the UK. He played a leading role in raising funds for the construction of the compound wall of a stadium in Pokhara. He lives at Farnborough with his family and also runs a successful restaurant business.

Chiranjibi Dhakal (Advisor): Former president of Yeti Nepalese Association- one of the pioneer organizations of Nepalese in the UK, Dhakal is a well-known name in the expatriate Nepalese community in the UK. He is the founder of NRNA-ICC, and joint coordinator and first Europe coordinator of NRNA. He is involved with a number of social organizations including World Hindu Federation UK chapter and is always in the forefront of charitable and religious activities. He lives at Greenford with his family.

Executive Team

Jwalanta Shrestha (President) is the initiator of the HELP NEPAL Network eLibrary project and coordinated the deployment of the first eLibrary in Dang, among several others. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk Campus, Kathmandu. In the past, he has worked with the Department of Education, Nepal Government on the national education database project as Software Developer, and at Open Technologies Resource Center, IT Park as Research Associate. He currently works as an engineering manager at a healthtech startup in San Francisco. Email: jwalanta@gmail.com

Prabin Gautam (General Secretary) is working as Quality Assurance Lead and offshore coordinator in a Minnesota based Medical Insurance company. He lives in North Carolina with his wife and two kids. Prabin has a M.Sc. in Computing from the University of Northampton, UK and B.Sc.(Hons.) from Kathmandu University, Nepal. Prabin has worked as a Software Developer for Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya, Lalitpur, Nepal. Prabin has been involved with Help Nepal Network since 2007 on elibrary training, deployment and lately on fundraising initiatives. He is also a founder secretary of FOSS Nepal Community and Director of outreach at Archive Nepal Inc.

Rupesh Shimkhada (Treasurer) is a product manager and cloud architect at vmware, he holds MBA in Innovation and Technology from San Francisco State University. Prior to vmware he was consulting architect at IBM and other several start-ups in Silicon Valley. He is an entrepreneur, investor, likes social work and actively volunteers in various local community organizations in California and Nepal.

Bibek Paudel is a computer scientist working at Stanford University, with expertise in AI and machine learning, biomedical data science, and analysis of large networks. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from University of Zurich, Switzerland. In the past, he has volunteered for HeNN’s eLibrary project in Nepal. In his free time, he enjoys biking and running.

Jitendra Harlalka is a software engineer by profession. He received his Masters in Computer Science from North Carolina State University and Bachelors in Computer Engineering from Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk Campus. Jitendra has been part of multiple HeNN eLibrary projects and organized training for several eLibrary volunteers.

Board of Directors

Abhaya Shrestha (Chair) is a private equity investor based in New York. He started his career working in investment banking at Morgan Stanley and has spent more than two decades investing in privately held middle market businesses in North America, Europe and Asia. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Computer Science from Amherst College. In addition to HeNN, he has volunteered with the International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies, Overseas Development Network, Water Aid, the Akanksha Foundation, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, and Minds Matter of Chicago. He lives near New York City with his wife and two children.

Bipul Mainali is an entrepreneur, deal maker, lawyer and a leader focused on building and growing organizations and teams. He built his expertise in corporate governance, deal making & M&A at top tier law firms in New York. He has built, led and managed teams and programs at global technology companies. He enjoys collaborating with people and organizations that are mission and vision driven with social impact. He is a Harvard law alum. He is a former member of the Executive Team at HeNN USA where he helped with fundraising, project reviews, governance, board and compliance matters.

Mabi Singh DMD MS teaches at Tuft University School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA USA where he is also involved in oral health research. His clinic at Tufts specializes in acute and chronic lesions, oral effects of autoimmune diseases, radiation therapy to head and neck etc. Apart from professional work, he is involved in  charities and organizations for cultural preservation. In his free time, he enjoys ghazals, cooking and learning to take photographs.

Prerana Shrestha an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurobiology & Behavior at Stony Brook University in the Renaissance School of Medicine. Her lab studies the molecular and cellular basis of memory consolidation in healthy and diseased brain states. Prerana received her Ph.D. in Life Sciences from The Rockefeller University, and did her postdoctoral work at NYU Center for Neural Science, where she received recognition as a Molecular and Cellular Cognition Society Scholar in 2017. Since starting her own lab, Prerana has been named a Sloan Research Fellow by the Alfred P Sloan Foundation, and a Kavli Fellow by the National Academy of Sciences in 2022. She previously ran the NYC marathon in 2006 to raise funds for Help Nepal Network and has also served in the executive committee of the HeNN US chapter as a Program Director.

Shailesh Gongal is one of the co-founders of Help Nepal Network USA and Walk for Nepal. He serves as the Manager of Aviation Planning for Massachusetts Port Authority and provides strategic and master planning services for Boston Logan International Airport, Hanscom Field and Worcester Regional Airport. He is an Accredited Airport Executive (AAE) and leads the planning subcommittee for American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE). He earned his Master in City Planning from MIT and B.E. in civil engineering from National Institute of Technology, Durgapur. He is currently serving as a Head Coach for his son’s 5th grade soccer team in Belmont.