Meet Our Team

Our Story

Anisha has a deep connection to the community of Parbat, Nepal, where she was born and raised. Both of her parents are from Parbat and they attended classes at the schools Bahini Education Project is working in. Now, she wants to give back to her community because she sees how education can propel young girls to be leaders in their communities. Every girl, no matter where she is from, has the right to an education and the opportunity to be a leader in her community. Through the Bahini Education Project, Anisha hopes to inspire young women to believe in themselves and their abilities, and to show them that there is no limit to what they can achieve.

Anisha Lamsal

Founder & CEO

Anisha is an advocate for gender equality and is passionate about empowering young women in rural Nepal. She is an environmental engineer by profession, designing drinking water treatment systems that bring clean water to communities who need it most. The work closest to her heart is the Bahini Education Project. She believes that when we invest in girls’ education, we don’t just change one life, we change an entire community. Anisha was born in Parbat, the same place where the Bahini Education Project now runs its programs. Her parents studied in the same schools. Her work centers on supporting girls and giving them the opportunity to learn, lead, and lift others with them.

Dipak Sharma

Country Director

Dipak earned his BS in Sociology from Prithivi Narayan Campus, Nepal. Prior to joining Bahini Education Project, he worked as a coordinator at the Marie Stopes Center for 13 years in the Parbat and Arghakhachi districts of Nepal. He also has extensive experience working with various local schools in topics such as reproductive health & education and water, sanitation, and hygiene. He is active in various organizations including Lions Club International and the Red Cross.

Indira Tiwari

Instructor

Indira is an instructor for the after school programs teaching communication, leadership, and menstrual hygiene management. She is also a primary school teacher for grades 3 through 8. Her subjects include English, Science, Health, and Social Studies. She has been a teacher for 8 years. She is passionate about empowering young women because of her first-hand experience living and working in rural Nepal. From her experience, girls do not receive the same support as their males counterparts, especially regarding education.   

Nitu Adhikari

Social Media Coordinator

Nitu is currently pursuing her master’s degree in environmental science at the University of Oklahoma. Her research focuses on identifying Best Management Practices for stormwater management in the Great Plains region. She holds a bachelor’s degree in forestry and has experience of working with various nonprofit organizations in Nepal related to gender, climate change, and wildlife issues. As a first-generation college student and the first in her family to study abroad, she aspires to represent her roots while embracing new academic and cultural experiences. Nitu is passionate about the environment and enjoys spending time outdoors whether it's cycling, hiking, or trekking. Cows, especially baby calves, are her favorite animals.

Board of Directors

Prakriti Adhikari

President

Prakriti Adhikari is currently a Project Associate for the Innovation and Venture Department at UCI Health and is pursuing her Master of Healthcare Administration at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Having been born in Nepal and raised in Zambia, Prakriti has worked alongside many young girls, educating them about menstrual hygiene and distributing menstrual hygiene kits through her work with a nonprofit called Please Learn and Understand Menstruation (PLUM). Her personal experiences and dedication to women's health have fueled her commitment to empowering Nepali girls through education, making her eager to contribute to the Bahini Education Project’s mission.

Naomi Chang

Vice President

Naomi is currently a PhD student at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. She earned her M.S. in 2019 at the University of Colorado at Boulder and B.S. in 2014 at the University of Delaware, both in environmental engineering. From 2014 to 2016 she served as a Peace Corps education volunteer in Tanzania where she taught math and physics to secondary school students. During that time, she also hosted a 4-day conference with female teachers to discuss feminine hygiene, self-confidence, and gender equality with female students. Naomi had the opportunity to go back to Tanzania in the summer of 2019 on a Boren Fellowship as an intern with Maji Safi Group. She worked closely with local community health educators to create and improve educational materials on water, sanitation, and hygiene topics for the youth in the community. 

Shriya Ghimire

Treasurer

Shriya is currently a junior staff accountant working at AXS TV.  She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2021.  She is currently working on obtaining her CPA license. She is a big advocate for educating and empowering young women. Shriya was involved with Engineers Without Borders during her undergraduate career, which stirred her interest in nonprofit work.

Ajanma Lamsal

Secretary

Ajanma is a Civil Engineer at the Bureau of Reclamation. She earned her B.S. and M.S. from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2019. During her time at CU Boulder, she was involved in Engineers Without Borders – Nepal, which sparked her interest in non-profit work. Ajanma was born in rural Nepal, so she has always had an interest in helping young Nepali girls further their education and promoting women empowerment.

Rita Klees

Member

Dr. Klees is currently a Scholar-in-Residence in the University of Colorado-Boulder, U.S.A., Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering (CEAE); the Associate Faculty Director for Outreach with the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering (MCGE); and a Faculty Associate in the CU Environmental Studies Program. Dr. Klees, a retiree of the World Bank (2008), has over 25 years of experience addressing global development challenges related to natural and water resource management, drinking water supply and sanitation, and environmental health. Dr. Klees also holds degrees in Social Work and practiced in public education for ten years. As one of the first women to receive a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering at CU, she is passionate about increasing educational opportunities for women.

Carlo Salvinelli

Member

Dr. Salvinelli is a Teaching Assistant Professor at the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder where he teaches courses on humanitarian response and disaster management, international development project management, and field methods for development engineers. He has a BS in Industrial Engineering and a MS in Engineering Management from the University of Brescia, Italy, and a PhD in Geological Engineering from the Missouri University of Science and Technology where he conducted research focused on household water treatment systems for underserved communities. Dr. Salvinelli spent six years working as a practitioner for international NGOs, especially in Central America, where he designed and implemented international development projects, coordinated emergency response efforts, and facilitated international policy dialogues. The projects he managed addressed key development challenges including rural livelihood, water and sanitation access, rural electrification, disaster risk reduction, and natural resources management. His research interests include monitoring and impact evaluation of water service delivery solutions, the development of tools for disaster risk reduction and disaster management, and the coherence between humanitarian and development efforts in response to forced displacement related crises.

Amber Reed

Member

Amber is an experienced business and tax law attorney who helps businesses and individuals with contracts, business structuring, litigation, tax research, audit representation, resolution of tax controversies and estate planning. Amber also focuses part of her practice on assisting tax-exempt, non-profit organizations. In addition to being licensed to practice in all Colorado state courts, Amber is licensed to practice before the U.S. District Court of Colorado and the U.S. Tax Court. Amber enjoys yoga, gardening, hiking and spending time with her husband and two children. She has a special interest in nonprofit entities that lift up others and donates time to Mindful Works, a nonprofit, social enterprise in Boulder, CO.

Neal Gallagher

Member

Neal is a father of three girls who daylights as a Civil Engineer with the Bureau of Reclamation.  He holds a MS and BS in Civil Engineering, focused on water resources and water and wastewater treatment.  His Master’s thesis research focused on sustainable decentralized wastewater treatment. At Reclamation Neal works on the implementation of clean drinking water, wastewater, and desalination projects for public facilities, tribal nations, and in support of international communities.  He enjoys designing engineered natural treatment systems such as wetlands whenever possible. In 2010 he visited Haiti to support irrigation development work after a devastating earthquake hit the country.  He is grateful to contribute to the impactful work being done by the Bahini Education Project team.

Pranav Chintalapati

Member

Pranav is an Assistant Professor of Teaching in the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department at The University of British Columbia. He completed his PhD in Environmental Engineering in 2021 at the University of Colorado Boulder where he investigated the effects of maintenance interventions for the sustainability of rural water systems in Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and the Central African Republic. His research was part of the USAID Sustainable WASH Systems Learning Partnership and USAID Kenya RAPID Program. Prior to his PhD, Pranav worked in industry as a process engineer and did a masters in Chemical Engineering, researching the reduction of cyanotoxins in drinking water using ultraviolet radiation. During his masters, he was also a Project Coordinator for RES'EAU-WaterNET, where he helped develop a streamlined approach to implementing disinfection in First Nations communities on boil-water advisories, and a Sessional Faculty at Thompson Rivers University, where he taught courses in the Water Treatment Technology Program. Pranav has also spent time in rural Mexico learning and working on development projects related to appropriate technology and human rights. Pranav is passionate about education, and how it can be a tool for empowerment.

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