ACCOUNTABILITY LAB NEPAL

NARAYAN ADHIKARI

Country Director

Narayan studied forestry, but rejected a post as a Forest Ranger when he realized the corrupt nature of the Nepalese bureaucracy. Instead, he joined a youth movement and environmental group to teach rural communities how to use renewable energy for sustainable livelihoods, and worked as the Executive Director of Youth Initiative in Nepal. After ten years in the development sector, Narayan concluded that the key to development is accountability, and he helped set up and lead the Global Youth Anti-Corruption Network (GYAC). His desire and commitment to encourage new ideas for building accountability led him to join the Accountability Lab, register it as a local Nepali organization, and work to expand it to other countries in the region. Narayan was recently honored as an Atlas Corps Think Tank (LINKS) Fellow in Washington DC. He is a graduate of Stanford Business School’s Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders and the International Anti-Corruption Academy, and one of Asia Society’s Asia 21 Young Leaders.

Hometown: Chitwan, Nepal

When I’m not at work I’m: getting my hands dirty in the garden with my son and wife

Ask me about: building a house out of earthbags, and tracking rumors around the Nepal earthquake

SUNIL POUDYAL

Associate Director – Finance and Administration

Sunil received a Master’s degree in Business Studies from Tribhuvan University in Nepal, and then worked as a Finance and Administrative Officer at a private insurance company for six years–conducting analysis on risk and return for non-life insurance. He then went on to pursue his dream of setting up a community-based agro enterprise, and worked as Chief Administrator of the Asian College of Advance Studies. He served on Accountability Lab Nepal’s Board of Directors, helping lay the foundation for the Lab’s work in Nepal. When the devastating earthquakes hit Nepal in 2015, he immediately knew he wanted to get more involved in philanthropic endeavors. He joined the Lab full-time at that point to contribute his time and skills by managing the Lab’s finance and compliance systems in Nepal.

Hometown: Siphal, Kathmandu

When I’m not at work I’m: playing with my little daughter or hiking with friends

Ask me about: organic vegetable farming

BIKIN GHIMIRE

Communications and Product Manager

Bikin has always been passionate about creating change. While freelancing as a web developer during his undergraduate studies, Bikin saw corruption, a lack of accountability, and unreliability in many organizations. He received a bachelor’s degree in Computing at Islington College in Kathmandu, and started working with the Mobile Citizen Helpdesk shortly after the 2015 earthquake as just another job. He soon got more involved with Accountability Lab and learned about building integrity within organizations and the government. Bikin now uses his skillset to help Accountability Lab with graphic design, website maintenance, and data visualization – hoping to attract more people to the Lab’s work while simultaneously getting experience working in an accountable environment. He also serves as the global designer for the Integrity Idol website and design consultant for much of the Lab’s work. He now views himself as not just a technical person, but a social change-maker.

Hometown: Kathmandu, Nepal

When I’m not at work, I’m: reading novels or writing fiction

Ask me about: football and English literature

SONI KHANAL

Learning Manager

Growing up in Kathmandu with frequent visits to her parents’ home in rural Gulmi, a district in Western Nepal with scarce resources, Soni saw the sharp contrast in standard of living granted to citizens in urban versus rural settings. Motivated to allow equal access to basic services for all, she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work at the University of Mumbai and a Master’s Degree in Development Studies at the University of Sussex. Specializing in social science research and monitoring and evaluation, she has consulted for the Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe Nepal Earthquake Response Program, USAID Baliyo Ghar project, and worked with Social Science Baha, a renowned research institute in Nepal for more than two years on issues including labour migration, post-earthquake assessments, gender studies, and climate change. Recognizing that many of the developing world’s most pressing issues stem from a lack of accountability, she joins the Lab in Nepal keen on making a difference.

Hometown: Kathmandu.

When I am not at work, I am: Reading both fiction and non-fiction depending on the
mood.

Ask me about: Listening to and being friends with people of all age groups.

ASHMITA SHARMA

Program Manager

Ashmita has been involved with various youth organizations in Nepal, including Youth Initiative, YUWA, People’s Climate March and Children Home Protection. She started volunteering with Accountability Lab in 2014 while pursuing her Bachelor’s in Social Work. She gradually came to understand and be concerned about the need for accountability within Nepali society. She now works as a Resident, leading the Integrity Icon program as well assisting with the Mobile Citizen Helpdesk teams. She is simultaneously pursuing a Master’s degree in Gender Studies from Tribhuvan University to explore new ways to promote accountability in gender and social inclusion issues in Nepal.

Hometown: Kathmandu, Nepal

What I’m doing when I’m not at work: going to the movies, spending time with friends, and visiting new places

Ask me about: my love for dogs

SURESH CHAND

Associate Program Director

Suresh grew up living and observing the challenges faced by a rural community in one of the poorest countries in the world. During his undergraduate degree, he initiated a campaign to establish a library in an underprivileged local government school. He then pursued a Master’s degree in Conflict Peace and Development Studies from Tribhuvan University, aspiring to contribute to conflict resolution in Nepal. After working for several years, he learned about Accountability Lab, and was recruited as a volunteer during the initial phase of Lab’s work in Nepal. He also worked for one of the Lab’s accountapreneurs, GalliGalli, as a social media coordinator. By helping to organize panel discussions for the community, he was able to gain experience on the daily issues faced by the public. Suresh now works full-time for the Lab, leading the Accountability Incubator program. He is dedicated to building accountability in Nepal in order to improve the lives of struggling rural communities.

Hometown: Kailali, Nepal

When I’m not at work I’m: Reading Nepali literature, watching Hindi films or visiting relatives

Ask me about: translating documents into Nepali

AAYUSH YAGOL

Communications and Creative Officer

Aayush is passionate about helping his community. Since completing his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Aayush has been committed to working on lack of accountability and reliability of governmental organizations. He has been involved in a number social acts, especially after the 2015 earthquake. Aayush has worked in numerous web development projects and has experience designing and developing web applications.

Hometown: Kathmandu, Nepal

When I’m not at work I’m: Playing or listening to music, watching movies or traveling.

Ask me about: music, football, art

SUMAN TAMANG

Senior Admin Associate

Suman completed high school in India and then returned to his hometown in Nepal. However, financial challenges compelled Suman to travel to the United Arab Emirates as a migrant labor at a tender age. Unfortunately, the company that he worked for in the UAE did not provide the level of salary and benefits stated in his job contract. Frustrated, Suman soon returned to Nepal and joined a marketing company in Kathmandu. Suman is now an important member of Accountability Lab Nepal team, assisting with banking, driving, and more. Modest and hardworking, he does an excellent managing logistics and providing a supporting hand to the rest of the team.

Hometown: Nuwakot, Nepal

What I am not at work I’m: Spending time with friends and watching movies

Ask me about: Driving safely in Kathmandu traffic

SABI PANDIT

Office Support Assistant

Sabi is a humble and strong-hearted person brought up in hilly regions of Nepal. Born to a poor family, she was denied education and had to struggle to live a normal life. Luckily, she realized the significance of education and has been working hard day and night in order to provide a proper education for her daughter. She now has a secretarial role at Accountability Lab Nepal. She supports the office by maintaining the office cleanliness, looking after office equipment, and even preparing healthy lunches for the whole team each day.

Hometown: Dolakha, Nepal

What I am not at work I’m: spending as much time as I can with my daughter

Ask me about: cooking a variety of dishes and caring for others

RAJU SHARMA

Provincial Coordinator – Lumbini Province

Raju has vast experiences and knowledge in public policy and governance. He completed his Masters degree from the North South University in Dhaka, Bangladesh and has worked in governance, youth leadership development, health and capacity building. He has been a student of governance and federal structure of Nepal ever since the federalization in Nepal. His interests in the sub-national government’s working and the especially the private sector’s involvement in government has led him to host and facilitate many trainings, workshops and dialogues in his province. He believes that with his academic knowledge in governance and public policy, and experiences in rural development, along with his personal motivation to convene public and private sectors for development, he can be an integral part for the lab to reach its goal of enabling sub-national environment for public private partnership in Nepal.

Hometown: Butwal, Nepal

When I’m not at work, I’m: Travelling in the wilderness

Ask me about: Public policy, governance and federalism

PREKSHYA BIMALI

Program Officer

Preksha is a public health graduate. During the course of study and field visit she realized the need of health education and promotion as the lack of information among the general public to utilize available health services made her want to improve the situation in Nepal. She has worked with the district health office in meeting the health demands of the people where she realized that people are not just unaware about health education but their overall rights and the liability of government towards them. He has gained a lot of experience through volunteering in teaching, article writing, translating and research in the past and has been interested to help communities ever since she interned for the Accountability Lab back in 2018.

Hometown: Kathmandu, Nepal

When I am not at work, I’m: I am at home watching talk shows or movies

Ask me about: What’s trending

SUCHITA SHRESTHA

Finance Associate

Suchita Shrestha completed a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Apex college, affiliated with Pokhara University. Before joining Accountability Lab, she worked as a Career Counselor at Apex Career Services (ACS). Following this, she explored other career options that best fit her educational background, and that’s how she came to learn about Accountability Lab. As Finance Associate, she manages the organization’s finances by monitoring its income and expenditure. She oversees accounting, payment runs, and the maintenance of financial records, ensuring financial data accuracy. Suchita believes that being accountable means working with integrity and by improving accountability, we can reduce the risk of bad consequences in our societies.

Hometown: Morang, Nepal
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When I am not at work, I’m: I watch movies, hang out with friends or learning new dance steps

Ask me about: Dance steps

SUVECHCHHA CHAPAGAIN

Program Officer

Suvechchha is pursuing her Master’s degree in International Relations and Diplomacy at Tribhuvan University and has previous work experience as a Communication Associate at Creation Nepal and Copy Editor at SB Web Technology. Passionate about gender, human rights, and governance, she was also a part of a fellowship program of Women Lead Nepal titled Young Women Political Leadership Institution in 2016/17. Moreover, she is an active Rotaract member, currently serving as a Secretary of the Rotaract Club of Manohara. She believes that only informed and knowledgeable youths can contribute to remove the social and political irregularities within the country and is striving to develop herself further to follow this mission. After being part of the Integrity Fellowship in 2017, Suvechchha was inspired by the work of Accountability Lab around good governance, transparency, and integrity and joined as part of the full-time staff. She considers herself a youth change-maker.

Hometown: Kathmandu, Nepal

When I’m not at work, I’m: Reading global affairs, poetries or listening to music

Ask me about: World history and literature

NITEE SHRESTHA

Assistant Program Manager

I started my journey at Accountability Lab Nepal as a volunteer with a learning attitude. Prior to joining the Lab, I was oblivious to the social issues and injustices around me. After working for a few months at the Lab as a volunteer, I realized how important accountability is in all sectors for a fair and just community. I continued working as a full-time staff, focusing on the Integrity Icon campaign, which I was keen about. Working at the Lab has helped me broaden my knowledge of what’s happening in Nepal and around the world. The experience has helped me grow personally as an advocate for change. I enjoy working with young people and potentially helping them grow into inspirational leaders in the future.

Hometown: Kathmandu, Nepal

When I’m not at work, I’m: I travel to beautiful places, play with my baby, watch South Indian movies, and read books

Ask me about: Skin care routines and beauty tips

OSHIN MAHARJAN

Junior Project Associate

Oshin is a passionate worker with an interest in working with young people. She loves adventures and challenging herself to overcome her fears. She holds a Bachelor’s in Social Work and currently completing a Master’s in Conflict, Peace and Development Studies. Gathering her experiences in different organizations, she found an interest in working with active youths who can creatively bring new ideas for development. Young people are the nation’s future; to function properly, public agencies must be accountable. Youth can bring lots of ideas collectively for accountability issues. That’s why she’s surrounded herself with a network working for accountability.

Hometown: Kathmandu, Nepal

When I’m not at work, I’m: Enjoying entertainments

Ask me about: Freestyle dance moves

SUMAN KUMARI BOHARA

Graphic Designer

Suman Kumari Bohara is passionate about expressing her thoughts through art and creativity, leading her to complete her undergraduate studies in Information Management, where she learned graphics designing, videography and animation. She started working in a digital advertising agency, furthering her professional skills while sharpening her graphics design and animation skills. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many government accountability issues were highlighted in the media, piquing her interest in accountability issues. She hopes her interest in working to make government accountable will be realized through her work at the Lab. She supports the Lab in increasing its media presence while attracting more people to the work with beautiful and informative multimedia products.

Hometown: Kathmandu, Nepal

When I’m not at work, I’m: At home watching Netflix or traveling.

Ask me about: Dance and ancient stories of Gods