Board and Staff

Board of Directors

Laura Spero is the founder and Executive Director of Jevaia Foundation. She has spent over a decade volunteering, teaching, and designing programs in rural Nepal. Laura makes spends a few months per year living in the village of Kaskikot and working closely with local residents, both within Jevaia’s programs and informally in daily rural life. Laura speaks Nepali and brings a sensitive connection to the issues our programs to address, the context in which we operate, and a familiarity with the successes and challenges of other development projects in the region. Laura is also a freelance journalist, writer, and radio producer. You can read Laura’s personal blog, All the Pieces, about the village of Kaskikot, where she has been visiting her adopted Nepali family every year since 2002, when her experiences teaching in a primary school and working side by side with Nepali villagers provided the inspiration that became Jevaia.

Don Spero is a founding General Partner at New Markets Venture Partners, a venture capital firm investing in software, IT, healthcare and education. Previously he served for five years as the Director of the University of Maryland’s Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship. As founder and CEO of Fusion Systems Corporation, he has a successful and distinguished career in business management, consulting, strategic planning and executive leadership. He also has extensive experience as a director on the boards of public and private companies, as well as small and large non-profit organizations.

Nancy Chasen, JD began her career as a public interest attorney and contributes substantial advocacy and public relations skills to Jevaia’s Board. She has also worked as a TV reporter and producer. She served as Chair of the Advisory Board for the Montgomery County, MD Office of Consumer Protection and is currently a board member of the educational non-profit Living Classrooms, in Washington DC.

Herb Behrstock brings to Jevaia a thirty-two year career with the United Nations Development Program. He has served in eight developing countries, and for fifteen years was a senior official for Asian and African programs and policy. His assignments included UN Resident Coordinator for UN Operational Activities reporting to the UN Secretary General, Resident Representative of UNDP in Kazakhstan and Bhutan, and Deputy of the program in China for three years. He offers a wealth of experience in program management and coordination of development and humanitarian grant assistance, in accordance with priorities of each country. Presently Mr. Berhstock is serving as President of the UN Association’s chapter in the East Bay area of San Francisco.

Friends of Jevaia International

Dr. Kiran Awasthi, DDS, Health Development Society Nepal (Nepal)

Kathy Kretman, Director, Center for Public & Nonprofit Leadership, Georgetown University, (Washington D.C.)

Honorable Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky, Director, Women’s Campaign International (Pennsylvania)

Sam Worthington, CEO, InterAction

Allen Snyder, Attorney, (Washington D.C.)

Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky (Washington D.C.)

Jeff Schwartz, Kela Associates (Maryland)

Rajeev Goyal, Co-Director KTK-BELT Project, Former Peace Corps/Nepal Volunteer (Nepal)

Jevaia Oral Health Care – Nepal Staff

Rajendra Sapkota, Medical Coordination Officer

Rajendra joined the Jevaia team in June 2017 as our medical coordination officer.  He is a dental hygienist who comes to us from our partner Kantipur Dental Hospital.  Rajendra began his career as a volunteer at KDH and then moved up the ranks as a practicing hygienist and then a Health Education and Environment tutor, where he began providing intensive oral health education to rural communities.  In August 2017, Rajendra represented Jevaia at the International Conference of Oral Health Promotion for School Children in Siem Reap, Cambodia.  Rajendra brings to our team an irrepressible optimism and passion for developing excellent oral health care systems for underserved people in Nepal.

Muna Sharma, Finance and Office Manager

Muna keeps our office running smoothly by leading up our finance and administration.  She comes to Jevaia with a background as a social worker in the Pokhara area, where her work has focused especially on at-risk women and girls in rural areas.  Muna also helps keep a smile on everyone’s face with her hardworking personality and excellent dance moves after lunch.  If you call or stop by our office, you will definitely find Muna with a welcoming smile.

Gaurab Tripathi, Field Coordination Officer

Gaurab has been with JOHC since its initial trial in the original village of Kaskikot, where he started volunteering with the project in high school.  Gaurab worked as a clinic assistant in the Kaskikot dental clinic for four years, and eventually became our Medical Field Officer, overseeing everything from coordination of technician training and supervision to supply management.  Today Gaurab is JOHC’s Field Coordination Officer, where he supervises our health education programs and helps over fifty schools maintain their school brushing programs.  We can always count on Gaurab to put his shoulder behind whatever is needed, whether its pushing a stuck car out of the mud or hiking for many hours to supervise a school seminar.  Gaurab  is also an accomplished radio and print journalist.

Program Director

Coming Soon…

JEVAIA NEPAL, BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Gobinda Paudel, President, is a co-founder of Jevaia Oral Health Care (which was originally the Kaski Oral Health Care Project) which started in the village of Kaskikot in 2004.

Shiva Poudel, Treasurer came to Jevaia as a counselor with the Gaky’s Light Fellowship program.  Shiva currently works in finance and is active in a variety of social endeavors including the Lion’s Club of Kathmandu.

Shanti Shrish, Member has been an invaluable advisory board member of Jevaia Oral Health Care, and joins our formal board with a rich background in community-based rural programs spanning health care sector, child welfare, and research.

Deependra Chaulagain, Member is an experienced social entrepreneur currently residing in Kathmandu, with a strong interest in youth advocacy and peace building.  Deependra has been influential as the Operations Manager at Samriddhi, The Prosperity Foundation and also as a Director of Programs at Lead International Private, Limited.

ADVISORY BOARD

Tula Ram Sijali, Advisor

Prashant Koirala, Advisor, completed his MBA at the University of Maryland School of Business, and is currently based out of India as an associate with Focus Investment Banking. Prashant co-founded Entrepreneurial Partnership of Greater Washington (EPGW), a non-profit based in Washington, DC, to help budding entrepreneurs in Washington’s inner city.

Village Teams

Bharat Pokhari, Kaski District (2014 class)

Govinda, Team Leader

Krishna Acharya, Technician

Katuwachaupari + Pipaltari, Parbat District (2014) Class) 

Anita Subedi, Technician

Salyan, Kaski District (2015 Class)