I work at the juncture of science, policy and advocacy in order to promote just ecosystem management at the local, national, regional and global level. In this way I contribute to protecting the pulse of the planet.

I work with people from diverse cultural and professional backgrounds, and we constantly learn from each other. I consider this a great privilege.

I am passionate about protecting nature and improving the lives and livelihoods of people of this region. A proud mother of two girls, I also love to play table tennis, swim, and travel to new places.

I am a trained forester with several years of research and teaching experience in natural resources management in Australia, Austria, Cambodia and the Hindu Kush Himalaya. I earned my PhD from Macquarie University in Australia, where I critically analysed the global ecosystem services discourse with a case study on the Mai Pokhari Ramsar Site of Nepal. I have an MSc in protected area management (Austria), BSc in forestry (Nepal) and a graduate-level Asia Pacific Leadership Certificate from the University of Hawaii (USA). I was a visiting researcher at the University of Cambridge, UK and the University of British Columbia, Canada. I have been awarded several fellowships and grants including Nepal Bidhya Bhusan ‘B’, MQ Research Excellence Fellowship, East-West Centre Graduate Fellowship, Austrian Development Agency, Ford Foundation, WWF Prince Bernhard, Nuffic, and International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO), among others. I have published over two dozen articles in peer reviewed journals and have authored book chapters, some of which can be accessed at https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=UMMd1jAAAAAJ&hl=en