Mr. Sanat Kumar Basnet is the retired Chief of the Armed Police Force (APF) in Nepal. From holding prominent positions in both the Nepal Army and Armed Police Force. Mr. Basnet has extensive experience enhancing security forces and responding to natural disasters. His commitment to disaster management and response is demonstrated by his establishment of the first Armed Police Force Disaster Management Training Center in Kurintar, Chitwan, which has significantly improved disaster preparedness operations on a regional and national level. 

Prior to holding the position of Chief of the Armed Police Force, Mr. Basnet filled several critical and demanding roles, such as Department Head of Operations for the Armed Police Force Headquarters, Department Head of Human Resources Development for the Armed Police Force Headquarters, and Brigade Commander of the Eastern Regional APF Brigade Headquarters. Throughout his successful career, Mr. Basnet also helped establish a professional and merit-based UN selection system for the APF. He has also been a valuable contributor to crucial conferences such as the International Association of the Chief of Police Conference. Mr. Basnet’s outstanding background is further evident through received awards, highlights being UN service medals and a NCC silver medal from the Indian Military Academy. 

Mr. Basnet received a Master’s Degree in Military Science from the Army Command and Staff College in the UK. Currently, he is applying his educational and professional experiences to several significant projects, a key one being a Torture Prevention Human Rights Project sponsored by the European Union. IGP Banset is excited to continue fostering change in the fields of security and crisis management.

Mr. Birendra Raj Pandey is a visionary infrastructure leader who is deeply committed to equipping the next generation of professionals to manage and mitigate disasters in a highly vulnerable region. With over 30 years of domestic and international experience, Mr. Pandey seamlessly bridges the gap between large-scale construction and crisis resilience. He currently serves as the Managing Director of Nepal Adarsha Nirman Company Pvt. Ltd. (NANC) and the President of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI).

Mr. Pandey’s academic foundation includes a Master of Engineering in Construction Engineering and Project Management from the Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand) and an MBA from Tribhuvan University. He is a Board Member of the Training Institute for Technical Instruction (TITI) and serves as a member of the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT). Additionally, he is a Board Member of the National Academy of Vocational Training (NAVT) and a member of the Board of Trustees of Madan Bhandari University of Science and Technology (MBUST).

A recognized thought leader in crisis recovery and infrastructure resilience, Mr. Pandey has presented extensively on disaster management. Notable global contributions include his presentation on "Post-Earthquake Reconstruction in Rural Communities of Nepal" at the IPMA Global Best Practice Week (2021) and his keynote address on the "Impact of COVID-19 on the Construction Industry" (2022). Furthermore, he led the comprehensive Nepal Infrastructure 2030: Investment and Financing Needs study, which addresses critical strategic needs in energy, transport, water, sanitation, and urban development.

Beyond his corporate and academic endeavors, Mr. Pandey is a dedicated community servant. He has held prominent international roles, including Secretary General of the International Federation of Asian and Western Pacific Contractors' Associations (IFAWPCA). He also actively serves as an Assistant Governor and Past President of Rotary International District 3292, championing community upliftment, crisis relief, and high ethical standards across Nepal and Bhutan.

Dr Kishor, visiting Associate Professor of Behavioural Sciences at O.P. Jindal Global University, has a doctoral level training with significant academic and professional experience in counseling, coaching, and mentoring training, and education. His expertise is built overs years of experience both in industry and academia in Silicon Valley, California, Bengaluru, Indian, and in Nepal. He was the principal of Samarpam Academy ICMS; Dhumbarahi, Kathmandu and also taught at Christ University, Bangalore. He also has professional level expertise in employee assistant program (EAP). He is interested in developing competent HR manager and entrepreneurship by combing behavioral science and technology. He has received Nepal Bidya Bhusan Padak Class A & B for his academic achievements from Government of Nepal in 2018. He has also received Information Communication Technology Award 2018 for the technological innovation in psychometric assessment in Nepal. He is also a founder of People Development Lab Pvt. Ltd., and acting principal and a member of board of directors of Institute of Crisis management and Studies (ICMS). He teaches career development and International HRM, and HRD Strategies to MBA students as an adjunct faculty in multiple colleges. Furthermore, Dr Adhikari is deeply involved in entrepreneurial development of youths.

Dr. Raju Thapa is a lawyer, disaster management expert, researcher, and humanitarian professional with extensive experience in disaster risk reduction, crisis management, human rights, peacebuilding, and public policy. He holds a PhD in Disaster Management and multiple master’s degrees in human rights, conflict and peace studies, political science, and sociology. He previously served as Member Secretary of the Government of Nepal’s National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR) and is the Immediate Past President of the Disaster Preparedness Network-Nepal (DPNet). He is also an Australia Awards Fellow in Inclusive Disaster Management and has led or contributed as a team member to numerous national and international initiatives related to disaster preparedness, humanitarian response, climate resilience, policy development, and institutional capacity building

Sambriddhi Kharel received a PhD in sociology from the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her
The dissertation examined "The Dialectics of Identity and Resistance among Dalits in Nepal.’ She
completed her Masters in Sociology and a Women’s Studies Certificate from the University of Louisville,
KY, USA. Her research interests lie in understanding social inequalities through intersectionality.
paradigm, i.e., the dynamic interaction of caste, class, race, ethnicity, gender, and region.

Her most recent research examined the enabling and constraining factors in translating the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Agenda from a gender equality and empowerment perspective She has also undertaken research in
collaboration with SOAS, University of London, focused on working conditions and the agency of women
construction workers in Nepal.

As a researcher at Social Science Baha, Kathmandu, her research projects included gender and
Nepal’s transition from war South Asia State of the Minorities Report 2016, Nepal Country Chapter,
Mental Health and Psycho-social Support Project Evaluation Study in Nepal, Assessment of Women at
Risk Post-Earthquake 2015 and Study on Impacts of Migration on the Forestry Sector, Forest Management
and forestry institutions in Nepal. She has represented interdisciplinary analysts as a gender and
Social Inclusion (GESI) expert for the Local Governance Perception Surveys III, IV, and V.
also taught sociology and gender courses at Pokhara University, Tribhuvan University, and Nepa School.
of social sciences and humanities in Nepal. She mostly undertakes projects related to social inequalities.
as an independent gender and social inclusion consultant. She has published in peer-reviewed
journals.

Pinkey Bogati is a faculty member, researcher, and disaster risk reduction professional with over a decade of experience in higher education, community-based research, and international development. Her work focuses on disaster risk reduction, gender and social inclusion, community resilience, climate change adaptation, and sustainable development. She has collaborated with international organizations, contributed to research publications, and participated in global training programs, including Australia Awards and Erasmus+ initiatives. Pinkey is committed to advancing inclusive policies and strengthening resilient communities through research, teaching, and knowledge sharing.

Dr. Thapaliya is a faculty member of the Master's/PhD Program in Conflict, Peace and Development Studies and Crisis Management Study at Tribhuvan University, Nepal. He holds a degree in International Law from Tribhuvan University, a Master's degree in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University (USA) and has been awarded a Ph.D. in Crisis Management from Atlantic International University (USA). His research interests include the role of the military in South Asia, identity based conflicts and crisis management of both natural and human-made disasters.

Dr. Thapaliya's experience as a mediator, facilitator and trainer has included work in the Balkans, South Asia and with the UNWFP, US government agencies, regional intergovernmental organizations, as well as international and local NGOs. He represented the Nepali Congress Party at the International Socialist Global Forum to reconfirm the party's commitment to the principle of democratic socialism. He is an advocate of Nepal's strategic foreign policy engagement and has served as an international secretary of the Party's Foreign Relations Department and is also a Goodwill Ambassador of the USA, as awarded by former President Bill Clinton.

Dr. Thapaliya covers a vast array of experience in conducting various types of assessments related to disaster risk management and risk reduction programming as well as planning at local and national levels. He is experienced in working with a variety of stakeholders, including local response agencies, organizations and others in building capacity in disaster preparedness and response. Additionally, he has experience in disaster risk management planning for local and national organizations, providing capacity-building workshops for actual response scenarios is another area where he is assisting. He has developed a disaster risk management educational curriculum and materials and has experience in utilizing the course curriculum and materials in working with local and national stakeholders to build disaster risk management knowledge and capacity.

During 2015, Dr. Ram Thapaliya served as the Honorary Disaster Management Advisor to the former Prime Minister Sushil Koirala at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers.