Staff
Luna Ranjit - Adhikaar co-founder and current Executive Director Luna Ranjit has over ten years of experience in organizing, activism, and participatory action research in the US and South Asia. Prior to Adhikaar, she worked at Andolan, APICHA, and New Voices National Fellowship Program. She holds a bachelor's degree from Grinnell College, and a master's degree in public and international affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University. She currently lives in Jackson Heights, Queens. Contact: luna(at)adhikaar(dot)org
Narbada Chhetri - Senior Community Organizer
Narbada Chhetri leads the workers' rights program at Adhikaar, advocating for the rights of the community's sisters and brothers and assisting with access to services. She led Adhikaar in successfully campaigning for the New York State Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. She graduated from Makwanpur Multiple Campus in Nepal. Prior to coming to the U.S. in 2006, Narbada worked as a human rights activist in Nepal for 15 years. She currently lives in Woodside, Queens, with her daughter. Contact: narbada(at)adhikaar(dot)org
Namrata Pradhan - Organizing Fellow
Namrata is an Organizing Fellow, supported by the National Domestic Workers Alliance. Namrata was human rights lawyer in Nepal, and also served on Adhikaar's Steering Committee. Contact: namrata(at)adhikaar(dot)org
Interns:
Preeti Yonjan
Board of Directors
Mamta Gurung - Mamta Gurung is the Homeownership Program Manager at Chhaya CDC, a non-profit organization in Jackson Heights, Queens, focused on improving access to housing opportunities, resources and information for South Asian Americans. She has an extensive marketing, sales, and communications background. A recent immigrant herself, Mamta has been a strong advocate for immigrant rights and social justice for the South Asian community, and in particular for the Himalayan community in New York. She was also one of the co-founders for Manang Youth Society and has proactively promoted opportunities for youth of her community, and currently serves on the advisory board for local community group - Manang Samaj. Mamta has a Bachelor's degree in International Development and Mass Communication from The City University of New York, and a Masters in International Development from Cornell University.
Sukti Dhital - Sukti Dhital is a human rights lawyer, litigating on behalf of poor and marginalized communities. She is currently managing the Reproductive Rights Unit at the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), in New Delhi - India's largest legal aid organization. Prior to HRLN, Sukti was a staff attorney fellow at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Reproductive Freedom Project. She received her B.A. from the University of Michigan in 2000 and her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law in 2006. She was born in Kathmandu, Nepal, resides in New Delhi and New York City, and remains deeply committed to the issues facing the South Asian community both here and abroad. In her free time, Sukti practices yoga, ubuntu, and excessive consumption of momos.
Dr. Susan Hangen - Susan Hangen is Associate Professor of Anthropology and International Studies at Ramapo College. She is the author of Creating a New Nepal: The Ethnic Dimension and The Rise of Ethnic Politics in Nepal: Democracy in the Margins. She lives in New York with her spouse, Tika Gurung, and daughter, Jaya Gurung.
Tina Shrestha - Tina Shrestha is a PhD candidate in the Anthropology Department at Cornell University. She is currently undertaking her dissertation research that investigates the intricate relationship between 'immigrant identity' formation and transnational labor practices among Nepalis in New York City. She holds a M.A. in South Asian Studies from Columbia University.
Urvashi Kaul - Urvashi Kaul is an Assistant Director at New York City Economic Development Corporation. Previously, she was an Economist for Fiscal and Budget Studies at the Office of the New York City Comptroller. Since 2001, she has taught graduate level courses in economics, finance and planning at Columbia, Pace University and the Pratt Institute. Currently she teaches Environmental Finance and Environmental Economics at Columbia University. Urvashi has also worked in the nonprofit sector in New York and India in the areas of peace studies and development. A native of Kashmir, India, Urvashi holds an MPA from SIPA, with a concentration in International Finance and Economic Development and a Masters Degree from the Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi.Adhikaar Co-Founders
Tafadzwa Pasipanodya
Luna Ranjit
Rashmi Shrestha
Srijana Shrestha
