| Association of Nepalese Agricultural Professionals of Americas (NAPA) |
Advisory Council Members (2026 - 2028)
Chair:
Nanda P. Joshi, PhD
Member Secretary:
Ramjee Ghimire, PhD
Dr. Ghimire is a multidisciplinary researcher and development practitioner with expertise in international agricultural development and global health. He holds a Ph.D. in international agricultural development from Michigan State University (MSU), USA. At MSU, Dr. Ghimire oversees the WorldTAP food safety and Global Health Institute (GHI) “Health Security, One Health and Zoonoses” training programs. He led the Mekong One Health Innovation Program (MOHIP) in the Lower Mekong subregion and a project on Capacity Strengthening in Africa, among others. Dr. Ghimire has spearheaded international research, education, and outreach initiatives in collaboration with public, private, and nonprofit sectors, including academia. He has facilitated projects across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas promoting demand-driven, participatory, and pluralistic approaches. Before joining MSU, Dr. Ghimire served over sixteen years in Nepal providing technical and administrative oversight to district livestock development and animal health programs and monitoring and evaluation of national livestock services. Additionally, he served in collaborative projects on animal disease prevention and control and community development with national and international NGOs, including but not limited to the FAO, the USAID, and Winrock International. Since joining NAPA in 2016, Dr. Ghimire has actively contributed to and led in many different capacities: the Research Brief Editorial Committee (2018-2020), Resource Capacity Building Committee (2018-2020), General Secretary (2020-2022), Vice President (2022-2024), and President (2024-2026).
Members:
Lila Karki, PhD
Dr. Karki is an Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics and an Extension Program Evaluation Specialist at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES). With over 35 years of experience in teaching, research, extension, and outreach, secured >$12 million in extramural grants, published >75 peer-reviewed papers/abstracts, and delivered >265 conference presentations. His expertise includes program planning and evaluation, agricultural technology adoption, extension economics, impact assessment, climate-smart agriculture, and farmers’ capacity building. He is the Institutions Director for the Extension Section of the 1890/1994 Land-Grant Universities for the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association; member of the Maryland Food Systems Resiliency Council; advisor to the Professional Agricultural Workers Conference at Tuskegee University; the founding President of the Association of Nepalese Agricultural Professionals of Americas (NAPA); Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Fellow with the USDA Northeast Climate Hub; and a Lead 21 Fellow: Leadership Development for the 21st Century—Linking Research, Academics, and Extension
Pradeep Wagle, PhD
Dr. Pradeep Wagle is an internationally recognized scientist on biosphere-atmosphere interactions, carbon and water cycles of terrestrial ecosystems, and remote sensing of vegetation as documented in nearly 100 SCI-indexed peer-reviewed articles and >125 conference abstracts/proceedings. He received Ph.D. in Crop Science from Oklahoma State University (OSU) in 2013. From 2013 to 2015, Dr. Wagle worked as a Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Oklahoma (OU). Since 2016, he has been working as a Research Scientist with the USDA-ARS, El Reno, OK, USA. Dr. Wagle has received Certificate of Merits/Outstanding Performance & Achievement Awards from the USDA-ARS for consecutive years for his exceptional research and professional achievements. As an adjunct faculty, he also supervises/mentors graduate students and postdoctoral researchers at OSU, OU, and Mississippi State University. He has been serving as an Editor and reviewer for professional journals of meteorology, ecosystems/ecology, hydrology, and remote sensing.
Megh Nath Parajulee, PhD
Prakash Malla, PhD
Padam B. Singh, PhD
Khusi R. Tiwari, PhD
Ambika Tiwari
Ms. Bhandari earned a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Sciences (1998) from Tribhuvan University, IAAS College, Nepal. She served for four years as a technical research officer with the Nepal Agricultural Research Council and several other public and private institutions. She moved to the U.S. and engaged with nearly a dozen community organizations in various capacities, including Immediate Past President of Lions Club Baltimore and Ambassador, Himani Trust Maryland Bureau. She also gained experience at Johns Hopkins University, Medicine International Community Relations, Baltimore, and at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore as a Community Development Specialist. She has presented and published a few papers at conferences. She proudly became one of the five NAPA founding life members, served as a Board Director and Vice President, and was a Founding Member of Nepal Sports and Culture International, among many other organizations. She has received outstanding volunteer awards and Exemplary and Promising Urban Extension Project awards.