Executive Committee
Pawan Roy
Pawan Roy serves as the President of the Centre for Social Change (CSC), bringing over two decades of leadership experience in civil society, peacebuilding, international development, and grassroots advocacy in Nepal and beyond.
Pawan holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and Diplomacy, specialising in Diplomacy and Development, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Psychological Counselling, both from Tribhuvan University. He has further completed an MPhil in International Relations and Diplomacy from the Tribhuvan University.
His academic pursuits extend internationally, having completed specialised courses in peacebuilding and human rightsfrom the American University (USA), Uppsala University (Sweden), and the University of New South Wales (Australia). Pawan has been recognised for his scholarly contributions through distinguished fellowships. He was awarded a Senior Research Fellowship at Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China in 2018, and served as a Visiting Fellow at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University, Sweden in 2019.
Prior to leading CSC, Pawan served as President of Youth Action Nepal (2008–2012) and Secretary of the Association of Youth Organizations Nepal (2008–2010), where he played a pivotal role in shaping youth leadership in the country. As a seasoned project management professional, he has successfully led multi-year, multi-stakeholder projects funded by prominent international organisations. His project cycle management expertise encompasses close collaboration with government institutions, diplomatic missions, civil society organisations, local governments, and international development partners.
Rooted in his own lived experience as a member of one of Nepal’s marginalised communities, Pawan has been a steadfast advocate for the rights and dignity of marginalised groups, including youth, women, Dalits, and Madhesh. He has championed and supported numerous youth-led movements across Nepal, particularly in the areas of democracy promotion, environmental protection, and good governance, empowering young people to lead transformative change at the grassroots level. Pawan is an established researcher with expertise in peacebuilding, climate justice, and international development. He has authored and published several articles in reputed magazines and academic journals, contributing to policy discourse at both national and international levels.
Darshan Karki
Darshan Karki is Vice-President of Centre for Social Change. She has a Masters in Development Economics and Rural Development from South Asian University and Tribhuvan University respectively. She is currently pursuing a PhD at the Department of Geography, University of Zurich.
She has over a decade of experience in researching and writing on a wide range of development issues for both an academic and non-academic audience. She is also a professional editor with experience in editing newspapers, and I/NGO reports and a translator from Nepali to English and vice-versa.
Kalpana Rana Magar
Ms. Kalpana Rana Magar is currently serving as a Secretary General of Centre for Social Change. She has completed her Master of Arts in International Relations and Diplomacy from Tribhuvan University. As a part of exploring her skills and acquiring knowledge, she has participated in Nepal Peace Initiative Summer School 2020 and the Dialogue for Peace Workshop in 2019. Ms. Kalpana also serves as spokesperson for Centre for Social Change.
She has been engaged in migration governance issues of Nepal as a core research team member. Besides, she has been collaborating as a team member in Nepal Peace Portal, Nonviolence Book Project and Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. Ms. Magar previously served as a Research Associate at CSC and extensively in house desk research on labor migration issues of Nepal and based upon it she has published articles and blog.
Dr. Sanju Koirala
Dr. Sanju Koirala is serving as a Secretary of Centre for Social Change. She holds a PhD in Human Geography from the University of Otago, New Zealand. Her PhD research focuses on hydropower induced displacement, civil society engagement in hydro affairs, and social safeguard policy reforms in Nepal.
She is currently working with Policy Entrepreneurs Incorporated as a Senior Researcher (Water, Energy and Gender) and is responsible to ensure that the gender and social inclusion issues are addressed in research projects PEI is undertaking. Besides it, she is also an author to the journal article “Impacts of the delay in construction of a large scale hydropower project on potential displaces” and book chapter on “Multi Stakeholder Hydropower Disputes and its Resolutions in Nepal”.
Dr. Koirala is a social analyst by profession and has a decade long professional experience on issues around water resource management, disaster risk reduction, migration, poverty alleviation, education, youth, gender, and access to justice. Prior to her involvement with PEI, she worked as a Research Manager with Social Science Baha where she managed the research projects on access to justice and migration. She has also collaborated with Department of Geography, University of Otago and researched on Nepal-India hydro relationship. She was involved with various organizations such as Alliance for Social Dialogue, Caritas Nepal, Nepal Institute of Development Studies, UND/ Micro Enterprises Development Program and UNDP/ Community Based Flood and Glacial Lake Outburst Risk Reductions Project.
Om Chand Rauniyar
Mr. Om Chand Rauniyar is a Treasurer of Centre for Social Change and currently serving in Update Nepal Pvt. Ltd. He holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from Tribhuvan University. Mr. Rauniyar is a well-known sociologist and critically acclaimed film producer known for some of the box-office hits in Nepali film industry.
He is much interested in film making, exploring social stories, writing and travelling. His areas of expertise are specially web development, video editing and graphics design. Notably, his work are highly concerned in creating public awareness by reflecting existing social issues of the society. Some of his famous productions includes Kabaddi, Ghampani, Purano Dunga, and Machha-Machha.
Pratap Adhikari
Mr. Pratap Adhikari is a Member of Centre for Social Change. He holds a Master’s degree in Anthropology and Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from Tribhuvan University. He has more than 15 years of professional and leadership experience in development sector mainly in education, youth issues, women empowerment, and environment.
Apart from it, Mr. Adhikari has keen interest in project development and its proper implementation to have desired impact. Likewise he has been engaged in various research and consulting activities in recent time.
