Ama Foundation Board Of Directors
Mary Averill - Western Massachusetts (Board Co-Chair)
Mary is a currently the Senior Manager of Integrated Behavioral Health at Commonwealth Care Alliance (CCA) . CCA is a health plan serving dual eligible (Medicare and Medicaid) citizens of Massachusetts ages 21+. In her role, Mary has managed the building and implementation of a team of 30 Clinical Social Workers and Community Health Outreach Workers into CCA’s medical model of care. Prior to CCA, Mary has worked in Higher Education Finance Policy, state government, private practice and as a public school teacher. For over 10 years, Mary’s private clinical work has focused on trauma work and interventions with children and families.
In addition, Mary is a mother, photographer and social worker whose life’s journey has been informed by her passion to comprehend the complexity of human nature. From the corners of the world to the streets of the inner city, she has explored the many faces of people, either through the lens of her camera or through the compassion of her heart. Mary’s photo work has been shown internationally.
Patricia “Trish” Ellison, CYCLA LLC, Federal Heights, Colorado (Board Co-Chair)
Trish has been working directly in the Thrift Store and Secondary Material Recycling Industry since 1996. In 2007, Trish started CYCLA LLC, Thrift Store Recycling Professionals, focused purely on the recycling needs of thrift stores, consignment shops and other aftermarket used textile businesses. CYCLA currently recycles post-consumer reusable clothing, shoes, purses, belts, backpacks, bedding, bath, draperies, housewares, books, metals and cardboard. CYCLA LLC , was honored to be recognized on the 2013 Top 50 Colorado Companies to Watch List and again recognized in the 2015 Top 100 Women Owned Colorado Businesses List ranking 36th. Trish’s grandfather, who launched Value Village in the Washington DC area in the 1950’s, had a vision to create community partnerships between for-profit thrift stores and charitable organizations to provide sustainable funding for their cause. These nonprofit/for-profit partnerships have been instrumental in launching hundreds of healthy, strong and sustainable nonprofits over the years, allowing them to focus their time on fulfilling their charitable organization’s purpose. Trish hopes to use her skills and experience to help raise Ama Foundation’s fundraising profile as well. She has visited Ama Ghar many times and has a personal interest in the lives of all the children.
Suyesh Karki, Ernst & Young, Salt Lake City
Suyesh Karki is a Manager in Ernst & Young’s Advisory/Consulting Services in Salt Lake City, Utah. This role includes managing engagements relating to compliance with technology, security, and privacy standards. In 2006, Suyesh graduated with a B.S. in Information Systems from Brigham Young University in Utah and in 2008, Suyesh earned an M.S. in Accounting from University of Notre Dame, Indiana. He is a Certified Information Security and Information Privacy professional. Suyesh is passionate about giving back to his community, especially contributing to the growth of the underprivileged children in his home country of Nepal. He hopes to build relationships with the Ama Ghar children at a personal level and strives to create a positive impact on the lives of these children by supporting their intellectual and physical growth. He believes that an educated society holds the keys to any kind of sustainable development in Nepal and is excited to have an opportunity to contribute towards achieving it.
Yasmijn Adhikari, Former Global Securities Lending Group, BlackRock, Inc., San Francisco, (Treasurer)
Yasmijn Adhikari resides in San Francisco with her husband and two sons. She first traveled to Nepal in 2004 for her wedding (her husband is Nepali) and immediately fell in love with the people and culture. Since then, Yasmijn has traveled to Nepal numerous times. In 2012 she spend three months in Nepal taking Nepali Language classes and volunteering at a local pre-school her son was attending. Yasmijn has over eight years of experience in the hedge fund services and alternative investment management industry and worked for BlackRock, one of the largest asset managers in the world, in their Global Securities Lending group, until the birth of her second son. Yasmijn has a degree in Finance and International Business from Florida State University. She has lived in the Netherlands, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates (Dubai) and is an avid traveler. She believes that her global upbringing, passion for kids and education and financial background puts her in a unique position to help the Ama Foundation.
Jane Ellison, Interior Designer, San Rafael, California
With over 20 years of experience, Jane has built a loyal following of clients with her exclusive network of artisanal resources, eye for quality and total professionalism. A graduate of Academy of Art University, she is a certified Feng Shui consultant, a Green Design specialist and an Allied Member of the American Society of Interior Designers. A former nurse and mother of four children, Jane found her first visit to Ama Ghar with her children was life changing and eye opening. She feels fortunate and wants to give back by helping these underprivileged children, working with an organization that truly makes a difference. Jane also volunteers for the Pristine Mind Foundation, a San Francisco Bay Area Buddhist meditation group.
Sarah Nikles, Geneva, Switzerland
Sarah Nikles lives in Geneva, Switzerland with her husband, Alain and her small daughter. She is an accountant for a US company, working with Greece, France and Germany, and she’s in charge of all the billing activities around the globe. Sarah first heard about the Ama Foundation in 2008 from her friend Serap Jamgbu Sherpa. One of her wishes was to come to Nepal to spend time with children, and one year later, in October 2009, she pushed open the door of Ama Ghar for the first time, and fell in love – Ama Ghar is now one of the most important things in Sarah’s life. In January 2013, she and Alain, along with six friends who came to Ama Ghar, created Ama Ghar Suisse in order to be closer to the Swiss people who donate each year. According to Sarah, “Switzerland is a very small country, but Swiss people are very generous. We hope that we will give more money to Ama Ghar every year.”
Andrea Osbon, Commercial Banking, Wells Fargo - San Francisco
Andi was born and raised in Southern California where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from California State University of Long Beach.
At 22, she moved to the UK where I earned my Master’s Degree in Media and Cultural Politics.She spent three years in England and developed a love for travel that she's never been able to shake.
She moved to San Francisco and continued her career in Commercial Banking with Wells Fargo where she met Nick Ray - they quit their jobs in 2015 to travel around the world for 1.5 years; this was when they first visited Nepal and Ama Ghar.
They fell in love with Nepal, the mountains and the children, and they came back a second time before they left Asia and a third time in November 2018.
Andi is thrilled to have the opportunity to be a part of an organization that does amazing work and with whose mission she aligns so closely.
Nick Ray, Wells Fargo Bank, Commercial Banking - San Francisco
Nick resides in San Francisco with his partner Andrea Osbon.
He has spent his 11 year career working in Commercial Banking with Wells Fargo, primarily in Relationship Management. He studied Business Administration at California State University, Chico.
His first visit to Nepal was in 2015, when he was on a 18 month travel break, and he fell in love with the country and people immediately. Ama Ghar was introduced to Nick by a San Francisco friend who had spent time volunteering with the organization. Nick was deeply touched by the compassion and love of the staff, the countless stories that Bonnie shared, and especially, the joy and laughter of the Ama Ghar children.
He believes that his passion about the organization, finance background, and Bay Area network will help raise money and bring awareness to the Ama Foundation.
Stacy Hersher, Director of Social Media, PopSugar - San Francisco Bay Area
Stacy Hersher lives in the Bay Area of California with her husband and daughter. She earned a degree in English from Vanderbilt University in 2008 and worked in sales in New York City before packing her bags and traveling to Nepal and India in the Fall of 2009. She spent five weeks at Ama Ghar, where she fell in love with the children and the Nepalese people and culture. She is inspired by Ama Ghar's commitment to providing a safe home and education to the children and is thrilled to support their mission through the Ama Foundation.
Matthew Mason, Attorney/Business Operations & Logistics Specialist - Northern California
Matthew grew up in Michigan and graduated from Anderson University in Indiana with degrees in Psychology and Political Science before earning his J.D. at Duke University. After two years in Chicago, he moved to San Francisco in 2010 on the advice of his law school roommate, whose then-girlfriend, now-wife was visiting Ama Ghar. Several years later, he quit his job as an employment lawyer and traveled the world for three years. He first visited Ama Ghar in September 2015 where he stayed a month and fell in love with and adored the children, the remarkably caring staff, the ever-endearing Bonnie, and the country and people of Nepal. After visiting Ama Ghar on three separate occasions, he returned to the U.S. where he has done logistical planning and operations management for an events startup company, and managed operations for an organic strawberry and pumpkin farm in Watsonville, California.