Campaign Team
Kaydor Aukatsang (fundraising and campaign director) most recently worked as the Development Director at the Natural Capital Institute, a nonprofit based in Sausalito, CA. His experience includes working as the U.S. Representative for Instituto Terra, a Brazilian environmental organization founded by the Brazilian photojournalist Sebastião Salgado and his wife Lélia Wanick Salgado. He was with the Tides Foundation (San Francisco) from 2000-2003 as a Philanthropic Advisor where he advised and managed some of Tides’ institutional and family foundation clients. Prior to Tides, he worked at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (New York City) on the Fund’s grantmaking programs in Central Europe, and South Africa. Kaydor was with the International Campaign for Tibet (Washington, D.C.) from 1993 to 1996. He has a BA from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi, India; and an MA degree in International Business and Politics from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Boston.
Chime Lhamo (community fundraiser/real estate) is from Lugsam Tibetan Settlement, Bylakuppe of South India. Before immigrating to US in 1992, Chime served Tibetan Co-operative Society Stores, Sermey Handicraft Center and Namdrolling Monastery as accountant for nearly fifteen years. She also served Tibetan Children’s Welfare Association sponsored by German Aid to Tibetans Mrs. Irmtraut Wager, as accountant cum Secretary. Chime is a dedicated daughter, wife and mother. While struggling hard to bring her big family over, she worked day and night. She also served Tibetan Community as Green Book collector for two years. Chime Lhamo is former President of Tibetan Association of Northern California and decided to join TCC core team in order to continue her dedication and work hard to achieve community’s dream goal in creating a Community Center for Tibetans in Bay Area.
Chris McKenna (fundraising/project development) is the Development Director of the Center for Justice & Accountability (CJA), a human rights organization launched by Amnesty International and the UN Fund for Victims of Torture that helps torture survivors hold human rights abusers legally accountable, provides referrals for medical and psycho-social services for survivors and their family members, and works to ensure that the U.S. legal system plays a role in the international human rights movement. He has been a grant and communications writer for the American Civil Liberties Union, Vision Youthz, and WITNESS. Chris serves on the Board of Directors of Tibet Justice Center and Bay Area International Development Organizations (BAIDO). He received his B.A. in 1999 from Columbia University in Middle-Eastern & Asian Languages & Cultures (MEALAC).
Dechen Naga (accounting) works as an Accounts Consultant at EndresWare. She also works for ACP, Inc. as an Accountant/Office Manager. Dechen did her schooling at Tibetan Childrens Village school. She completed her Masters and Bachelors in commerce from Madras Christian College, Chennai. Dechen is a current board member of the Tibetan Association of Northern California serving as an Accountant.
Thupten Norbu (programs) works in the International Development field and is interested in project design, strategic planning, and capacity development. He has a BA in Human Ecology with a concentration in Sustainable Development from College of the Atlantic in Maine, and a Certificate in Development Project Management from Monterey Institute of International Studies in California. He was the first Tibetan to attend the Mahindra United World College of India in Pune where he completed his International Baccalaureate Diploma, and represented Tibetan amongst the approximately 225 student body drawn from over 76 different countries. Through the Davis United World Colleges Scholarship program, he completed his higher education, and traveled to South Africa for a conference and Australia for studies. He attended Central School for Tibetans in Kurseong and Kalimpong in West Bengal in India. Prior to joining TCCNC, he has volunteered with Tibetan organizations including International Campaign for Tibet, Tibet Justice Center, and Friends of Tibet, India.
Fran Strachan (strategy) has been working with the Tibetan Community for 15 years. In 1991 he was one of the first employers in the Bay Area to employ Tibetans through the Resettlement Project. Over the years, his company (Zia Natural Skincare) employed a number of Tibetans until the company was acquired in 2005. Fran also served on the Board of Directors of The Tibet Justice Center for a number of years in the late 90’s. Fran is a graduate of Merrimack College in North Andover Massachusetts. He lives in Mill Valley with his wife Amy and two sons, Skye and Kieran
Kalsang Y. Tashi (programs) works for a private wealth management team at UBS Financial Services in San Francisco. Kalsang attended the Tibetan Children’s Village (TCV) school and graduated from Woodstock International School in India. She received her Bachelors degree in Economics and Peace & Conflict Resolution Studies from Brandeis University in Waltham, MA. At Brandeis, she was the President of the Students for a Free Tibet chapter. She has interned at the International Campaign for Tibet office in Washington, DC and prior to relocating to the Bay Area, worked with the Agile Group in Colorado in their investor relations department. Kalsang is also on the board of San Francisco Tibetan Youth Congress and occasionally volunteers for the Tibetan Village Project, a Denver based Tibetan-run non-profit that does grassroots development work in Tibet.
Tenzin N. Tethong (Advisor) is Chair of the Committee of 100 for Tibet, and President of the Dalai Lama Foundation. He is Distinguished Fellow, Tibetan Studies Initiative, and a member of the Center for Compassion & Altruism Research and Education, Stanford University. He is a former Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in New York and Washington, D.C., and former Chairman of the Kashag, the Cabinet of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. A founding member of Sheja Magazine and the Tibetan Youth Congress, he was worked all his life with Tibetan exiles as a teacher, journalist and grassroots activist. He is the founder of key Tibet initiatives in the U.S. such as the Tibet Fund, Tibet House – New York, the International Campaign for Tibet, and the Dalai Lama Foundation.
Sonam Thunden (finance/real estate) is a graduate of Haas School of Business at University of California, Berkeley. Her parents are from Kanze, Eastern Tibet but she grew up in Darjeeling, India. While living in Japan, she started a Tibet support ogranization, Tibet Friend Hokkaido, which helped built the first school, Ngoenga School, for Tibetan handicapped children in Dehradun, India in 2000. Sonam currently works as Finance Associate for Google in Mountain View, CA. Before joining Google, she worked for two Japanese corporations, NTT and Yaskawa. Sonam speaks English, Tibetan, Hindi, Nepali and Japanese. She is an amateur potter and has two cats, Sanu and Rudy.
Dechen Tsering (project management/community outreach) earned a Masters degree in international public health from Tulane University in New Orleans and a Bachelor of Arts in environmental science from Antioch College in Ohio. Dechen worked with the Seva Foundation in Berkeley, which strives to improve health care in the Global South through a holistic approach. At the Seva Foundation, she focused her program work on India, Tibet, Nepal and Cambodia. In addition, Dechen has worked for the Trace Foundation in New York, which promotes the cultural continuity and sustainable development of Tibetan communities inside Tibet, and has a strong activist background. Dechen’s first trip to Lhasa, Tibet was in 1998 for four months as a research assistant after which she visited Eastern Tibet twice. For the past 3.5 years, Dechen was the Program Officer for Asia & Oceania at Global Fund for Women, a grantmaking foundation in San Francisco. Dechen is currently the President of the Tibetan Association of Northern California (TANC). She is fluent in Tibetan, Hindi, Nepali, Newari and English.
Ugyen Tsering (community coordinator) escaped from Tibet at a very young age and joined the Central School for Tibetans in Mussoorie, India. He joined Hans Raj College, University of Delhi in 1971 and obtained a bachelors degree in Economics. Ugyen obtained another bacherlors degree in Education in 1976 from the Banaras Hindu University and worked as a teacher and later as a school administrator for over 17 years in India. He was selected to receive a Fullbright Scholarship in 1992 and studied at the University of New Hampshire where he received a degree in Economics of Land and Resource use. Ugyen immigrated to the U.S. in 1998. He has served as Vice President of TANC for one term and Chartel Committee (Green Book) member for over two years.
Other Key Team Members
Tenzin Nyima (Webmaster) was born in India and completed his schooling from Central School for Tibetans (CST), Mussooorie, 2003. With his friends he started Tibetan World Magazine and worked as Managing Director, and freelance writer. He came to United States in 2008 and is studying computer science with a goal of enrolling into four year college.
Tenzin Wangmo Shakya (Database Administrator) is a native Tibetan. Born in Nepal and raised in India, Tenzin moved to California at the age of nine. Tenzin is currently studying Journalism at San Francisco State university. Her main interests include social justice, public policy, human rights and free speech. She serves on the board of the SF Regional Tibetan Youth Congress, working to promote educational and cultural activities for Tibetan youth in the Bay Area. Tenzin has been a volunteer with local organizations such as The American Red Cross, Students for Free Tibet, Global Exchange, One Brick, Stand Up for Kids, a battered women’s center and the Tibetan Association of Northern California. Tenzin is fluent in three different languages; Tibetan, English and Hindi.
Tsering Wangdu (Database Administrator) began volunteering as our database administrator in September 2008. Her role will be an important as we deepen our efforts to expand and regularly maintain our database. Tsering is currently a student at University of California, Davis where she is majoring in Civil & Environmental Engineering.
