portraits of project leaders

Himalayan Innovations is a for profit entity that works on introducing innovative , non-intrusive technology in Nepal. Focussing on Engineering, Technology and Design. Himalayan Innovations aims to bridge traditionally isolated sectors through cross cutting innovation projects. Himalayan Innovation focuses primarily on design, development prototyping and pilots and partners with other grassroots organisations for scaled implementation of the projects. 

A member of  Business and Professional Women International of Patan Chapter, Ms Sadikshya Aryal, is a women tech entrepreneur, co-founder of Himalayan Innovations . She is an engineer and a solar enthusiasts.  Knowing the potential of solar technology, she has been working in the energy sector since 2015.

She has been working as Program Manager at Renewable Energy Confederation of Nepal since 2018.

Winner of the Yunus Center Social Business Challenge 2017 through its project, Agroshelter, Himalayan Innovations was also the winner of Youth Co:Lab Nepal and was among top 5 for scaling track at Youth Co:Lab Summit at Bangkok organized by UNDP Asia Pacific and CITI Foundation. 

Sadikshya is also certified in ”Innovation and Readiness” from University of Texas, Austin. She was incubated by Nexus Hub at American Center, Delhi with the support from State Department of United States as an entrepreneur.

Her company works with community members to design solutions that are customized and suited to the local needs all the while creating frameworks that allow some form of scalability and replication as much as possible. It works across multiple sectors and involves a diverse set of individuals for each project it designs and partners with. It’s projects operate in a sandbox design style based on human centered design approach running along the lines of innovation, localization and invention.

She runs “Gaubata: products from the village”, that is a logistical solution focused on the nexus of energy, agriculture and women. Her social enterprise also runs “SOLAR FORWARD” carefully catering its service to the bottom of pyramid population.

Languages: Nepali, English

Professional Career

Managing Director

Dr. Bährer-Kohler& Partners, Switzerland. Own company in Basel/Switzerland for counseling clients with burnout symptoms and she provides training for companies and organizations in this context.

Invited Professor at Tropical Neurology and Neuroinfection Master, Mental Health, International University of Catalonia (UIC), Barcelona/Spain.

President of the Swiss Association for Global Mental Health. Member of the World Federation for Mental Health. http://www.globalmentalhealth.ch/vereinsleitung.html

Member WHO- International Advisory Group for the Revision of ICD-10 Mental and Behavioral Disorders- IFSW.

Member WHO- Global Competency Framework for Universal Health Coverage/community 'Education Hub.'

Founder- Own scientific journal. https://www.graphyonline.com/journal/founding_board.php?journalid=IJGSW

Reviewer of 9 scientific journals.

Member Editorial Boards:

- International Journal of Community & Family Medicine.

- Cambridge Scholars Publishing- Editorial Advisory Group Member- Neuroscience.

BPW Activities

Membership 2018 Business and Professional Women (BPW) Switzerland, Club Baselland

UN Representative WHO Geneva

Personal Information

Married, one daughter- 14 years old.

Leisure Activities/ Interests:

Horse riding, our dog, gardening, and painting with oil.

Languages: German, English, French

Enrichetta Bellini is graduated in Administration-Commerce and foreign languages beside postgrade intensive  Management courses among them Emotional Intelligence and Transactional Analysis both in Switzerland and Italy. She started her professional advancement as secretary/assistant to the Company President up to Proxy, General Manager and Executive Board member.She has been for more than 20 years a well known International Executive of Swiss/Italian and Danish Companies manufacturing machines and complete plants for ciment industries including packers, pallettizers and automatic bag loaders. Since 2008 is offering tecnical and tecnological translations’service and contract management advise. She entered BPW in 1983 covering charges both in Switzerland and Italy. In 2006 she was elected BPW Europe Finance Officer covering the charge for two turns. She has been member of many national and international taskforces. In 2001 she has been elected Chair of BPWI Legislation Standing Committee. Currently she is chairing the Legislation Committee 2014-2017 for the second turn. Since 2004 she is  the chair of La Spezia YOUNG BPW cup jury, adressed to BPW Europe YOUNG members.

Languages: Italian, English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese

Eliana Mucari Chiappetta, born December 29, 1952, Brazilian

Sociology and Politics -School of Librarian Science. Foundation School of Sociology and Politics, Brazil

Post-graduatation in Agribusiness. Foundation José Irmão Otão (PUC) –Brazil

ISA ( International Soyabens Associations) in USA – since 2005

IFA (International Fertilize Associations around the world) – since 2008

BPW Associate: since 2005, having participated in all BPW International Congress, except in 2011 (in Finland) 

Languages: Portuguese (native language), French, Italian, English and Spanish

Géraldine Crevat is founder and president of Business and Professional Women (BPW) Nice INTERCONTINENTAL network since 2013. The network is designed to focus on the issues of the international mobility. Counsellor in communication and strategy, she is also coach for gifted, high potential people, leaders. 

Languages: French, English

Advogada, Administradora de Empresas, Bacharel em Comunicação, Coach pela Sociedade Brasileira de Coaching e Practitioner em PNL. Pós-graduada em Direito Civil e Processo Civil, Educação Especial,  Gestão de Pessoas e Desenvolvimento Humano, Direitos Humanos e Inclusão,  Planejamento das Políticas Sociais e Gestão do Terceiro Setor. Cursou Especialização em Relações Humanas Internacionais na Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais da Universidade de Sorbonne no Quartier latin de Paris. Por 15 anos foi executiva em empresas multinacionais na cidade de São Paul. Há 23 anos é Advogada militante em Direito Criminal e Direito de Família, Consultora, Palestrante, Professora Universitária, Articulista e Facilitadora em Cursos e Treinamentos.  É sócia proprietária da Girassol – Desenvolvimento Humano. Conselheira no CNDM e do CIESP/FIESP, Presidente da Organização Soroptimista de Presidente Prudente e  Presidente da Federação das Associações de Mulheres de Negócios e Profissionais - BPW Brasil.

Languages: Portuguese, Spanish, English

An experienced management consultant of over 20 years, Annie Eimiakhena, has been involved in a wide range of consulting assignments. Starting with a career in the ICT industry, Annie was involved with implementing banking applications within the Financial Services industry under Tara Systems Limited and Computer Systems Associates. With her Technology experience, Annie was hired in Accenture to strengthen the Technology Competency, particularly with the firm’s thrust on Technology and Outsourcing. Leaving Accenture in 2004, after six years of consulting exposure to various sectors in Manufacturing, Financial Services, Telecommunications and Real Estate, Lohi Consulting came into being. Lohi Consulting, established over 12 years ago, was a venture taken up by Annie with the firm belief that the company can extend management consultancy services to small and medium sized companies. Armed with this strategy, Lohi Consulting worked with a number of companies in developing winning business plans and corporate strategy that will assist these companies with their growth plans. Lohi Consulting has worked with various organizations in the areas of Strategy, Process, Technology and People Development. Annie has evolved to be a certified Human Resource practitioner, being an Associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management and a certified trainer from the Center of Management Development (CMD) which has positioned her to develop the right competencies in workforce development: human resource strategies, recruitment and selection; performance management systems; personnel administration and industrial relations management. Annie has a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the prestigious Lagos Business School, PanAtlantic University. She is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

Languages: English, French

Marilyn joined BPW in 1999 and was National President from 2007 to 2013. Marilyn is currently Oceania Sub Regional Coordinator (2014 to 2017). In 2010 Marilyn became a Life Member of BPW Australia.  From 2011 Marilyn has been the Project Leader of the UN Global Compact (UNGC) encouraging Federations to become Participants to the UNGC. Marilyn has a passion for equal pay and gender equity. While President of Australia Marilyn started a campaign for Australian women to have Paid Parental Leave and it was successful when the National Government introduced Paid Parental Leave in 2001. Marilyn was the Leader of the National Equal Pay Alliance that was started by BPW Australia and now has 100 member organisations and over 300,000 women members. For her commitment to gender issues and the rights of people, Marilyn has received two awards from BPW International. Marilyn has a commitment to charity work and was a Board Member of UNIFEM Australia (UN Women) for three years and the founder of the global UNIFEM Spring Walk Campaign. The campaign raised thousands of dollars to help the women of East Timor who had suffered during the guerrilla insurgence. Marilyn had a 35 year career in middle management in NSW Public Hospitals. Marilyn was honoured by becoming a Life Member in 2011 of the Health Services Union for her advocacy and representing members across a broad spectrum of women and men. Marilyn holds a Bachelor of Health Sciences (Management) and a Graduate Diploma Change Management.

Languages: English

Graduated in law

Graduated in French language and Literature 

Attorney at law (specialised in company law, EU law, International law), Professor of company law - retired.

Since 2009 to 2017 representative of BPW International in the Conference of  INGOs in the Council of Europe

2016/2017 Member  group:   “Brussels Follow-up #  5: Women on Boards 

Since 2004 to 2008   EWL Board Member  (BPW International, European Region) BPW Europe

2004 -2006     Membership  Committee ( EWL) for Verification of the Statutes Member States and financial statement analysis.

Since 2013 to 2017 BPW Italy Representative  in Committee for Equal Opportunities within  the Ministry of Labour – Rome

2011-2013 BPW Italy Representative in Committee for Equal Opportunities within the Presidency of the Council of Ministers - Rome. 

BPW Italy Past National President 

Languages: Italian, French, Spanish, English

Karin Jeanneret Vezzini, born in Switzerland (1965), married, 2 children. Attorney-at-law with own law office (Jeanneret Law) and since 2016, CEO of ennos ag, a Swiss company who designed a highly efficient solar water pump for smallholder farmers (www.ennos.ch). Founder member of BPW Biel-Bienne (1996), Switzerland. President of BPW Biel-Bienne 2014-2018.

Languages: German, English, French

Rasmata Kabré grew up in Burkina Faso and became a midwife in 1995. She knew about the “Suffering in the Silence” or the “Fistules obstetricales” in her country and decided to help these women. In 2009 she established her first center and in 2012 she created her own Foundation “FOUNDATION RAMA”. She works in partnership with different organizations. In 2009 she organized the first Panafrican Congress on “Fistules obstericales” in Ouagadougou and in 2017 her second one. 

Languages: French

Founder and CEO of Parene Healthcare, an organization that is committed to making healthcare affordable and accessible in Sierra Leone. The organization is currently evolving into a healthcare franchise model that encourages nurses to become franchisee partner entrepreneurs in micro clinics, and health centres. The goal of the franchise is to manufacture some of the clinic supplies locally, to create jobs within the communities they operate.

Mrs. Laverley – Amabebe is Board Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality improvement, with a degree in Health Information Management, and Licensed Nurse with over 20 years of healthcare quality management, and strategic planning experience. She held a lead quality management position with the St. Luke’s Texas Heart Institute at the Texas Medical Centre for over 10 years, and left for Sierra Leone, to use the skills she had gained to start Parene Healthcare in Sierra Leone. Her primary goal is to help improve health outcomes in her country.

Juliet specializes in utilizing data and clinical information in decision making, and is an expert in meaningful use of data for board and clinical leadership reports.

In addition to being an entrepreneur Juliet is a local Healthcare Quality Improvement Consultant for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) working on various projects to improve healthcare facility standards, environment of care, and health outcomes in Sierra Leone.

Languages: English

Intercultural Trainer, Member of the Board of BPW Germany.

Johanna started out on the road to becoming an intercultural trainer with a translator/interpreter diploma. Originally from Munich, she lived in the USA, Italy and Western Samoa before finding her way back to Munich. She now owns an intercultural training institute and specializes in preparing her clients for working internationally and living abroad.

She serves on the board of BPW Germany where she is responsible for leadership and lifelong learning programs. In this capacity and based on her experience as a successful entrepreneur, she gives support to women who wish to develop their leadership skills.

Languages: German, English, French, Italian

I am Josephine Olunaike, born on the 12th of March, 1972. From Edo State of Nigeria. Lived and did most of my early schooling in Lagos state of Nigeria and later proceed to Ilorin in Kwara State for my university degree.

Member of the Business and Professional Women and founder of Beulah Sickle Cell Foundation in Nigeria.

Being a survivor of Sickle Cell Disorder (SCD), I have dedicated most part of myself into helping other affected people and their families to walk through this terrible, painful, agonising and dehumanising disease which could even lead to death. Many already have lost friends, family members, acquittance through SCD including myself who lost two brothers ages 18 and 37 years. Its indeed very painful.

This inspired the formation of Beulah Sickle cell club/foundation whose major purpose is to minimise or eradicate SCD in Nigeria and other African countries where it is mostly prevalent. To also imprint upon the society that SCD is not a death sentence

Married to Mr. Olunaike Adekunle. Currently working and living with my family in Abuja, Nigeria. 

Languages: English, Yoruba, Okpella

Josiane is coordinator of the Gent Care Africa Association.

“I am the president of an association called Genit Care Africa (GCA) to share my ideas, my experience, and my network to save lives. As the Coordinator of the GCA, I have extensive experience and knowledge that is both extensive and useful to my duties, as I have dedicated my career to human rights, equality and social justice. I have worked for the government, in the private sector for civil society. I have participated in anti-poverty programmes aimed at benefiting people experiencing poverty, and women in particular, from the benefits of economic growth in Burkina Faso and the West African sub-region „‟Applied Research and Analysis for Development Group‟‟(Groupe de recherche et d'analyse appliquées pour le développement GRAAD- BURKINA/PROJET INTERGENRE -UEMOA). I started my career as a general practitioner and acquired sub-regional experience (Burkina, Benin) in the noble mission of providing free care for women with obstetric fistulas, women who are ostracized by their neighborhood as soon as the disease sets in. As the first Vice President of Business and Professional Women in my country, I have gained international experience and am involved in a global women's program that supports leadership, education, women's empowerment and gender equality. I obtained my diploma as an Obstetrician Gynaecologist in Cotonou, Benin and my expert diploma in Sexual and Reproductive Health in M'Bour, Senegal.”

Languages: French, English

I am working since 1986 in State High School belonging to the Ministry of Education in Italy.

Since I have got my degree, with honor, I concentrate myself in travelling abroad with students during summer. I have taken students all over the world to attend Summer language courses in English, from Australia to USA.

In 1986, I took my first job in Italian High Schools.

I belong to FIDAPA BPW ITALY since 2000 and I always had a role of coordinator of BPW International inside my Club. I have been elected as President in 2011 till 2013 and in those years I realized a Congress with the participation of IPP - Tuulikki Jussela- on “Empower women in society”.

I work now on International level with Mentoring Program and my chair is Carla Laura Petruzzelli.

I am working at University of Magna Grecia since 2015 and I teach English at Biomedical Engineering Faculty.

My own mission is to help women on realizing themselves, since I have had everything I needed from life.

Helping and encouraging is my aim.

Languages: Italian, English

Daniela Rigassi is an economist and holds a degree in project management and teaching. She started as a teacher for German, English and history. She then continued as an analyst and programmer for an insurance company before changing into project and process management as well as consultancy for companies in the financial sector. She now works for an international printer company, where she leads projects for strategic national and international clients. Daniela Rigassi joined BPW Switzerland in 2005, where she is the club delegate on the national level. Since 2012 she has been a member of the taskforce of Leadership and Lifelong Learning and has been co-organising the annual pre-conference on cross-cultural understanding in Cairo. She has a strong interest in international and cross- cultural aspects in everyday life and business collaboration.

Languages: German, English, French

My name is Dahlia Salem; I am graduated from faculty of Economics and political Sci. Cairo Univ. I worked as a banker in Commercial international Bank then I got married, and I moved to Holland, Ethiopia and then South Korea. In Ethiopia, I worked as a volunteer in the UN Women’s Assoc.; I also participated in several sessions of awareness for teenagers. I wrote an article under the title “Lack of Communication between Teenagers and their Parents “that published in the Newsletter of UN families on Dec.2002. I participated in cross-cultural debates with different nationalities in South Korea. I also participated in the 6th African Congress for Women Entrepreneurs organized by EBWA, in Apr. 2011, and then I wrote the conference report. I presented a session in the German School, in Cairo, under the theme “How to avoid Culture Shock” on Nov.2012. Currently I am a member of the Board of Directors of Diwan of Knowledge for Cultural Development Assoc.

Languages: Arabic, English, German, Japanese

Ursula Schmid is a Secondary School Teacher phil. I, i.e. a teacher for German, English and French for 10 to 16 years old students. Later she worked for 25 years as office manager in her husband’s Legal Office in Davos.

In the dim and distant computer past of the last century she acquired a taste for Apple – incurably. First steps with online tools for websites with Typo3, diploma. Since then in search of suitable online web tools for normal use. Aim: Convincing, attractive and efficient websites for small companies, affordable and always up-to-date thanks to easy CMS. Autodidactic.

With love for literature and communication, for classical music and aesthetics, for computer and internet, for women’s politics and networking, for convincing arguments and marketing.

President of BPW Club Davos Klosters from 2009 to 2013. BPW Switzerland task force BPW Mentoring 2015-2019, BPW Switzerland task force BPW Website/SocialMedia 2017-2018.

Webmaster for BPW PILOT www.bpw-projects.org and www.bpw-un.org

Married; mother of a son and a daughter and grandmother of four grandchildren.

Languages: German, English, French, Italian

Laura Zamperlin. Italian nationality.

She works as monitor in compliance and regulation fields. She has a deep experience in corporate finance and sales & marketing for financial institutions. She is interested in ethical behaviors in business and no profit organizations and she strongly believes that women can play an important role in transparency, accountability and ethical models in society.

She cooperates with government institutions, schools and civil organizations to promote gender balance and to encourage and support women in all fields of society.

2013/2015 Chairperson of Affairs, Business and Technology Commission of North East District BPW Italy.

2015/2016 Auditor of North East District BPW Italy.

2017-2019 Secretary of North East District BPW Italy.

2018 Creator and developer of “Digital on Board” a plan to digitalize secretarial processes in all Clubs of BPW Italy.

Languages: Italian, English