Board of Directors

K.P. Kafle
Executive Director

KP Kafle, the founder of Nepal SEEDS, runs a successful trekking company in Nepal. In 1988, his desire to “help me give back to my country” resulted in the formation of Nepal SEEDS. He is the father of 3 sons and lives with his family, including 2 grandsons, in Kathmandu. His elder son is an Animation Director and younger son is a Trek Leader.  In 2007, KP was recognized by REI Adventures as one of their top 6 guides in the world.

Keith Goldstein
President

Keith is a co-founder of Nepal SEEDS. He first travelled to Nepal in 1986 and fell in love with the country and the people. He retired in 2016 as the owner of Everest Waterproofing and Restoration in San Francisco. He is proud to have provided careers for several dozen Tibetans and Nepalis at his company. Keith is a past president of Food Runners and can still be found each Saturday at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market collecting surplus food for delivery to homeless shelters. He is active in his local community and serves on the Boards of several community organizations.

Barbara Cambon
Treasurer

Donna Warrington
Secretary

Donna first visited Nepal in 1986 with her husband Keith and was immediately enchanted by the beauty of the country and its people. She continues to be inspired and motivated by the changes SEEDS’ projects have brought to Nepal’s villages.

Seth Acharya
Board Member

Seth was born and raised in Kathmandu, Nepal. He worked as a trekking guide and traveled all over Nepal. In the course of his work and travels, he experienced the challenges and daily living requirements of village life and the poverty of his people. Seth has been touched by the lives of those numerous “ordinary” people and is committed to doing all he can to give them an opportunity to raise their living standard. He has been involved with Nepal SEEDS since its initiation. In addition, Seth has been a volunteer for Food Runners San Francisco every Saturday since 2000. He is the Owner of Everest Waterproofing and Restoration in San Francisco, California. Seth is married and lives in San Francisco, CA with his wife (who is also from Nepal) and two beautiful children, Ethan and Matthew.

Linda Besant
Board Member

Linda has worked and volunteered in non-profit service organizations for over 40 years, much of that time with a focus on outdoor adventure programs for people with disabilities. Linda first visited Nepal in 1973, and returned in the spring of 2011 to trek with KP Kafle, where she learned about SEEDS. Her work has made her aware of what a delicate proposition it is to “help” in a way that is respectful and empowering; she strongly supports SEEDS cost-effective community partnership project model.

Anita Lall Chamis
Board Member

Anita first trekked in Nepal with KP and Barbara Cambon. She found that the beauty of the country, warmth of the people and KP’s Nepal SEEDS projects keep bringing her back to explore different regions of the Nepal Himalaya. Anita lives in Redondo Beach, CA and works as a GPS Enterprise Architect at TASC, an Engility Company.

Geoff Childs
Board Member

As a Professor of Anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis, Geoff studies demographic processes and sociocultural change across the Himalayan region. Through collaborative research projects on topics ranging from education, migration, infant growth and development, and health, he is a regular visitor to communities where Nepal SEEDS has projects.

Mark Felstehausen
Board Member

Mark Felstehausen is Head of Social Studies at the International School of the Sacred Heart in Tokyo. Mark first travelled & studied in Nepal on a University of Wisconsin Nepal Program, met KP during a 100-day directed study trek in the Khumbu/Everest region, and will always be part Nepali. Mark remains committed to sustainable development and established Sacred Heart SEEDS Nepal. Sacred Heart strives to support ‘schools helping schools’ and believes that primary education, especially for girls, provides the key to a sustainable future.

Esther Lev
Board Member

Esther Lev is the Executive Director for The Wetlands Conservancy. For more than 25 years Esther has worked in different capacities at The Wetlands Conservancy to restore and preserve Oregon’s wetlands. Esther has always followed the water. Born in Cleveland, off the shores of Lake Erie, she went west and studied ecology and biology at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash. She then took off around the world. In Baja, Calif., she worked as a sea kayak guide and did bird research. In Thailand, she led ecotourism activities. In Nepal, she led elder-hostel programs, worked on bird wetlands projects and volunteered with Bird Conservation Nepal. Through her love of water, nature, hiking and traveling she met KP Kafle and was one of the founding Nepal SEEDS board members.

Daniel Strickland
Board Member

Daniel joined the board after producing our first online fundraising gala in 2020. He works in the music and event industry as a producer, artist manager, talent buyer and promoter. Daniel first visited Nepal in 1994 and then again in 2022 with fellow board member Geoff Childs.

Julie Wright
Board Member

Julie Wright is a long-time Real Estate Broker based in Mammoth Lakes, California. She first traveled to Nepal in 2017, where she joined KP and Barbara Cambon on a trek and saw the work of Nepal SEEDS firsthand. The experience gave her a deep appreciation for the country and its people, committing her to support the organization’s mission. Although a return trip in 2020 was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she hopes to visit again soon. She is honored to be part of such an impactful and inspiring organization