Executive Director
A supporter of Adhikaar since 2010, Pabitra was elected and has served as an active board member to the organization since 2015, demonstrating a strong commitment to facilitating staff and board leadership as well as pressing us to deepen our political analysis and strategies. She began as Executive Director in 2017. Pabitra’s life and work are rooted in community.
Pabitra immigrated to the US when she was 7 with her parents. She has lived in Nepal and in various states all over the US since then. Growing up in a working class household, her passions for community organizing grew out of this experience. She began organizing as a teenager in her hometown of Madison, Wisconsin and then later as a student organizer at the University of Wisconsin, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts.
Pabitra brings to Adhikaar strong and diverse alliances, seasoned and developed over the last two decades of her life, blending an intersectional approach to race, class, caste, gender and ethnicity. We are excited for this timely perspective to be at the leading edge of our work. Pabitra also brings a holistic approach to leadership, believing that by nurturing relationships among staff she manages and all stakeholders with whom she interacts, we stand stronger and more united in creating the change we seek.
During her career, Pabitra has served in leading organizing efforts, most recently with Amnesty International USA as their field director and interim campaign manager for gun violence and criminal justice. Her journey has included lead staff positions with networks and grassroots organizations including the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, the Rights Working Group, Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote and Fair Wisconsin/Action WI Education Fund.