BOARD & LEADERSHIP
Prakash Bista, Founder/President
Prakash Bista completed his early education and high school in Nepal, and received a scholarship to pursue a BA in Liberal Arts degree at Soka University of America in Aliso Viejo, California and another scholarship to attend MSc. in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship at London School of Economics and Political Science in 2017. In December 2009, he led residents of his village, Lalu, to build the village's first service-oriented privately run non-profit school. The United Nations considers the area, Kalikot District of Nepal, one of the world’s poorest and most impoverished regions. Prakash won first prize with $10,000 cash in the Orange County Social Entrepreneurship Competition 2014 at UC Irvine, beating 10 other finalists from around the world, which gave rise to the idea of starting Impact Schools. He was then named one of Orange County's 100 Most Influential People in 2014 by Orange County Register. Prakash’s dream is to expand educational opportunities to the world's poorest and most remote communities.
Aaron Kuyper, Secretary & Board Member
Aaron graduated from Soka University class in 2019. During his time at Soka, he was provided opportunities to live and work abroad in several countries in the field of education. When he was studying at Soka, he was provided with a grant from Soka to intern for two months at Impact Schools’ first school in Kalikot, Nepal. Since then, Aaron has taught at schools in Dakar Senegal and worked as an English Teacher in Tokyo, Japan for nearly three years. He has also worked in Special Education for children on the Spectrum and early education. Aaron is currently completing a degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at Pepperdine University..
Kimberly Rios-Nino, Board Member
Kimberly Rios-Nino has spent the last decade and more creating and managing educational programs in schools and non-profits. She holds a B.A. in Liberal Arts from Soka University of America and a M.Ed. In Value-Creating Education for Global Citizenship. Her passions lie in building and managing enriching programs for children and families grounded in hope, peace-building, and education for the happiness of each person (student or learner).
In 2019, Kimberly volunteered and interned at Impact School’s boarding school in Kalikot, Nepal for two months. Working closely with the leadership team and teachers, she taught English and Value Education courses, contributed in organizing school events, led a ten-week teacher training, filmed and documented the stories of our students to share with our organization’s donors and supporters, and created a comprehensive volunteer on-boarding packet.
More recently, Kimberly’s focus has turned to raising her two young children and contributing to her local community through mostly volunteer-based work.
Sharon Kolby, Treasurer
Sharon Kolby lives in Laguna Niguel and is a second-generation Californian. She is a former teacher. She has taught in the Philippines, Germany and Italy. Sharon recently retired from Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate. She is currently a Member of American Women for International Understanding and Co-chair of the Orange County Chapter. Sharon hobbies are travelling around the world, visiting museums, gardening and photography.
