Advisory Committee - Bhutan Nuns Foundation

Advisory Committee Members

The Bhutan Nuns Foundation is fortunate to have the engagement of our advisory committee, a dedicated international group of accomplished men and women from a variety of fields. All share a deep commitment to the mission of our foundation, and their support and thoughtful consideration of our operations continues to benefit women and nuns as we accomplish that mission.

Sue Alexander

Sue Alexander is Dean of Student Emerita at Wheaton College(Massachusetts) and currently works as an education consultant and an independent investigator for the Juvenile Court. She has a longstanding interest in nonprofit organizations which provide leadership development for women and girls

Carmen Busquets

Carmen Busquets is Venezuelan by birth, but she lives and travels all over the world and Bhutan has become one of her favorite places on Earth. Recently she has come into contact with Bhutan Nuns Foundation and she is passionate about supporting the cause of the Foundation. She has met with Her Majesty, Queen Mother, Tshering Yangdoen Wangchuck, Patron of the Foundation, on several occasions and discussed how she might be able to help the Foundation.

Carmen is also known as fairy godmother in the fashion world. Pioneer of luxury fashion and e-commerce entrepreneur, her work has always been a platform for supporting craftsmanship, heritage and technology, and has thrived as a “laboratory” of disruptive ideas that continue to grow. Since Carmen’s entry into the industry in 1992, approximately 10,000 jobs have been created from her investments.

Supporting the Buddhist Nuns in Bhutan through Bhutan Nuns Foundation to become
sustainable and self-sufficient may well turn out to be another disruptive idea of Carmen’s for many out there!

Kutira Décosterd

Kutira Décosterd is a heart-centered spiritual leader, author, musician and artist, winning awards for her pioneering work in environmental sustainability. Born and raised in Switzerland, she lives with her husband, internationally recognized musician Raphael, on the island of Maui, Hawaii, USA.

They co-created the Maui Eco Retreat , a sustainable organic paradise. Their Kahua Hawaiian Institute, founded in 1985, offers transformational work and teachings. She serves on several boards aligned with her strong interests in climate change, food security and sustainable travel.

Her longtime friendship with Her Majesty the Queen Mother, Tshering Yangdoen Wangchuck, inspired her to support the nuns’ cause before the foundation’s inception. Kutira and Raphael’s 2007 benefit CD “The Sacred Feminine Voices of Bhutan” combines the singing of the nuns with lush harmonies and arrangements.

Today, her travel company “Bhutan Eco Retreat” leads Sacred Journeys to Bhutan empowering and celebrating the divine feminine spirit. Kutira now spends more time in Bhutan than in her native Switzerland.

Carol Egan

Carol Egan is a Cornell University-trained Executive Health Coach and Founder of Immersion Health, a company that specializes in corporate leadership and wellness trainings. As a member of Forbes’ Coaches Council, Carol has created and led wellness programs and workshops for C-Suite executives at Travelers Insurance, Keller-Williams, ESPN, JP Morgan, Dana Farber, GE Capital and other Fortune 500 brands. Through her programs, Carol has helped hundreds of executives transform their minds and bodies with simple and sustainable strategies for healthy living.

After working with her, clients are no longer satisfied with the status quo of low-energy, foggy thinking and dull performance. Instead, they want to create healthy habits that result in increased energy, mental clarity and emotional balance. Carol is a regular contributor to publications such as The Huffington Post and Forbes Magazine where she writes about nutrition, wellness and strategies for peak performance. Carol has spent more than 25 years studying with leading authorities around the world on the benefits of clean eating, inner balance and living with purpose. You can learn more about Carol at www.carol-egan.com

Silvia Hansel

Silvia Hansel lives in Switzerland, where she has worked as a translator and editor. She is President of Bhutan Nuns Education Fund, a Swiss association, and a member of Switzerland Bhutan Society SSB. Her involvement with BNF dates back to 2012 and is particularly focused on creating and managing educational facilities for Bhutanese nuns

Ariane Krumholz

As a long-time friend, Ariane Krumholz, worked with Dr. Tashi Zangmo at the very start of BNF as an NGO, writing grant proposals to Global Fund for Women in 2009. Ariane was instrumental in gathering BNF’s first western Advisory Committee, to aid in fund-raising and planning with Tashi for the further education of the Buddhist nuns of Bhutan. She brings 3 decades of senior public health leadership experience to the BNF committee. Ariane lives in Amherst, MA, and serves as Chair of the Health Care Administration masters’ degree program of Marlboro College Graduate and Professional Studies in New England.

Sarah McKusick

Sarah McKusick has a long history of fiber art design and photography, and now owns a small travel business for retreats and exploration to places around the world, including Bhutan.

“Our trips seek to teach us more about this wonderfully diverse world, while we learn something new about ourselves in reflection. Through this immersion in other cultures, we learn not only from other people’s lives of their joys and challenges but also of their cultural beliefs and celebrations”, she says.

She has served on educational boards and raised money for various women’s health organizations.

Sarah has been involved with the Bhutan Nuns Foundation since its inception and is currently volunteering in refugee camps in Greece and fundraising for various relief organizations that support the refugees.

She and her husband run a farm in New England, in the United States, raising goats and horses. They also own and manage a guesthouse.