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.

Barbara McMurray, Board Member

Barbara McMurray is a seasoned PR and writing professional whose agency, McMurray Marketing Communications, offers her clients marketing expertise in the arts, education, nonprofit, retail, and corporate work. She is a longtime volunteer and advocate for underserved people in her community of Laguna Beach. For the last 20 years, she has volunteered for Friendship Shelter, Inc., a respected south Orange County homelessness services program, and has served for nine years on its board of directors. In 2020, Barbara completed 10 years of service on the board of directors for Chhahari, Inc., an NGO based in Laguna Beach that formerly served up to 25 at-risk and orphaned children under roof at a hostel in Kathmandu.

Molly Wuerz, Secretary & Board Member

Molly is the Ed.M. Candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the founder of EdEthics Students at HGSE. Molly has ten years of education experience that spans water safety, the performing arts, elementary ed, Waldorf methodology, curriculum creation, high-school English, alternative education, student advocacy/restorative justice, academic/disciplinary re-engagement, international teacher training, independent consulting, tutoring, and a K-8 school board. Molly intends to further the field of education by making meaningful contributions to the field of educational ethics, particularly by exploring moral improvement strategies for ethical educational leadership.

Sophie Frushell, Board Member

Sophie Frushell studies Educational leadership, organizations and entrepreneurship at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. She is part of the Global, International and Comparative Education concentration and a member of the Child Protection Certificate Program at Harvard University. Sophie was previously a Fulbright research grantee in the Dominican Republic where she researched best practices for curriculum surrounding identity formation and social-emotional learning for Dominican and Haitian youth. She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Studies with a concentration in Global and Cultural Studies from Boston College.

Mary Patrick Kavanaugh, Advisor

Mary Patrick Kavanaugh produces innovative educational programs and events for higher education, business and community organizations, with a focus on conscious leadership, social enterprise, entrepreneurship, and societal transformation. She founded and directs Soka University’s Bridges to Business (B2B), a purpose-driven career mentoring program, and Critical Conversations @ Soka, a community speaking series featuring artists, activists, and thought-leaders. Prior to working at Soka, Mary founded and directed UC Irvine’s Prosperitas, an idea incubator and networking community for successful entrepreneurs at the Merage School of Business. Before transitioning into higher education, she ran her own research firm that focused on market research and competitive analysis, and served as marketing director and general manager at Bay Area consulting firms. She is a published author and licensed private investigator (California License #19957). Mary has a BA from San Francisco State University, and MFA from the University of San Francisco.

Ellen Boccuzzi, Advisor

Ellen Boccuzzi is Senior Program Advisor with The Asia Foundation. She has fifteen years of professional experience in international development, with a focus on good governance, urban development, migration, civil society, and education in Asia. Prior to joining the Foundation, Dr. Boccuzzi served as a Foreign Service Officer with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and as a consultant to the United Nations. She holds a Ph.D. in South and Southeast Asian Studies from UC Berkeley, a Master’s from UC Berkeley, and a Bachelor’s from Princeton University.

Justin Barr, Advisor

Justin Barr spent over a decade creating and building businesses in the online advertising industry. Based in Puerto Rico he is currently a co-founder of the Honeyland project, a decentralized exchange and play-and-earn blockchain game. Justin co-founded Tapit!, a mobile advertising network that was acquired just 18 months after its creation. He is passionate about entrepreneurship and spent years as a board member for the Orange County chapter of Entrepreneurs Organization. He enjoys using his skills in marketing and user-acquisition for for-purpose marketing to help drive donor leads and engagement.

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. 

Bikash Gupta, Assistant Secretary

Bikash is currently serving as a Policy Evaluator at the California State Auditor's office. His professional journey is driven by a profound interest in the intersection of social science and data science. Bikash graduated from Carnegie Mellon University, where he studied public policy, management, and data analytics. Prior to this, Bikash completed his Bachelor's degree in economics and political sciences from Soka University of America in 2020. He is also a 2019 Princeton University PPIA fellow.