Sadikshya Aryal
she/her/hers
Program Officer
Joined Northwest Area Foundation: July 2024
EMAIL“We make our world significant by the courage of our questions and by the depth of our answers.” — Carl Sagan
Sadikshya believes relationship building is key for the success of philanthropic organizations in co-creating solutions with the communities being served. She also believes individuals in these communities hold innovative solutions to address their needs.
As a program officer, she strives to create a welcoming space for dialogue to build trust and nurture partnerships with grantee organizations as she seeks, recommends, and manages grantmaking that aligns with the Foundation’s mission.
Sadikshya grew up in Nepal and immigrated to the US when she was eight years old. Most of her family remains in Nepal. She is seen as “American” in Nepal and as “Nepali” in the US. Balancing her identities inspires her to build bridges between and across communities to help people understand multiple perspectives and experiences. Her strategies—which center on relationship building, deep listening, and culturally responsive facilitation—reflect who she is.
Previously, as an evaluation associate at Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, she created learning opportunities, invited in external perspectives, and implemented equitable evaluation practices across the organization.
Sadikshya is passionate about working in rural communities around the world. In Nepal and Belize, she supported Indigenous women’s groups in building ecotourism revitalization programs centered on Indigenous knowledge and natural resource conservation. Prior to that, she was a program coordinator at Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture in Boone, NC, where she addressed equitable food access and market solutions for rural farmers and communities—leading to the creation of a self-sustaining food hub, farmers market, and an heirloom seed library.
She earned a master’s in international development practice from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota and a bachelor’s in sustainable development from Appalachian State University in North Carolina.
She has served on a number of regenerative agriculture boards. Currently, she’s vice chair of the board for Greener Pastures, which develops programming around access to local food for community members and farmers who have been historically marginalized.
Outside of work, Sadikshya enjoys hiking and camping, traveling to new places, visiting family in Nepal, exploring farmers markets, and cooking produce from local farms.