Our passionateand committed team

João Marçal-Grilo

Founding Director

The seeds for Jaya Mental Health where first planted when, after finishing his Geography degree in 1993, João backpacked across India and spent several months volunteering in a small hospital in Varanassi. There, he saw how common and debilitating mental illness is for the world’s most vulnerable, and how most of the time it is either misunderstood or left untreated.

Following this experience, João studied at King’s College London to become a mental health nurse. After working in inpatient and community settings for a number of years, João studied for a Masters degree in International Development.

Always passionate about fighting social and health inequalities around the world, João then worked for two years as a nurse consultant in Sri Lanka, before founding Jaya Mental Health in 2014.

Luvana Shrestha

Country Representative, Nepal

Luvana has excellent mental health, women and children, and human rights expertise. Before joining our team, she worked for a number of organisations focused on tackling issues faced by minority groups and disadvantaged people. These organisations include the UN World Food Programme and UN Woman.

At Jaya Mental Health, Luvana is the driving force behind all our activities in Nepal and a true ambassador for young, dynamic women in South Asia.

Sharon Scott

Founding Director (Non-Executive)

Sharon currenty works as a Senior Palliative Care Nurse. Her career has been primarily focused on specialist palliative care, both in the UK and overseas. Sharon was instrumental in developing a palliative care service for people with advanced dementia and their carers at St Christopher’s Hospice in London. She also worked as Dementia Palliative Care Research Nurse for Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Unit, University College London, and as a Dementia Nurse Consultant in private dementia care.

Angelo Leo

Clinical Nurse Educator

Angelo is a trained nurse and inspiring educator with vast experience in mental health and dementia care, and especially in inpatient settings.

In addition to working with Jaya Mental Health, Angelo helps Canadian Red Cross International provide psychosocial support to people affected by major disasters around the world.

Sailesh Bhandari

Consultant Clinical Nurse Educator

Sailesh trained as a general nurse at the International University of Business Agriculture and Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Later, he completed a Masters in Public Health and taught Leadership and Management in Nursing at the Everest School of Nursing in Nepal.

At Jaya Mental Health, Sailesh typically has a leading role in our nursing projects.

Lajja Dixit

Art Therapist

Lajja completed her Art degree from Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design in London, and subsequently her Art Therapy training from the College of Educational and Clinical Art Therapy in Australia.

Lajja works at different hospitals and with various NGOs in Nepal, providing art therapy to men, women and children of all ages and with a wide spectrum of mental health and emotional issues. She is one of the very few qualified Art Therapists practicing in Nepal.

Tereza Nogueira

Child Psychotherapist

Tereza is a child psychotherapist and school counsellor with considerable experience working with children and adolescents. This includes spending several years working with street children in central Brazil, where she developed a strong interest in the social care and psychology of deprived children.

At Jaya Mental Health, Tereza is one of our child mental health programme leaders and the lead supervisor of staff who work with children and adolescents in Nepal.

Sian Ward-Edwards

Fundraising Partnerships Manager

Sian joined Jaya Mental Health team in 2022. With many years of experience fundraising for several charities including Macmillan Cancer Support and Sue Ryder Care. She is passionate about building partnerships that will help sustain and grow Jaya Mental Health’s projects and support more people to access mental health support.

Sagoon K.C

Head of Programme Manager

Sagoon completed her Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Tribhuwan University, Kirtipur, in 2011. Since then, she has been working in the field of mental health and psychosocial wellbeing. She has extensive experience in disability inclusion and disaster risk reduction, as well as of working at community grassroot levels.

Sagoon is an engaging trainer who helps nurses and others feeling confident and secure in their professional role.

Vera Capoulas

Web Designer and IT extraordinaire

Vera completed her studies in graphic design in Lisbon, Portugal. She has since worked for an impressive array of advertising agencies that specialise in web design, branding and illustration.

Anjal Bhatta

Programme Coordinator

Anjal is a dedicated counselling psychologist and life coach with expertise in mental health, personal leadership development, and capacity building. He plays a key role in strengthening mental health services across Nepal by designing and delivering impactful training programmes for students, healthcare workers, and community leaders, empowering them with essential psychological skills.

Apsara Karki

Programme Officer

Apsara has a Master’s in Psychology and a nursing background. Her clinical experience as a nurse provided her with a deep understanding of patient care, crisis management, and the mental health challenges faced by healthcare professionals.

Passionate about supporting nurses, Apsara focuses on bridging gaps in mental health care by creating safe spaces and supportive networks. Her work aims to empower nurses to address their emotional and psychological needs, ensuring their well-being while fostering a healthier healthcare environment.

Rashmi Thapa

Programme Officer

Rashmi is a multilingual and experienced programme professional with a strong background in supporting survivors of human trafficking, currently pursuing a master’s in Gender Studies and committed to advancing gender equality, mental health, and human rights through inclusive and cross-cultural programme delivery.

Dr Nishita Pathak

Lead Psychiatrist

 

Dr Pathak, or just “Nishita” as she insists to be called, is one of a handful of experienced female psychiatrists practising in Nepal, and we are incredibly proud to have her as our lead psychiatrist. Nishita is an inspiration to her colleagues and many of the young women and girls she interacts with. It’s women like her who, by simply by being themselves, show others their potential and who they can become.

Anna Rex

Ambassador

Anna has spent 30 years as a head-hunter. She has specialised in Board appointments working closely with many of the UK’s top companies searching for candidates globally across many different sectors. She has been passionate about Nepal since partaking in her first expedition to the Solu Khumbu region in 1993. She is married to a British Gurkha officer and visited Nepal many times before being posted to Kathmandu in 2024.

With lived experience in mental health Anna is passionate about Jaya Mental Health’s work and ensuring more people across South Asia receive the right care and support.

Anna’s role as an Ambassador with Jaya is to promote our work and build networks to explore opportunities for funding and support both in Nepal and the UK.

Our trustees

Jaya Mental Health is governed by a board of trustee, who meet regularly to discuss the charity’s strategic direction.

Joanna James

Chair Trustee

Jo is a registered general nurse with an MSc in Medical Anthropology. Throughout her career, she has championed the development of excellent nursing care through education, understanding and professional accountability.

Sana Gul

 Sana Gul is an early career nurse and midwifery student from Pakistan with international clinical experience and a strong commitment to leadership development among emerging nursing professionals. She has represented healthcare workers at global forums, including WHO events, and has been recognised with multiple awards for her advocacy. Currently, she serves on the Royal College of Nursing Midwifery Forum and as a 2025 Student Nursing Times Editor, using both platforms to elevate the voices of student midwives and promote professional leadership.

Lekamge NevilleDe Silva

Neville, who is originally from Sri Lanka, is a qualified and accredited mindfulness teacher trainer, and is actively involved in mindfulness research around the world. He currently works as a holistic therapist at Breathworks UK, and previously worked as a mental health professional in the NHS for many years.

Elizabeth Baillie

 Elizabeth Baillie is a young professional with a strong background in strategic partnerships, marketing, and community engagement. She brings valuable insights from her experience in brand development, stakeholder engagement, and commercial strategy. Deeply committed to sustainability and systemic change, Elizabeth is passionate about supporting mission-driven organisations like Jaya. She contributes energy, creativity, and a fresh strategic perspective to our work.

Brian Martin OBE

Brian spent 35 years as an officer in the Parachute Regiment of the British Army. After retiring from the Army, he has held a number of positions at Christian Aid, including the manager of its Humanitarian Division Programmes Unit for Asia, Middle East, Latin America and Caribbean.

Bruno Lafleur

Bruno is the finance director at a private healthcare company that specialises in care and support for people with dementia. He initially qualified as a chartered accountant with Ernst & Young before moving into private equity at UBS in London and Triago in Paris.

Cedric Torossian

Cedric is a serial entrepreneur, fund and startup adviser specialising in ESG, digital economy, innovation, data analysis and strategy. He has a broad range of experience in growing startups, having been a founder, non-exec board member, adviser and mentor. Cedric is a Founding Partner at Cordoba, a visionary hybrid fund & media group whose mission is to transform the media content industry using new technologies such as AI. He is also a Founding Partner of Valued Squared, a strategic consultancy boutique.

Dr Marcia Brophy

Dr. Marcia Brophy is a child psychologist, and mental health specialist working in the mental health arena for over 25 years. She has substantial international experience developing culturally sensitive programmes, staff training and mental health guidelines for UNICEF, UNHCR, Save the Children, International Medical Corps, ChildFund International in emergency and post-conflict settings.

Dr Prakash Thapa

Dr Prakash Thapa is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist originally from Nepal but now based at the Child and Adolescent Mental Health department at the Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust in Yorkshire, UK.

Dr Thapa brings a wealth of mental health care clinical knowledge of both Nepal and the UK.