S1 E34 - Wendy Shew, Founder & Executive Director of Building Education, Santosh Pandey, Award Winning Entrepreneur from Nepal

On this week's episode of Silicon Valley Impact we speak with Wendy Shew, Founder and Executive Director of Building Education, who is on a mission to build safe schools in developing countries to end the cycle of extreme poverty. Also with us is Santosh Pandey, an award winning entrepreneur from Nepal, who is talking with us about his journey and supporting Building Education in his region.

When an earthquake hit Nepal on April 25, 2015, and damaged 9,000 schools, Wendy traveled to Nepal to support in earthquake disaster relief. From there, she founded Building Education, a nonprofit organization that serves to build safe schools in developing countries to end the cycle of extreme poverty.

Building Education’s motto is 1,000 schools and 1,000,000 lives. In collaboration with local governments, schools and partner organizations we aim to transform rural villages into prosperous, dignified communities. We believe in a world where every child has an equal opportunity to education.

Wendy was born and raised in San Francisco, California as a first generation with immigrant parents from China. At an early age, she experienced tragedy which has become her catalyst for 25 years in social impact work. She has studied aviation, learned to fly single engine prop planes, and worked in the international aviation business as a jet engine specialist. After volunteering in October 2014 at a girl’s orphanage in India, she quit her job 4 months later, sold all her things, and left the country to travel the world all across Asia, Europe, and Africa for six years.

Wendy is also titleholder of Miss Nepal Global Citizen 2021, Top 100 Visionaries in Education 2021, Top Women of Influence 2023, Silicon Valley’s Power List in Philanthropy 2023, and Woman of the Year 2024.

Santosh, is an award-winning entrepreneur, political strategist, and educator. He co-founded Offering Happiness, Nepal's largest experiential gifting e-commerce platform, and Oho Cake, the fastest-growing cake brand in Nepal. As a visiting lecturer at Tribhuvan University and Kathmandu University, he teaches social media and digital marketing.

Santosh's entrepreneurial journey has earned him recognition as a Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia honoree in Retail and eCommerce, the Global Student Entrepreneur Award for Nepal in 2018, and the Best Startup Kathmandu award at Seedstars Kathmandu in 2019. His story is also featured in the National Geographic documentary "Own the Room."

As a changemaker, Santosh co-founded Change Bhaktapur at the age of 16 and served as Program Director for We Inspire Nepal and Project Coordinator for the US Embassy Youth Council Nepal. Since 2016, he has worked on political campaigns in Nepal as a strategist and social media specialist. He is currently pursuing political leadership and governance studies at the Konrad Adenauer School for Young Politicians and is a graduate of the Apolitical Foundation Accelerator Program, where he develops political incubation courses through the Nepal Center for Political Leadership, and much more!

This and much more on Silicon Valley Impact!

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