Leadership
Director for Bhutan Board for Certified Counselors (BBCC-RENEW)
Tshering Dolkar is a certified counseling professional. She received her certification as a National Certified Counselor (NCC) from the National Board for Certified Counselors in the United States of America in 2008.
Ms. Dolkar received her education in counseling psychology from the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada, and University of Phoenix, USA. She has a master’s degree in counseling psychology. She is also a 2011–2012 recipient of the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship in Drug Abuse and Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA.
Ms. Dolkar started her career with the Ministry of Education in 1992 and began working for RENEW in 2004. She currently works as the Director for the Bhutan Board for Certified Counselors (BBCC-RENEW), which was launched and established by Her Majesty Gyalyum Sangay Choden Wangchuck in September 2015.
Chief Programme Officer with Bhutan Narcotics Control Agency (BNCA)
Nima Damdrul, Chief Programme Officer with the Bhutan Narcotics Control Agency (BNCA), has a master’s degree in educational studies from the University of Canberra, Australia, and a master’s degree in educational leadership and management from the Royal University of Bhutan.
Currently he is spearheading Drug Demand Reduction Services and the Prevention and Treatment Services division under BNCA. His works include sensitization, orientation, and advocacies for the public on the effects of drugs. In order to strengthen the reduction of drug demand and substance and drug use, Mr. Damdrul collaborates and establishes networks with relevant agencies. Another one of his duties is to build the capacity of implementing partners, such as civil society organizations, health officials, teachers, principals, local government officials, business communities, etc., to enhance partnership and collaboration.
Mr. Damdrul also provides outreach services in the communities through drop-in centers, performs assessments of clients for evidence-based treatment through treatment assessment panels, and provides treatment services in rehabilitation centers.
Delegate to Royal Academy at Paro as Teacher Educator
Naina Kala Gurung is a specialist in guidance and counselling for the Ministry of Education. She is currently a delegate to the Royal Academy at Paro as a Teacher Educator.
Ms. Gurung worked as a high school principal for over 20 years. She has over 25 years of experience as a science and mathematics teacher, and she is a trained school guidance counsellor who served for over 17 years. Since completing her master’s degree in education with a specialization in guidance and counselling from the University of New Brunswick, Canada, she has been involved with the Career Education and Counselling Division, Department of Youth & Sports, and the Ministry of Education, and she has designed and developed a number of youth programmes, targeting both the micro- and macro-environments of Bhutanese youth.
She has published Guidance and Counselling Programme for Primary Schools, which is being used by the school counsellors in Bhutan. She is a National Trainer for the Universal Treatment Curriculum, from the International Centre for Certification and Education of Addiction Professionals initiated by the Colombo Plan. She is also the Global Master Trainer for the Universal Prevention Curriculum and has an ICAP I Credential from the Colombo Plan. She was the Chief Trainer for the Educating for Gross National Happiness workshop, which went nationwide and is the very fabric of education in Bhutan.
In addition to her regular duties in the Ministry of Education, she has served as Vice President of the Multi Task Force on the Prevention of AIDS, and she is an active member of the Phuentsholing Sports Association.
Ms. Gurung is a founding member of the BBCC.
Bhutan Medical and Health Council Deputy Registrar
Nima Sangay works on the Bhutan Medical and Health Council and has been the Deputy Registrar since 2008. He worked as the Deputy Nursing Superintendent in Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital from 2003 to 2008.
Mr. Nima is the recipient of a Royal Civil Service Award, as well as a certificate of appreciation from the Honorable Prime Minister of Bhutan in recognition of volunteer services on the medical team during national celebrations. He also received the Drakpoi Thugsey Medal for being a member of the Emergency Medical Team in 2005.
Head of the Department of Psychiatry in the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital
Dr. Damber Kumar Nirola is the Head of the Department of Psychiatry in the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital. He has a master’s degree in psychiatry. He first pursued an education in medicine at Armed Forces Medical College in Pune, India, graduating in 1987. From 1989 to 2002, he worked at various hospitals as a medical officer and district medical officer. Later he completed a postgraduate course in psychiatry from Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Dr. Nirola also has a certificate in occupational health and safety. He has recently earned the title of International Certified Addictions Professional I (ICAP I), after having undergone a series of trainings conducted by the Colombo Plan International Centre for Credentialing and Education (CP ICCE) for Addiction Professionals. He has been working as a global trainer for the CP ICCE for the last year.
Dr. Nirola is a professor at the Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences of Bhutan. He also serves as a guide for the Mental Health Program of the Ministry of Health.
Head of Contemplative Counselling Education and Research in Samtse College of Education (SCE)
Dechen Doma is presently the Head of Contemplative Counselling Education and Research in Samtse College of Education (SCE). She has a master’s degree in counselling from Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia. As a visiting faculty member from SCE, she attended mindfulness retreats and other classes at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, USA. She has also undergone intensive training on survey data and analysis in Chitwan, Nepal, which was conducted by the Institute for Social and Environmental Research, Nepal, in collaboration with the University of Michigan, USA.
Besides teaching, Ms. Doma is actively involved in research activities. She has numerous publications such as programme documents for a Postgraduate Diploma in Guidance and Counselling in 2011, a Postgraduate Diploma in Contemplative Counselling Psychology, and a Master of Arts in Contemplative Counselling Psychology and Feedback Practices at SCE. She also presented a paper entitled Taming the Monkey Mind: Retreat Feedback by Post-graduate Diploma in Contemplative Counselling Students in the Spring Faculty–Student Research Convention at SCE in May 2017.
Lecturer at the Khesar Gaylpo University of Medical Sciences of Bhutan
Tshering Wangmo is currently working as a lecturer at the Khesar Gaylpo University of Medical Sciences of Bhutan. Previously, she was with RENEW for 10 years. Ms. Wangmo holds a master’s degree in counselling and a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She is inspired by the words of RENEW’s President, Her Majesty Gyalyum Sangay Choden Wangchuck: “Always leave a place better than you found; this applies to everything you touch in life—a place, a person, or a thing.”
Chief of the Career Education & Counselling Division, Department of Youth & Sports, Ministry of Education
Tashi Pelzom is the Chief of the Career Education & Counselling Division, Department of Youth & Sports, Ministry of Education. She has a Master of Education in Leadership and Management and a postgraduate certificate in education.
Ms. Pelzom started her career as a teacher and became a school administrator. She also worked as the District Education Officer in Tsirang Dzongkhag prior to working as the Education Monitoring Officer, Education Monitoring and Support Service Division, Ministry of Education.
