About the Founder

Dhardon Sharling is an interdisciplinary scholar-activist with over two decades of experience in public advocacy communication, democracy promotion, and advancing gender, social, and climate justice. She serves as a Lecturer in Communication at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she earned her Ph.D. in Communication and a Graduate Certificate in Feminist Studies. She also holds an M.Sc. in Counselling Studies from the University of Edinburgh.

Dhardon's action research explores how human communication practices, particularly through emerging media, can advance social change and environmental consciousness. The Dalai Lama's moral, intellectual, and spiritual leadership has been central to her field of inquiry. Her doctoral dissertation examined his promotion of human values and environmental ethics, and her publications include "Theorizing a Female Dalai Lama"—a feminist intervention—and studies on the Dalai Lama's role in shaping Tibetan identity, resilience, and political mobilization.

She co-authored The Power of the Feminine with international feminist scholars and climate advocates—a collaborative work that critiques patriarchal leadership models and calls for a shift in human consciousness to address ecological crises.

Dhardon's career includes serving as Information Secretary of the Central Tibetan Administration, Member of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile, and Research and Media Executive at Tibetan Women's Association. She has also taught at Hampshire College and Syracuse University, contributed to leading academic journals, and currently serves as Associate Editor of Anthropology of Consciousness.