Dr. Bhawana Shrestha is a Research Fellow at the Academy of Future Education, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, China, where she leads initiatives on Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), gender equity, and transformative education. She is the co-founder of My Emotions Matter, a social enterprise dedicated to promoting emotional intelligence in schools and workplaces.

A Teach For Nepal alumna and part of the global Teach For All network, she brings grassroots teaching experience together with international research. Her work spans global contexts, including the development of SEL toolkits for UNICEF and WHO, and research projects in Nepal, India, Kenya, and China. Recognized as a 30 Under 30 Literacy Leader by the International Literacy Association, Dr. Shrestha is an Echidna Global Scholar 2022 and combines academic rigor with practical innovation to advance well-being and equity in education.