Representing Nepal on a Global Stage: My YSALI Journey

At SecurityPal AI, one of our core values is "Human-Centered Innovation." At the center of everything we build are the people behind it — their curiosity, courage, and willingness to step into rooms they never imagined that give our work its meaning.

When I was selected for the inaugural cohort of the Young South Asian Leaders Initiative (YSALI), it was an opportunity I never imagined I'd have.

This is the story of that journey, and of what it meant to carry Nepal onto a global stage.

The rooms that shape you

YSALI is a U.S. Department of State-supported exchange program run in partnership with the East-West Center and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Over several weeks, it brought together 36 young leaders from across South Asia to explore leadership, civic engagement, entrepreneurship and innovation. 

I had the honor of representing Nepal.

I sat across from Sarah B. Rogers, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, talking about diplomacy, leadership and international cooperation. I walked the halls of the United States Capitol, NASA, LinkedIn and AWS. I talked through the future of agriculture, trade and governance with Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen.

For a technologist from Kathmandu, these were not ordinary days. They were a reminder that unexpected doors have a way of opening when you keep investing in yourself and in the community around you.

A journey in two cities

My experience unfolded across two cities, and each taught me something of its own.

Omaha came first. It spoke the language of leadership, innovation, and community. There were classrooms led by professors with decades of wisdom to share and visits to places like Nebraska Innovation Campus and The Combine Incubator, where universities, startups, and researchers sit shoulder to shoulder turning ideas into something real. It was the kind of ecosystem that plants a question and lets it grow: what might a model like this look like back home in Nepal?

Washington, D.C. came next, and it opened an entirely different door — one onto diplomacy, policy, and institutions built to outlast generations. From the Department of State to the Capitol, from NASA to Gallaudet University, every visit offered a vantage point no textbook could ever hold.

For me, the magic was never really in the buildings or the titles in the room. It lived in the conversations: the ideas we exchanged over meals, on long bus rides, in the unhurried hours between sessions. Sitting beside people who had spent their lives building careers, shaping policy and driving change, I found lessons that no article could teach.

How connected the world truly is

Across both cities, one truth kept surfacing: how deeply woven together South Asia's challenges are. Climate change, education, healthcare, youth engagement, entrepreneurship. The more we talked as a cohort, the clearer it became that no country faces these alone.

We had arrived, all 36 of us, from different countries and walks of life — lawyers and doctors, climate advocates and founders, educators and organizers. What we shared was a stubborn belief that change is possible when people decide to take the first step.

It is a belief I carry into my own work at SecurityPal. The strongest outcomes are built on trust, and trust is built by people — teams who take ownership, invest in one another, and push to raise the bar with every problem they take on.

Here's to the journey ahead

It was an honor to represent Nepal and become part of a story I never imagined would be mine to tell. I returned home with new perspectives, lifelong friendships, and an even stronger belief in the power of collaboration across borders.

I'm grateful to the YSALI team, my fellow delegates, and everyone who made this experience possible. I'm equally grateful to my team at SecurityPal AI for supporting opportunities like this and for fostering a culture that encourages us to keep learning, growing, and aiming higher.

The same curiosity and drive that took me across the world is what I hope to bring back to my work every day as we continue raising the standard for cybersecurity assurance. This journey may have ended, but it's only the beginning of what's ahead.