Pratikshya Bhandari, who leads career guidance initiatives for students at Kopila Valley School in Surkhet, has won the 2026 Herizon Award in the Emerging Leader category.
Presented by the Business Intelligence Group, the award recognises women whose leadership is transforming workplaces and communities. This year's awards honoured 57 winners across five nominee roles and four countries.
Bhandari is the Futures Program Associate Manager at Kopila Valley School, where she and her team help students in rural Nepal identify their strengths, explore career opportunities and pursue higher education.
The programme supports students through career counselling, internship placements, scholarships, community service-learning projects and place-based learning. It has also introduced a collaborative Maker Space to help students develop practical skills and explore their interests.
Russ Fordyce, chief recognition officer at the Business Intelligence Group, said Bhandari's work was helping young people in rural Nepal access opportunities to shape their futures and bring change to their communities.
Bhandari credited the Kopila Valley School and BlinkNow teams for supporting the work, saying the recognition would encourage them to expand their engagement with the community.
According to her profile provided by the organisation, the Futures Team has supported more than 349 first-generation learners in a region where formal career guidance is limited.
Raised in Rajapur, Bardiya, Bhandari holds a bachelor's degree in public health and an MBA from King's College in Kathmandu. She previously served as a Teach for Nepal fellow and managed programmes at Bloom Nepal Foundation before joining Kopila Valley School.
The award recognises her work in expanding career guidance and educational opportunities for students in underserved communities.
