Susmita Maskey, a Nepal native, is an accomplished climber, a social activist and a motivational/public speaker. Over the past twelve years, through her climbs and speaking, Susmita has drawn public and global media attention to the idea of “Women and Girls Safety, Empowerment, and Education.” This year, this objective will be highlighted through the Seven Summits Expeditions. Susmita has made successful ascents of Mt. Everest twice (Asia), Mt. Elbrus (Europe), Kilimanjaro (Africa), Aconcagua (South America), Mt. Kosciuszko (Australia) and Mt. McKinley/Denali (North America) and will be heading for final peak Vinson Massif (Antarctica) in November. In the year 2008, she led the most successful and historic expedition of 10 Nepali women to Everest with notions of “Unity in Diversity” and “Women Empowerment & Gender Equality”. For her contributions, she received the MDG3 Champion torch under the Danish Global Call to Action on Millennium Development Goal 3, the Nawadevi Award 2008, and the Youth Ambassador for Peace by Universal Peace Federation. In 2010, she was invited by the State Department of USA, to visit under a program entitled “American Youth: Inspiring Leadership and Civic Participation”. In 2011, the Ministry of Tourism in Nepal recognized her as Goodwill Ambassador of Nepal Tourism.
