Friends of Maiti Nepal is the official representative of Maiti Nepal in the United States. Friends of Maiti Nepal’s primary role is to gather resources in the US to assist Maiti Nepal in its battle against the egregious human rights violations of sex trafficking.
The Friends of Maiti Nepal was incorporated in Massachusetts in 2001 as a chapter 180 non-profit corporation. It is tax-exempt under 501(c)3 of the US Internal Revenue Code. It was founded by Brigitte Cazalis-Collins and Joseph H. Collins. They have a long term association with Nepal, where they have lived intermittently for the past 20 years, pursuing various charitable activities.
Our Founders and Board Members
Brigitte Cazalis-Collins
Executive Director & Co-Founder
Brigitte has directed and implemented major outreach projects assisting refugees and women both in the US and in Nepal. In the US she was a member of the founding board of the Tibetan Resettlement Project, which provided sponsors, housing, employment and counseling to Tibetan families who immigrated to the US under the Immigration Act of 1992. Since 2001, she has devoted her efforts to representing Maiti Nepal in the United States, focusing on fund raising and increasing awareness of the problem of sex trafficking.
Shelly Dee
Director
Shelly is the owner of The Creede Hotel and Restaurant and The Stables at the Rio Grande, an events venue, in Creede, CO. In Creede, she is President of the Chamber of Commerce and The Creede Center for the Arts. She also serves on various nonprofit boards in Dallas, TX including The Perot Museum of Nature and Science. She previously was a board member at KERA (NPR), VolunteerNow, UNICEF USA, and the Dallas Museum of Art, where she was chair of the Collections and Marketing Committees.
Shelly joined the board in 2022 and has been raising funds for Maiti Nepal for over ten years. She tries to visit Nepal annually. Shelly holds degrees from the University of Virginia and Harvard Business School.
John Evans
Director
John is a long-time supporter of Friends of Maiti Nepal and has 10 years experience fundraising for charities by running marathons. John joined the board in 2024 and acts as secretary. His professional career spans over 35 years in B2B enterprise software marketing. He holds a bachelors degree from Bowdoin College and an MBA from The University of Michigan Ross School of Business.
Joseph H. Collins
In Memoriam – Co-Founder & Director
Joseph worked for many years as an economic advisor to various government ministries and the Central Bank of Nepal on a pro-bono basis. His company, J. H. Collins and Associates, together with the Harvard Law School Program on International Financial Systems and KPMG(India) wrote and supervised the passage of legislation in Nepal to encourage foreign investment and economic development.