TENZIN KALSANG GONTA

Tenzin Kalsang Gonta (she/they) was an inaugural member of the International Campaign for Tibet’s Tibetan Youth Leadership Program and is honored to come full circle by serving as a Board member for the organization. The child of Tibetan refugees, Gonta is among the first generation of Tibetans born in the United States. Raised by a wise and loving community of elders, Gonta is an active member of the Tibetan diaspora. They served in the Tibetan government-in-exile and held leadership positions with a wide range of Tibet support groups, each essential to advancing His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s vision for the Tibetan people.

Professionally, Gonta has dedicated their career as an accountability professional in the public and nonprofit sectors. They have led teams of performance auditors at the state and local levels of government to improve services for the most vulnerable. As a certified internal auditor, Gonta has contributed to the profession as a peer reviewer with the Association of Local Government Auditors, board member for the Portland chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors, and audit expert on the bond accountability committee for Portland Public Schools. Prior to their career in government, Gonta held positions in the nonprofit sector at organizations of local and national scope.

They remain connected to community-based organizations as a volunteer, most recently as Board Treasurer for the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization. In graduate school, Gonta researched public-nonprofit partnerships as well as projects that developed nonprofit leaders of color. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Gonta is grateful for the quality experiences they can share with their child at Tibetan School each Sunday and in the wilderness each summer.