Steering Committee

Steering Committee

Lhadon Tethong

CO-CHAIR: Lhadon Tethong
Representing North America

Lhadon Tethong is one of the most influential leaders and recognizable faces in the Tibetan freedom movement and was awarded the first annual James Lawson Award for Nonviolent Achievement by the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict. A Tibetan born in Canada, she served previously as Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet. A visionary strategist, she led the high-profile global campaign to condemn China’s rule of Tibet. Lhadon is now the Director of Tibet Action Institute and Tibet Network’s Co-Chair.

Günther Cologna

CO-CHAIR: Günther Cologna
Representing Western Europe

Günther Cologna has long been active in the Tibet Support Movement. Having lived and traveled extensively in Asia and later translated Freedom in Exile, the autobiography of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, into German, he promoted knowledge about Tibet, its history, culture and political struggle in his home province and later, as board member and president of Associazione Italia-Tibet, in Italy. Vice versa, being born and growing up in the Autonomous Province of South Tyrol, he was instrumental in providing Tibetan institutions with the knowledge and experience about autonomous arrangements around the world.

Ngawang Tashi

Ngawang Tashi
Representing North America

Ngawang Tashi is Vice president of US Tibet Committee and General Secretary of Tibetan National Congress (TNC). He also served as the former president of Regional Tibetan Youth congress and Regional Ngari Association of New Jersey. Besides that Ngawang Tashi led the March for Tibet’s Independence or walk for Tibet from the United Nations Building at New York to The white house at Washington DC in 2014. And also coordinated the march for Tibet’s Independence from Philadelphia’s Independence bell to the United Nations building at New York and again from the independence bell at Philadelphia to white House at Washington DC in 2019.

Tenzin Jigme

Tenzin Jigme
Representing North America

Tenzin Jigme is an active member of the Tibetan community, recently serving on the board of the Capital Area Tibetan Association. In addition, Jigme served in various capacities in the Tibet movement, as International Coordination at Internal Tibet Network and Field Researcher at International Campaign for Tibet.

Tao Tenzing Dhamcho

Tao Tenzing Dhamcho
Representing North America

Tao Tenzing Dhamcho, known to be an insightful leader, an ardent Tibet and Human Rights advocate,  and has served as the President of Tibetan Association of Southern California and the Los Angeles Friends of Tibet. Currently, serving on the Board and Steering Committee of Tibet Network.  Outside the Tibet movement, he has served on the Board of CAST (Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking) and volunteered with various youth developmental and mentoring organizations in the Los Angeles area. He holds an MBA degree in Business & Finance from Pepperdine University.  He is currently in a Senior Management role with an Investment Banking Group.

Gerardo Barrales

Gerardo Barrales
Representing Latin America

Gerardo Barrales was born in Mexico City and lived in several places over the years, including the US. He´s been working with the Tibetan movement since 2008 and has founded several Tibet Groups in different cities of Mexico. During his time in the movement Gerardo had organized protests, concerts, film screenings, and lectures always trying to create consciousness about the situation of the Tibetan people.

Eleanor Byrne-Rosengren

Eleanor Byrne-Rosengren
Representing Northern Europe

Eleanor Byrne-Rosengren has been involved in the Tibet movement for over 20 years and has been working in human rights since 2006. She served as Executive Director of both Free Tibet and Tibet Watch from 2013 to 2020. She then moved back to Scotland where she set up Tibet Solidarity – a new group which works closely with the Tibetan community in Scotland and with recently arrived Hongkongers. Eleanor is also Secretary for the Cross Party Group on Tibet in the Scottish Parliament.

Tony Dunne

Tony Dunne
Representing Northern Europe

Tony Dunne became involved in the Tibetan Support Movement in 1987 after a chance meeting with a number of Tibetan Buddhist Monks in Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia.  Upon returning to Ireland in 1992 Tony became involved in Tibet Support Group Ireland and in 2018 took on the role of Chairperson. A member of the Fine Gael parliamentary party, Tony lobbies elected members in both houses of the Irish Parliament and Government Ministers on all matters relating to Tibet, its People, Culture, Heritage and Environment.  He also acts as an interface between Irish Parliamentarians, the Tibetan Community in Ireland and the Office of Tibet in London.    

Matt Bjornerstedt

Matt Bjornerstedt
Representing Northern Europe

Matt Bjornerstedt has been chairman of the Swedish Tibet Committee since 2017. He has been an active member of the Confucius, Tashi Wangchuk, Political Prisoners and Olympics campaigns, and is currently in the Boarding school group. He is also active in coordinating with Uyghurs, Hongkongers and other groups in Sweden. Matt is a firm believer in the importance of international cooperation, also from a social perspective. As a systems developer he is keen on finding tools that can improve campaign efficiency.

Tenzin Passang

Tenzin Passang
Representing South Asia

Tenzin Passang was born as a stateless refugee in India, where she completed her Master’s Degree in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University.

In 2020, Passang interned at SFT India, where she helped coordinate key projects, including a solidarity initiative with the global campaign to #save12HKYouths, an initiative to stand in solidarity with the 12 Hong Kong activists arrested under the National Security Law.

Since joining the SFT India team as the Programs Director in 2021, Passang has successfully organized key programs such as the ‘Free Tibet! Action Camp’ 2022, and Little Lhasa Program in 2022 and 2023, all while overcoming, and winning, a tremendous battle with cancer.

Tsering Dorjee

Tsering Dorjee
Representing East Asia

Tsering Dorjee is the Representative of Students For a Free Tibet, Japan as voluntary since 2008 and also second generation Tibetan born in India. He has been living in Japan for the last 25 years.

Dr Zoë Bedford

Dr Zoë Bedford
Representing Australasia

Dr Zoë Bedford has been involved with the Australia Tibet Council since 1999 when she volunteered at an event. Since that time she worked with ATC as a campaigner and also on the Board as a director and chairperson.  Zoë is currently the Executive Officer of ATC.

Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, Zoë has lived and worked overseas in the Philippines and Thailand. She was an aid worker for many years, supporting projects in the Pacific and working with Burmese refugees on the Thai-Burma border on diverse projects.

Zoë has a Doctor of Social Sciences in Peace and Conflict studies from the University of Sydney as well as a Master in International Social Development from the University of NSW and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from Newcastle University.

Katerina Bursikova Jacques

Katerina Bursikova Jacques
Representing Central & Eastern Europe

Katerina Bursikova Jacques is a mentor and adviser for politics, business and NGOs. Former MP of the Czech Republic and Director of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Government Commissioner for Human Rights. She founded the Tibet Support Group in the Czech Parliament, and authored a resolution of the Chamber of Deputies on the situation in Tibet in 2008. She organized His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s official visit to the Czech Republic. She is currently a member of the Steering Committee of Tibet Network and International Campaign for Tibet, Germany.

Jānis Mārtiņš

Jānis Mārtiņš
Representing Central & Eastern Europe

Jānis Mārtiņš is the Founder and Chairman of the Society “Latvia for Tibet”, and has worked tiresly for human rights, freedom and democracy for
nations and countries to exist.  He is a counselor to the Members of Latvian Parliament and municipal governments and has lead and organised HH the Dalai Lama visit to Latvia as well as Tibetan exiled politicians and Russian political opposition leaders. Organisations and boards he is also apart of: We Can Save Children in the Baltic States, Wings of Ukrainian Revival in Europe, Knight of Malta, Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine & Magnitsky Act lobby in Europe.

Guy Lieberman

Guy Lieberman
Representing Africa and the Middle East

Guy Lieberman worked full time as an activist for Tibet between 1994 and 2000, founding a Jo’burg based TSG. As liaison for His Holiness’s visits, he facilitated both meetings between the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela. Guy moved to Israel in 2017. In 2018 collaborated with the local TSG to host the former Sikyong Lobsang Sangay. In 2019 Guy curated a tour to Dharamsala with Palestinian and Israeli peace activists, titled the Triple Narrative Encounter. The delegation met with His Holiness and other Tibetan leaders.

Migmar Raith

Migmar Raith
Representing Western Europe

Migmar Raith was born in Tibet but was brought up and schooled in Switzerland. He has been directly engaged in the Tibet movement for well over 30 years and has been involved in a number of Tibetan Organisations and NGOs in Switzerland during that time. He has an MA in Geography from Biology and Sport University Basel and another MA in Pedagogy and Psychology from the University Fribourg. Currently, he is a teacher at a grammar school and a lecturer at Teacher Training College.