PERSONAL SUMMARY
With two deaces of professional and academic experience in public advocacy communication, democracy promotion, safeguarding human rights and social justice, and advancing women’s leadership, I am deeply committed to driving meaningful social and political change toward a just, free, and responsible world.
Nov 2023 – Present
As a non-resident scholar at the Milton Eisenhower Foundation, I am assisting Dr. Lobsang Sangay, former Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government in Exile and Lecturer at Harvard Law School, on a project entitled “Democratic Institutions in Exile: A New Approach to U.S. International Aid and Refugee Empowerment.” This project, culminating in a book will offer a comparative analysis of global refugee scenarios and the intricacies of U.S. foreign aid policies, and advocate for a concept of democracy in exile, drawing on the experiences of a democratic Tibetan government in exile.
Assistant Professor of Humanities and Cultural Studies, Hampshire College
Spring 2024
At the Humanities Department, I teach ‘HACU 0202: Communicating Climate Change.’ Situated at the intersection of cultural studies and climate change communication, this course enables students to critically assess claims, narratives, and stories about climate change. They learn to think strategically and analytically, producing impactful analyses and compelling cultural narratives.
Assistant Professor of Communication, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication, Syracuse University
Fall 2023
As the lead instructor for ‘Comm 350 Topics in Media, Diversity & Inclusion: Cultural Diversity in Media,’ an online synchronous class offered for undergraduates, I design and deliver a course that introduces important topics and themes related to cultural diversity and social inclusion in media industries. By examining specific topics, industries, or media products as a lens, we explore the broader implications of representation and inclusivity.
Consultant for Crisis Communication Management Framework, International Tibet Network
Jun 2023 – Sept 2023
As a Communications Consultant, I played a pivotal role in developing the Crisis Communication Management Framework (CCMF) for the global Tibetan freedom movement. This comprehensive framework is designed to enhance the movement’s ability to effectively manage and overcome crisis scenarios. Within the larger landscape of global communications, it encompasses strategic communication planning both within the movement and in external engagements.
Instructor, Department of Communication University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Jan 2020 – May 2023
As a graduate instructor of record of Writing as Communication (Comm 375) and Public Speaking (Comm 260), my roles include developing curriculum, teaching and mentoring students, submitting grades, evaluating courses, and ensuring that my teaching meets the learning objectives of the program and the course.
Communications Chair & Board Member, Association for Anthropology of Consciousness, American Anthropological Association
May 2021 – present
As a Board Member, I advise the work of an interdisciplinary association of anthropologists, psychologists, mythologists, archaeologists, sociologists, and like-minded scholar-practitioners united by a common interest in the study of consciousness from an anthropological perspective. As the Communications Chair, I strategize and executive external communication including social media communication for programs and publication undertaking of Anthropology of Consciousness, a segment of the American Anthropological Association.
Project leader & Content developer, Environment Section, The New Tibet Museum, Central Tibetan Administration
October 2017 – May 2021
As the part of the project leadership, I led and supervised the creation of the New Tibet Museum, a history museum and a center for research, learning, engagement, and development, of Tibet and the Tibetan people. As a Content Developer, I Led and developed content and design creation for the Environment Section at the New Tibet Museum, which foregrounds the environmental significance of the Tibetan plateau also known as the Earth’s Third Pole, Roof of the World, Asia’s Water Tower, and Rain Maker.
Secretary, Department of Information and International Relations, Central Tibetan Administration
June 2016 – January 2019
As the head of the Information office of the Central Tibetan Administration, I managed the Information, Broadcast and Advocacy department of the Central Tibetan Administration. Responsibilities included managing The Tibet Museum, Tibet TV, Tri-lingual news platforms (Tibet.net/ Bod.Asia/Xizang.ziye), Grants and Project sections, United Nations and Human Rights Section, Social Media desk, and Translation and Publication Section. In addition, I spearheaded the implementation of CTA’s Five-fifty vision, which focused on addressing Tibet’s political challenges.
Advisory Committee Member, Women’s Empowerment Desk, Central Tibetan Administration
January 2017 – December 2018
Responsibilities included advising the WED that aims to ensure gender perspectives are incorporated in the design, implementation and monitoring of all of CTA’s program activities. Took active role in hosting the convening of the ‘First Tibetan Women’s Empowerment Conference’ by the Central Tibetan Administration.
Co-Chair, International Tibet Network
November 2012 – September 2016
As the Co-Chair, I advised the executive committee of the Network, chaired meetings of the Steering Committee of the Network representing a global coalition of over 120 Tibet-related non-governmental organizations. Furthermore, I played an instrumental role in the conceptual framing and execution of the Tibet Third Pole campaign to protect Tibet’s ecology and safeguard the Tibetan people’s environmental rights.
General Secretary, Tibetan Chinese PEN Association
April 2014 – May 2016
In my role as the elected General Secretary, I organized conferences and managed grants for TCPA, a worldwide non-profit, non-political and non-governmental association made up of Tibetan and Chinese writers, editors, researchers, publishers and journalists who have interest in the preservation and promotion of the Tibetan literature.
Elected Representative of Tibetan Parliament in Exile
May 2011 -May 2016
I won two consecutive elections held in exile India and hold the record for the highest number of votes ever received for a parliamentary candidate. In my role as a Member of the Parliament, I led programs and campaigns to advocate for the political rights of the Tibetan people inside Tibet. I took an active leadership roles in ensuring strategic policy formulation and implementation to strengthen Tibetan democratic institutions in exile.
Research and Media Executive, Tibetan Women’s Association
September 2005 – September 2006, and February 2008- April 2012
As the Research and Advocacy Officer, I led a team of researchers to produce the most authoritative reports and multimedia production on the status of Tibetan women in Tibet and China’s policies of control and coercion. I also managed media, campaigns, public relations, advocacy programs, women empowerment projects, and gender sensitization programs of TWA. I advised the Women’s Environment and Development Desk (WEDD), championing environmental justice for Tibetans in Tibet, with a particular focus on women, and children.
ADVOCACY HISTORY
- Climate justice
Chaired Tibet Third Pole climate advocacy campaigns led by the International Tibet Network, 2012 – 2016
Part of the Tibet Third Pole (T3P) delegation, first Tibet advocacy group to participate in the United National Conference on Climate Change (COP-15), Copenhagen, December 2009 -January 2010
- Gender and women’s issues
Speaker and Moderator, Preparing for Change: The Need for Discernment, Women and Global Change, August 2022
Speaker, Theorizing a Female Dalai Lama: An Intersectional Tool for Feminisms, Center for Women’s Studies, Cotton University, Guwahati, June 2022.
Speaker, Power of the Feminine: Facing Shadow, Evoking Light, Webinar, Human Foundation, Egypt, October 2021
Moderator, Living from the Heart , Panel Discussion, Women’s Economic Forum, Caribbean, August 2021
Speaker, Public interaction with Taiwanese Member of Parliament Yu Mei-nu on “Is Gender an Issue?-Tibetan and Taiwanese Female Politicians Talk about Their Bitter-Sweet Experience,” Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan, Taipei, Taiwan, November 2017
Organized and led the first Legal Empowerment of Tibetan Women in Exile, Tibetan Women’s Association, Dharamsala, India, August 2014
Speaker, Gender and Its Understanding in the Tibetan Community, Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Dharamsala, India, June 2014
Speaker, Women’s Rights, Human Dignity and Equality, United Nations Watch, Geneva, February 2014
Tabled the first ‘Private Member’s Resolution on Protecting Tibetan Women’s Sexual and Legal Rights’ in the Tibetan Parliament, Dharamsala, September 2011
Organized and led a series of Advanced Tibetan Women’s Leadership Training, Tibetan Women’s Association, Dharamsala, June 2010 – November 2011
Speaker, 1st International Congress on Women’s Health and Unsafe Abortion (ICWHUA) , Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR), Bangkok, January 2010
Organized and led a series of Women’s Empowerment Programs, Tibetan Women’s Association India, September 2005 – August 2017
Organized and led a series of Tibetan Nuns’ Leadership Programs, Tibetan Women’ Association, India, June 2009 – April 2012
- Human rights
Lead trainer, Digital Media Advocacy at the first ‘International Rohingya Youth Conference,’ British Rohingya of United Kingdom (BROUK), London, December 2019
Organized and hosted the first ‘Geneva Forum for Human Rights,’ Central Tibetan Administration, Geneva, November 2018
Moderator, Promises Unfulfilled: Human Rights in China-the case of Tibet and Xinjiang, UN Human Rights Side Event, Society for Threatened People, Geneva, November 2018
Speaker, Human Rights in China-Seeking Solutions, UN Human Rights Side Event, Society for Threatened People, Geneva, September 2018
Speaker, Tibet- a burning desire for freedom, Fritt Ort Foundation, Oslo, Norway, December 2013
Speaker, Press Conference to condemn China’s current propaganda drive and crackdown in Tibet. Also recognized as World’s First Ever Google+ Hangout Global Live Press Conference, June 2011
- Intersectional Social justice
Speaker, Non-violent resistance in Tibet, Tibet Initiative Deutschland, Darmstadt, Germany, September 2018
Speaker, ‘International seminar on Minority and indigenous peoples’ rights,’ KIOS, the Finnish NGO foundation for human rights, Helsinki, Finland, November 2011
- Political advocacy
Moderator/speaker, Expert panel: Crafting Legitimacy in Exile: The Case of Tibetan Democracy, International Tibet Network, November 2022
Guest lecturer, Valuing Democracy: The Case of Tibetan Democracy in Exile, Department of Government – Democracy and Governance, Georgetown University, Washington D.C., November 2022
Speaker, Leading freedom in exile, TEDx Dharamsala, India, November 2017
Speaker, ‘Taiwan International Conference on Tibet,’ Taipei, Taiwan, November 2017
Organized and hosted the first ‘Five-fifty conference: Shaping Tibet’s political future,’ Central Tibetan Administration, Dharamsala, India, October 2017
Speaker, ‘9th Inter-ethnic Leadership Conference,’ Citizen Power of China, Taipei, Taiwan, April 2014
Speaker, Making Democracy Real, Initiatives of Change, Asia Plateau, Panchgani, India, February 2014
Representative, Tibetan Parliamentary delegation, All-India Lobby Campaign, January – May 2013
Media Relations Committee, Tibetan People’s Solidarity Campaign. Delhi, India, February 2013
Tibetan Parliamentary Representative at the 6th World Parliamentarian Convention on Tibet, Canadian Parliament, Ottawa, Canada, April 2012
- Diplomacy
Organizing committee member and moderator, Virtual celebration of Tibetan Policy and Support Act 2020, Regional Tibetan Association of Western Massachusetts, Amherst, February 2021
Vice Chair, Organizing Committee, Thank You India-2018, Central Tibetan Administration, March-April 2018
Vice Chair, Organizing Committee, Cultural Festival of Tibet, Central Tibetan Administration, April 2018
Core member, Organizing Committee, High Level bipartisan U.S. Congressional Delegation’s visit to Dharamsala led by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Central Tibetan Administration, May 2017
- Youth leadership
Organized and hosted the first ‘Five-fifty youth conference: Shaping Tibet’s future,’ Central Tibetan Administration, Dharamsala, India, August 2018
Speaker, Advocacy in the age of social media, Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Dharamsala, India, August 2017
Speaker, Youth Empowerment, Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Dharamsala, India, June 2016
Moderator, Beijing plus 20: Women’s Leadership Status in Asia, A Panel Discussion, Tibetan Women’s Association. Delhi, December 2015
Moderator, Role of Women in Peace-building, Reconciliation and ensuring Accountability, A Panel Discussion, Tibetan Women’s Association. Delhi, December 2013
Interviews
Featured in Sharing Things podcast of University of Edinburgh in October 2022
Tibet will set the litmus test for China’s rise. Published in Deutsche Welle (DW), March 30, 2018
Dhardon Sharling mirroring struggle of Tibet sans China’s narrative. Published in The Tibet Post, June 24, 2017
I faced a storm, I surfed it through: Dhardon Sharling. Published in Tibet Sun, October 6, 2016
I truly believe that no one is above the law: Sharling Dhardon. Published in The Tibet Post, June, 2016
India’s Tibetan women assuming bigger roles. Published in Deutsche Welle (DW), January 1, 2014
The Stream — Tibet: Striving beyond the Middle Way?. Broadcast on Aljazeera Stream, August 18, 2011
Gender roles of Tibetan society challenged on a daily basis. Published in The Tibet Post, July 20, 2011
Digital storytelling
Creative advisor, A Place in the Sun: Stories from Tibet in Exile, a Tibet TV production premiered at the 15th New Asia Cinema, Umass. Also coordinated its world premiere. October, 2019
Creative advisor, India’s Roadbuilders, a Tibet TV production. October, 2019
Creative advisor, Connecting Faith through Technology, a Tibet TV production. January, 2017
Created a short documentary Are We Ready-2011, January 2010
Acted in a short Tibetan film Chocho, April 2004
Academic conference presentations
Sharling, T. D., (2021 March). Buddhist and Feminist Approaches to Climate and Ecology, Sea Change: Lifeworlds & Ecological Upheaval, Society for the Anthropology of Consciousness, American Anthropological Association
Sharling, T. D., (2021 March). International Women’s Day: Women Creating Change, Centre for Lifelong Learning, California Institute for Human Science
Sharling, T. D., (2020 October). Evoking the Power of the Feminine, Centre for Lifelong Learning, California Institute for Human Science
Sharling, T. D., (2020 November). The Anthropologist as Other: Praxis, Identity & the Future of Modern Anthropology, Society for the Anthropology of Consciousness, American Anthropological Association
Sharling, T. D., (2017 February). Resolving the Tibet question: the strategic relevance and importance of the Middle-Way approach, University of Westminster, London
Sharling, T. D., (2017 February). Borderlines Conference 2017: Religion, Nationalism, and Identity, Cambridge University, United Kingdom
Education
Doctor of Philosophy in Communication May 2023 University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Graduate Certificate in Feminist Studies May 2022 University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Master of Science in Counselling Studies November 2007 University of Edinburgh
Postgraduate Certificate in Counselling Studies November 2007 University of Edinburgh
Master of Arts in Communication May 2005 Madras Christian College, Madras University, Chennai, India
Bachelor of Arts in English Literature May 2003 Ethiraj College for Women, Madras University, Chennai, India
Teaching experience
At the Department of Communication, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Instructor, Comm 375 Writing as Communication Fall 2021-Spring 2023
Instructor, Comm 260 Public Speaking Spring 2019- Spring 2021
Teaching Assistant, Comm 339 Media and Public Policy Fall 2019
Teaching Assistant, Comm 397 SE Social Media in Everyday Life Fall 2019
Teaching assistant, Comm 310 Social Influence and Persuasion Spring 2015
Teaching Assistant, Comm 212 Cultural Codes in Communication (Led weekly section class) Fall 2014/ Spring 2016/Spring 2019
Honors
Distinguished Teaching Award Nominee, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2022-23
Featured as a Umass expert on “Building healthy relationships post Covid.” Umass Magazine. Fall 2021.
Department of Communication nominee for Boscov Fellowship, Umass Amherst, 2021-2022.
Featured as Umass Amherst Campus Celebrity. Her Campus. 2015
Sir Tom Farmer scholarship to pursue graduate studies at University of Edinburgh, 2006-2007
Towards a just, free, and responsible world. 