Board Member: Dr. Iccha Basnyat, Virginia
Dr. Iccha Basnyat is an Associate Professor in the Global Affairs Program with a joint appointment in
the Department of Communication at George Mason University. Iccha received her BA from the
University of Utah, MPH from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and PhD from Purdue
University. Upon graduation, Iccha lived and worked at the National University of Singapore for a
decade before moving back to the United States with family. Iccha researches the intersections of
gender, culture, and health inequalities surrounding health and health risks of marginalized and
vulnerable women. Her research has primarily focused on South and South East Asia. Iccha has close
to 50 publications in leading disciplinary journals and book chapters. She also co-edited a five-volume
encyclopedia that brought together international contributors to address a range of recent and
emerging topics in global health communication. Iccha was elected as the first Diversity, Equity, and
Inclusion (DE&I) Chair for the health communication division of the National Communication
Association. She is currently the vice-chair elect for the same division. She has also been appointed to
numerous leadership roles in both the International and National Communication Associations. She
is also a faculty equity advisor on the DEI Team in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at
George Mason University. Iccha is also an associate editor for a disciplinary journal, as well as serves on
numerous editorial boards of leading disciplinary journals. Iccha has been invited by the World
Health Organization to join their external advisory council in the health learnings unit. Iccha’s
research and various leadership positions highlight that she is a strong advocate of social change and
justice-based work for marginalized and vulnerable women.