The Team
Silvia Vasquez-Lavado, Founder

Silvia Vasquez-Lavado is a humanitarian, adventurous mountaineer, explorer, social entrepreneur, author, and technologist. In 2016, Silvia became the first Peruvian woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal. By 2018, she completed climbing 7 Summits (the tallest mountain in each continent), becoming the first openly gay woman to do so. In addition to founding Courageous Girls, Silvia is a fierce advocate for LGTBQ+ equality and women’s rights and sexual abuse survivors. Silvia’s memoir In The Shadow of The Mountain, will be published by Henry Holt in February 2022. In addition, Silvia’s journey will be turned into a feature film featuring Selena Gomez as Silvia.
Shailee Bassnet, Co-founder

Shailee Basnet is the leader of the “Seven Summits Women Team,” a group of climbers from Nepal that became the first female team to scale the highest mountain in each continent. She and her team have received global accolades ranging from an audience in the White House to one of the highest civilian medal decorations from the President of Nepal.
In addition, Shailee co-leads education and empowerment projects in Nepal. Shailee is an internationally sought public speaker and a stand-up comic who performs in Nepal and the US.
Maya Gurung, Co-founder

Maya Gurung is a pioneering mountaineer from Nepal who was the first female from her ethnic community to scale Mt Everest in 2008. She then continued her mountaineering venture with the ‘Seven Summits Women Team,’ the world’s first female group to summit the highest peak in each continent. In addition, she is the first Nepali woman to lead a climb to a virgin peak, Mt Gyaljen, in the Jugal mountain range in the year 2019. Having escaped from child marriage, her rural roots made her deeply aware of various forms of gendered social ills ranging from domestic violence to sex trafficking of underage girls. As a result, Maya has led outdoor training programs, provided scholarship and mentorship to many rural women, and leads the Trekking Leadership Academy in Nepal.
Bojana Novakovic, CG Board Member
