Nisha is a Portland, Oregon native who began hand-sewing clothes for her dolls at age 5. Her love of the arts grew throughout her childhood after taking art classes at a local community center. Nisha holds a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts from the University of Oregon and a Masters degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Colorado-Denver. In 2007 she taught art classes to children at the Albuquerque Museum of Art, which focused on the creative reuse of materials. The following year Nisha moved to Denver, Colorado where she worked as a teacher in a first and second grade classroom.

Nisha joined CHAP in 2012 as a volunteer for both OHSU’s Doernbecher Children’s Hospital and the Knight Cancer Institute. At the Knight Institute, Nisha worked with families receiving bone marrow transplants. She was humbled to learn that these families faced relocation due to the extended length of their medical treatments. She is honored to share the arts with families who are faced with various challenges. In early 2013 she accepted a position at CHAP as program coordinator, but left at year’s end after the birth of her daughter.

In 2014, Nisha joined the CHAP Board of Directors, served as Board President in 2019, and is proud to continue her support of CHAP as a substitute art teacher at Doernbecher. She loves to craft, cook, and ride her bike.