Jessica Stern, a special envoy of the US, will embark on a 8-day trip to India and Nepal in order to promote the human rights of the LGBTQI+ community. The visit beginning on August 10 will last until August 14 in Nepal followed by her India visit from August 23 to 27. According to a press release by the US State Department, Stern during her visit will meet with government officials and other stakeholders to discuss advancing the human rights of LGBTQI+ people in each country. An adjunct professor at Columbia University, Stern was previously the executive director of OutRight Action International based in New York. According to the White House, she holds expertise in working with the LGBTQI+ community, and people with non-conventional sexual orientation, to ensure they avail basic human rights. Stern has also “provided expert opinions to governments globally, regional human rights institutions as well as the UN mechanisms,” according to the US State Department. She also helped expand the UN General Assembly resolution to include gender equality and co-founded the LGBTQI Core Group.