Our team

Ashkhen Khudaverdyan

Ashkhen Khudaverdyan is the co-founder of Nexora Group, where she leads the business and enterprise development aspects of programs connecting cultural heritage, tourism, and design. Her commitment to cultural innovation builds on her experience as a Project Manager with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, where she led initiatives in heritage enterprise and community-based tourism. Ashkhen holds an MBA from the American University of Armenia and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®). Her work spans Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, and Central Asia, fostering sustainable growth in the cultural economy.

Our Network of Experts 

Alisa Sargsyan

Jade Hutchinson

Interior Designe⏐Studio SomethingSomething

Lesli Robertson is the founder of Nexora Group, leading cross-cultural programs that connect craft, design, and community. With over two decades of experience as a textile designer, educator, and global project developer, she has advanced sustainable heritage initiatives worldwide. Through her broader professional work, Lesli serves as a senior advisor for the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, outreach director for Around the World in 80 Fabrics, and founder of Mekeka Designs, a studio reimagining Ugandan weaving traditions through contemporary design. Her work spans regions including Central Asia, East Africa, Latin America, and the Caucasus.

Her diverse background encompasses research, education, and a deep commitment to preserving and innovating creative traditions across cultures.

Anush Inants

Lesli Robertson

Our Story

Their work spanned diverse yet interconnected fields, including cultural project management, enterprise development, design, and education, and extended across cultural contexts ranging from arts and crafts to festivals, architecture, and interior design. Through this experience, one insight became clear: meaningful cultural impact requires more than isolated initiatives; it calls for an integrated approach that brings strategy, creativity, and community together. 

By combining their complementary expertise, Lesli and Ashkhen created a powerful synergy that brings together their collective experience and Nexora Group’s network of experts, generating greater force and deeper, more sustainable impact than any single discipline could achieve alone. This synergy enables them to shape solutions that are innovative yet deeply respectful of place, strategic yet human, and firmly rooted in local communities while honoring the authenticity, and living traditions that give culture its soul. 

This shared vision became the foundation of Nexora Group, a collaborative program design agency working adaptively across countries and sectors. 

The name Nexora, drawn from the Latin word nexor, meaning to bind, connect, or tie together, reflects their combined expertise, global networks, and their ability to create connection-driven solutions that are thoughtfully and flexibly shaped around the unique needs, contexts, and goals of each program.


Our Values

  • Adaptability

  • Trust and Respect

  • Thoughtful Innovation

  • Lasting Value

Our Mission

Nexora Group’s mission is to connect culture, strategy, and community through thoughtfully designed, innovative solutions that create lasting impact.