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.
Center Initiates New Partnership to Promote Women Artisans in Central Asia
-Smithsonian Folklife Magazine
Center Launches Heritage & Handicrafts: OAXACA Artisan Project
-Smithsonian Folklife Magazine
Indonesian Batik Education: Going Virtual, Growing in Rootedness
-Smithsonian Folklife Magazine
Reviving Tradition With the My Handmade Armenia Festival
- Smithsonian Voices From the Smithsonian Museums
Virtual Craft Exchange Program Develops into In-Person Classes in Kazakhstan
-Smithsonian Folklife Magazine
A Global Tapestry of Craft: Championing Women Artisans of Central Asia in a New Lookbook
-Smithsonian Folklife Magazine
Storytelling through Textiles: Cross-Cultural Crafting from Kazakhstan to the United States
-Smithsonian Folklife Magazine
The Magical Story of Weaving in Kuwait
-Bahrain This Week