Keshav Bhattarai was born and raised in Nepal. He earned his B.A in Nepal and M.S. in England. In 2000, he received his Ph.D. degree from Indiana University where he studied geography with an environmental focus. Prior to coming to the United States in the mid-1990s, he worked as district forest officer for the government of Nepal. He has published articles in Applied Geography, Journal of Developing Areas, and International Development Planning Review. Currently, he is an associate professor of geography at Central Missouri State University.