Meet Our 2018 ASEAN Youth Fellows

Dr. Iznan Tarip graduated from Lancaster University, United Kingdom, in February 2019, specialising in leadership and strategic change. Currently, Dr. Iznan is a researcher at the Institute of Policy Studies & the Institute for Leadership, Advancement and Innovation, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, specialising in the areas of Islamic governance, multi-level governance, and leadership. He is also a member of a number of professional societies, including the Brunei Darussalam Civil Societies Organisation Network and Brunei Youth Council.

Izzah Rahman has years of extensive practice in the areas of Human Behavior and Development, Women Issues and Town Planning. She has shown perseverance and excellent organisational skills in helping to tackle social issues, ranging from youth employability; green building design policy implementation; human; and female empowerment through various talks, workshops, and outreach programs since 2006.

Izzah's work as chairman, secretary and public speaker in many programs shows her determination and strong holistic leadership model. She received the ASEAN Youth Award in 2017 and Voluntary Youth Award in 2016.

Dr. Deth is an Associate Professor of International Relations and Rector of Paragon International University (formerly Zaman University). He received his Bachelor’s degree with High Honors in Sociology from Boĝaziçi University (Turkey), Master’s degree in Southeast Asian Studies from Ohio University (USA), and PhD in Southeast Asian Studies from Humboldt University of Berlin (Germany). He is also a Senior Fellow at the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace (CICP).

Dr. Deth has authored several academic publications and has been invited to give guest lectures at various institutions/universities. Occasionally, he shares his insights with local and regional media about Cambodian and regional affairs.

Tola Hour is the founder and executive director of Perspectives Cambodia, a social platform for young Cambodians to build work capacities, increase trust and gain the courage to apply their knowledge, skills and experience through advocacy. He is the former President And advisor to Paññāsāstra Student Senate (PASS), Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia (PUC). Tola holds a Bachelor Degree of International Relations at Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia (PUC).

Tola received the 10th TAYO ASEAN Award, which recognises potential youth leaders in youth organisations. During his time as a student, Tola was deeply involved in diverse Student Association activities and projects both nationally and internationally. He was elected to President of Paññāsāstra Student Senate (PASS) at his university in 2014. He conducted community projects in almost 40 rural areas related to issues such as public health, human resource development, and the environment. Since 2013, Tola has been an active member of the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia (UYFC).

Kounila Keo is the Managing Director for Cambodia and Indochina at REDHILL Asia, focusing on integrated marketing strategies, PR and digital campaigns as well as market research. A journalist by training, she reported for AFP and other international publications for six years and has a deep understanding of the Cambodian and Southeast Asian media landscape.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Media and Communications and a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. In 2017, she was featured in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, in the category of media, advertising and marketing.

Sok Piseth is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of G Gear Company Ltd. He holds two Bachelor Degrees: a Bachelor of Informatics Economics from the Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), and a Bachelor of Arts in Teaching English as Foreign Language in 2007 from the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP). He received his MBA from Charles Sturt University, Australia in 2016.

A young entrepreneur himself, Piseth understands the difficulties of navigating Cambodia’s complex and competitive business environment. Since launching his first company, Toys & Me, in 2007, Piseth has diversified his business portfolio to include G Gear, which is a mechanical and electrical engineering company and the official distributor of LG Electronics products, and Hyundai Elevators.

Mr. Andar Nubowo is the Deputy Chairman of LAZISMU (Muhammadiyah Philanthropy Institute), the biggest Islamic philanthropic organisation in Indonesia, affiliated to Muhammadiyah, which is the oldest Islamic non-governmental organisation in Indonesia.

Holding a DEA (Diplome d’Etude Approfondie) in political sciences from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) Paris in France, Andar is also a lecturer at the Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta in Indonesia and was a visiting research fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He is currently a PhD candidate in Philosophy and History at the Ecole Normale Superieure (ENS) de Lyon France.

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Passionate about quality of life and terminal care, Venita loves her career serving patients and frequently speaks at medical and public forums about about health, cancer, palliative care, and patient dignity. Believing that everyone matters, she is actively involved in healthcare advocacy at the district and national level. Venita has also led numerous healthcare trainings, including a joint collaboration with the Singapore International Foundation in Jakarta, 2015-2018.

Hanifah Utami is an experienced international cooperation analyst in the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia, with a demonstrated history of working in the education management industry.

Previously, Hanifah worked as a bank remittance officer. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, having received a full scholarship sponsored from the US Embassy in Jakarta, giving her the opportunity to enhance her English language proficiency in the United States. Later, she received a scholarship from the Indonesian Government to pursue her Master's degree in Banking and Finance at the University of Sheffield, UK.

Khampeng manages the academic affairs of the SV Institute of Business as well as academic planning, design and development, and teaching and learning programmes. He is also the Executive Director for Lao Argotech Public Company and External Assessor for Education Quality Assurance Center (MOE).

Khampeng graduated with a PhD in Organisation Development and Human Capability Management at Burapha University in Thailand, and has a Master degree in Business Administration from the National Academy of Public Administration in Lao PDR

Christine works in the field of government affairs and communications field. An engineering graduate, she started her career as a journalist, followed by a stint at the Ministry of Education Malaysia, and currently takes on projects on a consultancy basis.

Christine has undertaken a number of projects with UNDP and has managed projects in Singapore and China in the past two years. An avid volunteer, she was previously the Editor-in-Chief for Humans of KL, and she still volunteers for programmes organised by her friends for the underprivileged community.

Danni Rais is currently an advocate and solicitor based in Kuala Lumpur. Prior to that, he spent eight years in a major Malaysian conglomerate working on business development. His expertise includes, but is not limited to, turning companies around, mergers and acquisitions, and start-ups.

Danni believes that the future is in the hands of the youth, and that every individual plays a role towards nation building. To this effect, he has held the role of President for four years at the Organisation for National Empowerment as President, a youth nation-building Non Goverment Organisation (NGO). He also served as Vice President for two years at the Technopreneurs Association of Malaysia and continues to be involved in charitable NGOs, such as Small Changes.

John-Son Oei is the Founder and Group CEO of Epic Collective, an ecosystem of platforms and companies to activate everyone to be Extraordinary People Impacting Communities. Inspired by Lego and Ikea, his idea was developed with the help of friends and over 40 architects, engineers and designers, culminating into a modular building system. To date, they have built more than 150 homes while working with over 6000 volunteers, from more than 50 countries and over 80 organisations.

John-Son’s work has won him recognition and awards globally; amongst his most recent awards include being appointed as the Board of Director of Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC); acceptance into the Ashoka Fellowship, and being listed in Forbes 30 under 30 List. He was Malaysia’s official flag bearer for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and 2012 Commonwealth day in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Zaim Mohzani is currently pursuing his Master's degree in strategy and diplomacy at the London School of Economics (LSE) under the Chevening Scholarship, awarded by the UK Government.

Zaim has seven years of professional experience in innovation, business development and entrepreneurship. He was most recently attached to a Malaysian government innovation and entrepreneurship agency. Prior to that, he worked as a tech startup manager, an aide to a minister and a program officer. He is passionate about building the next generation of leaders. On the side, Zaim has established three NGOs that have impacted over 5,000 Malaysian youths.

Naing Ye Lin is a business owner and plays an active role in the Singapore Management University (SMU) Myanmar Alumni Chapter, having served the Chapter as President for six years. He is currently pursuing the EMBA program at SMU.

Phyu Phyu Aung is the Managing Director at Leap Group Co.,Ltd. She works on powering up Myanmar by delivering electricity projects in the provinces as well as urban areas. She has also supported housing projects in infrastructure building.

Currently, Phyu Aung is forming a team with youths to focus on agriculture projects. She also oversees a youth engineer committee in the Federation of Myanmar Engineering Society (Fed.MES), leading events for inter-agency cooperation, capacity building in construction and energy efficiency awareness in industry zones. She received the ASEAN Engineer Award 2019 from the ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organisations (AFEO).

Anna Karina Jardin is a Filipina visual artist and social activist based in Malaysia. She believes in the power of art in creating positive social impact. She founded Artistikong Kabataan Philippines Inc to empower Filipino youth with leadership skills through creativity, as well as ARTDIALOGO, which provides a platform for ASEAN artists to collaborate, promote intercultural dialogue and community development.

Anna Karina actively advocates for social inclusion and promotes cultural diplomacy though art. She has been designing and running programs to unleash the potential and leadership skills of children and youth in a creative manner throughout Asia.

A public servant by heart, Joan Arango Lagunda wears many hats: a consultant at the National Bureau of Investigation; Reserve Officer at the Philippine Airfocrce; International Visiting Professorial Fellow at Royal Institutions, Singapore; Honorary Auxiliary Captain at Philippine Coast Guard Auxillary; and President at Research Institute for Community Empowerment.

McRey Banderlipe II has years of extensive consulting practice in the areas of business, research, and public sector management. He has conducted and published studies on corporate governance, forensic accounting, state-owned enterprises, and ASEAN tax harmonisation, among other topics. McRey has also designed and facilitated workshops for local government leaders, accounting educators, and small and medium enterprise (SME) owners.

A certified public accountant, McRey obtained his B.Sc. in Accountancy at the University of Santo Tomas and his M.Sc. in Accountancy at the De La Salle University, where he is presently studying for a Ph.D. in Economics.

Ian is an Emergency Medicine Physician with the National University Health System (NUHS). He is also the Deputy Group Chief Technology Officer for the hospital group, focusing on data in healthcare and artificial intelligence solutions for clinical problems. Besides his clinical work, Ian is an Assistant Professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS), where he combines classroom academic rigour with practical bedside training. He is also a Singapore-Stanford Biodesign Fellow with experience in patient-centric medical technology, from ideation and innovation through to implementation.

Ian has an avid interest in global health and technology’s application to healthcare, particularly in emerging fields such as blockchain and artificial intelligence. He concurrently advises medtech startups in various fields, and has developed Singapore's first clinician-led co-working space and centre for innovation for medtech called CATALYST.

Martino Tan co-founded Mothership.sg in 2013, one of the most popular online news sites in Singapore. He volunteers on the board of Viva Foundation for children with cancer, and is a member of the Communication Programme Advisory Panel at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.

Martino graduated with a Master in Public Policy from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS. He studied mass communication and politics in Murdoch University and was the Valedictorian of his class. As a Catechist, Martino wakes up early on Sunday mornings to let kids challenge his faith at the Church of the Sacred Heart.

Michelle, the founder of 1010Life, specializes in the use of Psychometric Instruments for Organisational and Leadership Development. Her mission is to break systemic poverty through entrepreneurship, innovation and collaboration.

Michelle travels across ASEAN countries to customise programs to promote the growth of entrepreneurship in developing communities. One of her key projects is The ASEAN Living Room, an ecclusive retreat for social impact activators to build networks and exchange knowledge.

Zing has over a decade of investment management experience spanning public and private equities, venture capital and tokenised investments with Temasek Holdings, Capital Group, East Ventures and VNX Exchange respectively. She has strong networks within Southeast Asia, having covered the region during her tenure at Temasek Holdings. Besides being a private investor, she also mentors startups at the SIF-Young Social Entrepreneurs Program and various startup accelerators in Singapore and regionally.

Currently on the Board of Directors at the Litecoin Foundation, Zing is active in advocating payments using Litecoin. She helped launch Singapore’s first blockchain co-working space-cum-incubator, NPower x LongHash, to bring together global blockchain ecosystem builders. She also contributes to global blockchain think tanks such as Untitled INC, the Global Blockchain Advisory Foundation and Blockchain for Humanity: B4H. At Interstellar Group where she is co-founder, Zing oversees corporate finance, strategy and drives new growth initiatives across Asia Pacific for Asia Law Network and Tessaract Technologies.

Dr. Reza is the Chairperson of the Commonwealth Students Association. Her vision, ‘When we as local leaders use our privilege as a platform for action, a revolutionary change will soon follow’, has moulded her into a passionate youth activist for women’s empowerment and quality education for all. She believes that students should play an integral role in policy formulation since they are the primary stakeholders of education.

Dr. Reza is a skeletal muscle biologist, conferred with a PhD in Science from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. She is currently a lecturer in Biomedicine at the University of East Anglia, UK. An Associate Fellow of The Royal Commonwealth Society, her leadership and advocacy for children’s education led to her appointment as a Global Youth Ambassador for Education at Theirworld. Dr. Reza has been invited by the 71st President of the UN General Assembly to make recommendations as a Youth Respondent at the UN HQ in New York.

Ren Kai is runs a sports marketing agency, Reddentes Sports Pte Ltd., that focuses on sports broadcast rights, sponsorship and esports consultancy. A former vice-captain of the national water-polo team, he continues his passion in sports by volunteering his time at the Singapore Water-polo Association and he conducts International Olympic Council workshops that prepares athletes for tradition into the workforce.

Ren Kai previously served as the Chairperson of the Singapore National Olympics Council (SNOC) Athletes’ Commission. He looks into various issues that impact athletes, from their welfare at games to incident inquiries. Ren Kai currently is a council member on the National Youth Council.

Edmund Joseph Twohill is a Vice President at DBS Bank Pte Ltd. He is the Product Owner for DBS’s Travel Marketplace and is part of the Regional Product Delivery Management Team. Outside of DBS, he volunteers with Singapore’s National Youth Council, the Halogen Foundation and the Couple Empowerment Programme (CEP). He is also a key appointment holder for an Army Reservist Unit.

Prior to joining DBS, Edmund served ten years in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). Edmund is happily married to his wife Melissa and is a proud father to three young children.

Soh Yi Da currently serves as AVP, Group Investor Relations at United Overseas Bank. Prior to that, Yi Da had rich experiences serving across public and private sector organisations such as Singapore Telecommunications, DBS Bank, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Education. Yi Da currently serves as Fellow at Ridge View Residential College at National University of Singapore (NUS) and is a member of the university’s Alumni-Student Advancement Committee, responsible for fundraising.

Yi Da is an elected member of the National University of Singapore Society (NUSS) Management Committee where he chairs both the Membership Experience Sub-Committee and Business Connect. Through Business Connect, Yi Da has led numerous business missions and forged deep and extensive business and political ties across ASEAN. Yi Da is an elected Council Member of Hwa Chong Alumni Association and heads the Youth Chapter, and serves as Director on the Board of Hwa Chong International School. Yi Da is Vice Chairman of the SAFRA Youth Network and Member of the Executive Committee of SAFRA Toa Payoh Clubhouse.

Yi Da holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours) from NUS and Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Singapore Management University.

Bryan Low has been in the wealth management business for the last decade and is currently a Vice President and Client Advisor at Credit Suisse AG covering institutions, charities and individuals. Aside from banking, he is an adjunct faculty at NTU Singapore, and an entrepreneur; co-founding DOKI DOKI (Singapore).

Other than economic pursuits, he serves on the Board and Finance Committee of Sports Singapore and Ang Mo Kio Family Services Center. With the SAF, he is a department head and holds the rank of MAJ (NS).

Academically, he holds a Bachelor in Business and a Masters in Finance & Economics.

Audrey Joy Tan is a social entrepreneur whose technology journey began in 2009 during her study stint in Silicon Valley with the NUS Overseas College Program. She co-founded PlayMoolah, a social enterprise that educates children, parents and young adults on how to build a positive relationship to money with more than 70,000 users globally.

She also co-founded Angels of Impact to enable female social entrepreneurs to access markets and funding. She co-authored a book titled: “Sustainable Impact: How Women Are Key To Ending Poverty”. In 2017, Audrey was named an Edmund Hillary Fellow, which recognises individuals contributing to the global impact space. A champion of the UN Sustainability Development goal of No Poverty, her interest in supporting people and technology led to the formation of Circles of Angels (COA) to make impact funding accessible to purpose led businesses.

Audrey and her husband Gerald are active members of Vocare, a young adults’ vocation discernment community in Nativity BVM Church.

Karen is passionate about working with businesses in Asia to understand and adopt the strategic opportunities that sustainability represents. She was the former Head of sustainability at Interface Asia, a global flooring manufacturer and a leader in sustainable business, where she spent five years developing and nurturing the sustainability aspects of the Interface brand. Most recently, she was engaged as an inclusive business consultant by the Asian Venture Philanthrophy Network and Inclusive Business Action Network (iBAN) to promote the notion of inclusive business across key ASEAN markets.

As a corporate sustainability practitioner, Karen is frequently invited to speak about the role of the private sector to be a positive force in the world and how companies can be both financially successful and restorative. Among her speaking stints, she was afforded the opportunity to share about inclusive business practices with the United Nations Development Programme in their regional headquarters in Bangkok. Karen holds a Master's Degree in Tri-sector Collaboration from the Singapore Management University and has completed a sustainability programme awarded by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainable Leadership.

Tithaphong has worked in consulting, strategic planning, organisation development, and project management to develop organisation's capabilities. He was formerly with Somboon Advance Technology Public Co.,Ltd., an automotive parts manufacturer in Thailand, leading their business transformation in digital transformation, and mergers and acquisitions.

Tithaphong holds a Master's degree in Industrial and Operation Engineering from the University of Michigan, and in Sustainable Development and Environmental Management from Harvard University.

Chu Minh Thao is a research fellow at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam where she has been working since 2010. Her research interests lie in the area of regional economic integration, global governance, trade issues relating to APEC, ASEAN, and trade politics, global and regional security and non-security alliances. She has written largely for the International Studies Review and participated in international symposiums, regional workshops and seminars.

Minh Thao received her B.A and M.A in Political Science frp, Delhi University under the India-Vietnam Cultural Exchange Program Scholarship. Later, she received her PhD in Political Science from Murdoch University, Australia under the Australia Awards Scholarship. She then served as the President of Vietnamese Student Association in Murdoch University, Australia.

Harry is the Founder and President of ECO Vietnam Group, a non-government organisation in Vietnam, and co-founder of the social enterprise T&A Home and Nature. He is concurrently the SIF Rep in Vietnam (2019-2021).

Harry graduated with First-Class Honours for his undergraduate studies at Nanyang Technological University, and was on the Dean's List at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, reading a Masters in Public Administration. He has nine years of maangement in a Vietnamese non-government organisation, focusing on education and community development. He wsa the former director of the Center for Service Learning in Hoa Sen University in Vietnam, leading efforts to integrate community service into the university's curriculum.

Xuan Son is a Key Account Management at VinID Company, a branch of VINGROUP and a digital ecosystem, which aims to bring the best and most convenient experiences to Vietnam in the digital age.

Xuan Son believes in the importance of multi-cultural communications in solving ASEAN's key issues. With his can-do spirit, open mindedness and passion for business and agriculture, he has been bridging communities across ASEAN to discover initiatives that can improve the region, starting with Vietnam.