Meet Our 2021 ASEAN Youth Fellows

Samdy is a young diplomat who is at the start of his career. He loves learning from others, and socializing. Samdy hopes to build up long-lasting connections and friendships.

Boramy is currently pursuing her Master's degree in International Affairs at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. Her interests revolve around education, rural development, and creating real impacts in society in general. Previously, she has engaged in many social activities, including running an awareness-raising campaign on Sustainable Development Goals, being part of youth projects on education and leadership, and other community activities.

Cynthia is the Head of Business Development and Investor Relations in Daya Selaras Group. DSG is a sustainable industrial hub linking the industrial loop from wastepaper material to corrugated carton packaging through their network of partners and/or affiliates in the paper recycling, industrial paper, corrugated carton and logistics sectors, hence forming a circular value chain. Cynthia is passionate about sustainability, the circular economy, and the zero-waste movement. She leads the company’s sustainability team and pioneered projects with the informal waste sector, Indonesian Circular Economy Forum, local universities and many more. She also manages the co-working space and family office investments.

Leon is the third generation of WINGS Group, a multi-national family-run conglomerate that manufactures consumer products. The business  has also diversified into real estate, plantation, chemicals, and banking. Leon oversees New Business Development, developing joint venture projects with FamilyMart, Calbee, and Glico. He is passionate about producing quality and reachable products to all levels of society. 

Leon was involved in a collaboration between WINGS and UNICEF, aimed at increasing access to clean water and sanitation in Indonesia. Leon founded and led the choir division in Catholic Fellowship Jakarta, raising funds to build a church and 4 water wells in Sumba.

Jessica joined the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) as Assistant Director in June 2019 and was promoted to Deputy Director in January 2021. SIIA is an independent think tank forging close partnerships between countries for growth and stability in the region, through research and dialogue.
 
Jessica leads SIIA’s ASEAN programme. She provides advisory services to multinationals in Southeast Asia based on her analysis of the region’s policy trends and developments.
 
Currently, her work focuses on building SIIA's ASEAN digitalisation programme, proposing a collaboration with digital economy stakeholders to offer research and analysis on ‘Charting ASEAN’s Digital Future Post-COVID-19’.

Aninda Dewayanti is a research officer with ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore, focusing on Indonesian politics and climate governance reform. She was listed in TF-LEaRN Programme @NUS in 2015 and was awarded the RSIS-NTU Scholarship in 2017. Aninda has written widely in academic journals and international media, including Jakarta Post, CNA, and East Asia Forum. Beyond academia, she founded Godong-Gedang, a local film & art education initiative in her hometown Central Java, Indonesia, and was a jury for JAFF 2019. Aninda is currently active with the Academic Network for GERAK Perempuan to raise awareness on systematic violence against women in Indonesia.

As a child of mixed heritage (Hmong/Vietnamese), Maiva has been fortunate to receive quality education through international scholarships which opened up more opportunities for her. She believes education is the greatest leveler of society. Although she has experience living in the United States, New Zealand and Singapore, she plans to return to Laos one day to improve education opportunities, especially among minority women. Today, she wears multiple hats as a Research Editor working for Dow Jones, a mother to a lovely one year old, a supportive wife, and a student of languages.

Duwei is a lawyer and government affairs professional experienced in policy-making and working at the intersection between public and private sectors. 

After legal practice, he worked with the Malaysian government on policy-making related to the arts and culture industry. Duwei is currently a Country Policy Manager at TikTok. Previously, he was a Master in Public Policy graduate at NUS. While doing his Masters, he worked remotely with Shopee Malaysia, where he helped set up the Public Policy & Government Affairs Team. After graduation, he worked with Bosch specialising in Government Relations. 

Duwei is passionate about evidence-based policy making and politics.

Born and raised in Malaysia, Kar Men has been in Singapore for the last decade. Having grown up and worked in a multicultural environment, he strongly believes in facilitating collaboration for different communities to come together to do great things together. 

Professionally he is responsible for engaging with YouTube creators and users at scale as a de-escalation specialist focusing on driving a safer digital media ecosystem across Asia on product and policy issues. 

Outside of work, he is a curator at TEDxSingapore organizing various community events featuring ideas from the Singapore community and amplifying them at the global stage.

Hong Boon believes in the power of technology to make lives better and smoothing disruption. He is the cofounder and CEO of clicked.my, a social enterprise aimed at reskilling blue-collars and securing better opportunities for them. He is the Vice President of IEEE MGA (SAC ARC) that governs and facilitates IEEE volunteers recognition system across the globe. Additionally, he was Associate Fellow of The Royal Commonwealth Society.

He secured the first Darrel Chong Gold Award in Malaysia history for his IEEE organisation with his “Code by Wheels” and “iCipta” project movements. Hong Boon was awarded as Runner Up for Queen’s Young Leaders Award from HM Queen Elizabeth II for his outstanding technology educational works in Malaysia.

Gabriel is a final-year Master's in Public Policy candidate at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. He is currently a consultant at ADB and has previously worked in public affairs and political risk consulting across Southeast Asia.

May joined her family’s real estate development business, CRC Co Ld, as a Purchasing Officer in charge of sourcing, negotiating and quality checks. She rose to Director, where May grew the company to undertake a diverse portfolio of projects. Her commitment to customer service excellence has earned a good reputation in the industry with her project SPACE@Yankin Condominium being recognized as one of the top developments in Myanmar.

May pursued her passion for fashion and founded Commune Wear, Myanmar’s first multi-label lifestyle and fashion brand. She recently expanded the brand to Singapore, opening the first retail store despite the tough economy.

Nyan Tun Zaw is the Vice President of Business Development at Athena Dynamics, a cybersecurity company based in Singapore. He has in-depth experiences in solution implementations for highly sensitive and critical projects. His main interest lies in Cybersecurity and AI/ML. 

Zaw holds a BBM, with double majors in Finance and InfoSys, from Singapore Management University and MBA from Quantic School of Business and Technology. He is also a holder of the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) and EC-council Certified Security Analyst (ECSA) certificates and currently a candidate for CISSP. He loves sharing knowledge and actively talks about cybersecurity in various conferences.

San Nay Thway, a foreign service personnel from Myanmar, received his Master’s in Public Administration from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy specializing in management and leadership. He has joined foreign service since 2014 and had also been working for Myanmar’s peace process under the NLD government, providing technical support in the peace negotiations and conferences. He co-authored the research report named “Bridging the Gap: Understanding Different Interpretations of Key Terminology in Myanmar Peace’s Process” by studying peace and conflict studies at Peace Leadership and Research Institute. He had volunteered as translator-in-charge (Burmese) for the benefits of migrant’s workers in Singapore.

Alex Terol has been with Bloomberg since 2015. Currently based in Singapore, he has more than a decade of collective experience in the field of data management, industry engagement, and fund management. Alex’s interest lies in creating meaningful relationships that transcends boarders. Alex holds a Masters in Business Commerce from UWS Sydney, Australia and a Bachelors in Arts in Diplomacy from DLS CSB, Philippines.

Mary is a Filipina youth striving to make a difference in ASEAN. With the generous scholarship from the ASEAN Secretariat, she pursued an MSc in International Relations at NTU Singapore that led her to serve in the commercial office of the Philippine Embassy; and is now in the international development section of the British High Commission. At present, she facilitates economic reform programmes in Southeast Asia in the sectors of competition, financial services, and intellectual property. She is also an active member of the Filipino business community, holding positions at the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and the UP Alumni Association.

Vincent is a Director at Mizuho Asia Partners, a Southeast Asia-focused private equity firm. He oversees the firm's investments in the Philippines and helps execute investments across the region. Vince has experience investing across industries, including healthcare, retail, fitness, and entertainment.  Previously, he worked at Navegar, a Philippine-focused private equity firm. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Applied Mathematics from Ateneo de Manila University and is a CFA Charterholder.

Dr Hamid Razak is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at Sengkang General Hospital and an Assistant Professor at Duke-NUS Medical School. His clinical and research interests lie in preservation of the knee joint. He is well published with over 75 published articles to his name and is currently a Principal Investigator for several grant-funded studies. Outside his profession, Dr Hamid is also a founding member of a community group called IMPROF. Through IMPROF, Dr Hamid is passionate about accelerating social mobility through mentorship. Dr Hamid is also active in the migrant worker space, actively volunteering with HealthServe and My Brother SG.

Marcus is the co-founder of Ruach Consulting, which provides management services with a key focus on incubating and running ventures for economic empowerment in ASEAN. While he started his career as a corporate lawyer, Marcus co-founded several ventures and non-profits (with particular focus on investments in deep-technologies). With his background in law, Marcus also volunteers as corporate counsel at various regional non-profit organisations, often advising and providing subject-matter expertise to management teams. A real foodie – he’s always up for a good meal, good laughs and great company!

Timothy Low serves as Chief Operating Officer at Halogen Foundation, a youth development charity making quality character education accessible and available to all youth. Prior to this, he managed an accelerator building deep tech startups, worked as EIR/Learning Designer in a regional L&D firm, and exited an EdTech startup he co-founded. 
 
Outside of work, Tim has led the Sandbox Network and the WEF Global Shapers Community, and leads community at The Birthday Collective. Tim also served in the Membership Committee of Straits Clan and designed a leadership programme for his own cohort of Obama Foundation Leaders with President Barack Obama.

Jesher Loi is the 3rd generation business owner and brand guardian of Ya Kun International. Ya Kun International is a regional brand that serves Singapore’s heritage breakfast of kaya toast and local coffee. They are currently in 9 countries with over 120 outlets worldwide. Jesher oversees the branding elements of each outlet and ensures brand consistency throughout its operations. He is also actively involved in the regional expansion strategy as Ya Kun goes beyond Singapore’s shores. On the side, Jesher is actively involved in the classical music scene among youth and strives to use the vehicle of the business for social good.

Mei Lin is a Senior Research Fellow at the Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore. She is trained in marine ecology and conducts marine science research in Singapore and the region. She is also a vocal advocate of environmental conservation and sustainability issues through collaborations, engagements and science communication - using science to generate meaningful societal impacts.

Hai Lin strongly believes in the need for systemic transformation to move societies into low-carbon economies to maintain sustainable living ecosystems. She hopes to contribute towards moving the gears of change and learn from varied perspectives along the way.

Chirag has always enjoyed working in and around government trying to make a dent in addressing difficult public policy challenges. He has written op-eds on a wide range of socio-political issues which have been published by TODAY, The Straits Times, Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), The Diplomat Magazine and the South China Morning Post. Chirag and his wife recently launched Talk Your Heart Out (TYHO), an online counselling platform, which aims to make mental health support more accessible. With this platform, they hope to address the very real barriers that exist to accessing counselling services in Singapore.

Trained in Engineering Science at NUS and Technopreneurship at Stanford University, Ibnur believes we can build a more sustainable future when we bridge the wisdom of Nature, Tech and Community to solve the world’s greatest challenges. He is the CEO of GUILD, an award-winning invention studio and educational consultancy focused on growing grounded innovators to help us achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Ibnur was recognised by GenT and TEDx for inventing the iBam eco artisan speaker and the Floating Chinampa farming modules. He has served in Government and worked at Silicon Valley. Beyond work, he enjoys hiking and archery.

Heng Li Seng’s experience in the public, community and social enterprise sectors since 2013 reinforced his belief that effective public policies need to be supported by ground-up actions and engagement. 

Playing an interfacing role within the tri-sector, Li Seng is able to provide sectoral knowledge through a system thinking lens to make informed decisions and strategies. He is happy to be connected to corporate social responsibility, sustainability engagement and issues with community / youth.

Li Seng is a 2019 Professional Fellow under the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Professional Fellows Program, Associate under the Philip Yeo Initiative and 2020 NEA EcoFriend Awardee.

Faridah Mohd Saad is Deputy Director (Agritech) at Enterprise Singapore, leading a team to spearhead Singapore as a leading urban agriculture technologies hub. Previously, she served with the Ministry of Trade & Industry, negotiating and implementing Singapore’s Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and cooperation activities among ASEAN and its dialogue partners, including negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). She has prior experience in South Africa as Regional Director (Johannesburg), facilitating trade promotion and outward investment activities by Singapore firms. Faridah is also the President of MENDAKI Club – a non-profit supporting career aspirations of Malay/Muslim youths, providing them with opportunities to give back to the community.

Aim is a technology salesperson with experience in covering markets across Asia. She's currently a Partner Development Specialist for Asia Pacific & Japan at VMware. Outside of work, Aim works closely with Sheryl Sandberg & Dave Goldberg Family Foundation and leads a large network of men and women dedicated to gender equality in Thailand & Singapore under Lean In Network, Singapore & Lean In Network, Thailand. Aim grew up in Bangkok, Thailand and now lives in Singapore with her rescued cat, Oreo. She is an avid road cyclist and can usually be found on her Strava (Aim Kusuwan).

Ken is the co-founder of Reneumat, a new startup in eco-friendly materials and waste upcycling solutions. 

He was a former General Director of Valmet Technologies in Vietnam, with a strong track record in business development in the pulp, paper, and energy sector. In this role, he led multiple sustainability projects, including the development of large-scale waste-to-energy projects in major cities in Vietnam, with technologies from Finland.

Ken is the president of Nanyang Technological University (NTU)’s Alumni Vietnam chapter and a member of NTU’s Alumni Council. He is taking an EMBA degree from Quantic School of Business and Technology.

Truc is the head of Publicity of the Vietnamese Youth Alliance in Singapore. She holds a Bachelor of Industrial Fine art and Master of Business Administration. 

Truc was previously awarded the Certificate of Merit for excellent achievements in Student Union work by the Embassy of Vietnam in Singapore 2020. Her personal goal is to build and strengthen further the VNYA by leading communication team, connecting Vietnamese youth to explore opportunity and growth further for their future development.

Tracy is a self-leadership advocate who has a long-standing passion for empowerment, technology and creativity. She is the first Vietnamese and the youngest overseeing KPMG Singapore's technology consulting practice operations. Before that, she managed FPT Asia Pacific's front office, after becoming the firm's youngest-ever "Global Best Performer of the Year". Tracy inspires herself to be an influencer, mentor in her local community for youth leadership and career development for graduates and early-career professionals. 

Tracy attended the Foreign Trade University in Hanoi, Vietnam, where she received "Student of the Year Award, "Youth Achievement Award" and several financial scholarships.

Katherine Ngoc Do is a second-year MBA student at NUS Business School. She is also the President of the NUS MBA Marketing Club, Student Council 38th of NUS MBA and an exchange candidate with Kellogg School of Management, January 2022. Previously, she was a consulting MBA intern at Ernst & Young Consulting Singapore, looking at Supply Chain and Operations. 

Katharine comes from a consulting background with 5 years of working experience in diversified projects tapping into many aspects of the business and working with different government and private sector clients.