Leadership matters. The Asia Foundation has long invested in the human capital needed for Asian societies to develop and flourish, and works to identify, equip and develop leaders of consequence—from emerging, next generation development and policy leaders in Asia, to highly accomplished leaders who seek to do more. On The Frontlines showcases extraordinary and inspirational leaders at the forefront of change.
- The Asia Foundation's LeadEx unit.
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On the Frontlines
Fereshta Abbasi (2022 Development Fellow, Afghanistan) writes in The Hill, “A year after the Taliban takeover, my heart remains in Kabul.” Earlier, Fereshta wrote on “Afghans Dying from Lack of Medicine: Collapsing Healthcare System Particularly Harmful for Women” for Human Rights Watch. Abbasi is a researcher at Human Rights Watch.
Terry Adamson (1975–76 Luce Scholar, Japan) & Debra Knopman (1978-79 Luce Scholar, Taipei) will serve as Board Co-Chairs of The Henry Luce Foundation for the next five years following the decision of Margaret Boles Fitzgerald to step down after 20 years of leadership. From the Luce Foundation: “As Luce Scholars alumni and long-serving members of the Board, Terry and Debra bring extensive expertise in their respective fields as well as deep knowledge of the Foundation and its history to their new role.”
Jaideep Bansal (2020-21 Development Fellow, India) and Badruun Gardi (2014 Development Fellow, Mongolia) have both been named World Economic Forum Young Global Leaders. WEC says: “We are excited to welcome 109 Young Global Leaders to the Class of 2022. From scientists leading on efforts to address COVID, to activists tackling gender-based violence, artists keeping history and culture alive through music and leaders from business, civil society, academia and government.” Badruun is the Co-Founder and Chairman of GerHub, a non-profit that has attracted international attention due to its innovative work in modernizing the traditional nomadic dwelling, the Mongolian ger, to achieve better environmental and social impact. Jaideep is Chief Executive Officer of Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE), an award-winning social enterprise that is bringing technology and tourism together and deploying clean power to remote communities in India.
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Badruun Gardi is also named a 2023 Loeb Fellow with the Harvard Graduate School of Design, “a group of nine innovators who work across activism, horticulture, real estate development, technology, architecture, visual arts, and other fields that engage with the built environment and social outcomes.”
Flynn Coleman (2003-04 Luce Scholar, Hong Kong) writes in the Boston Globe on “The James Webb Space Telescope is giving humanity what we need right now”. Flynn is a human rights attorney who has had fellowships at Harvard and Yale and is the author of A Human Algorithm: How Artificial Intelligence is Redefining Who We Are.
Kate Otto Chebly (2009-10 Luce Scholar, Indonesia) published “Panic Value” in Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine. Kate is an American internal medicine physician working in Caracas, Venezuela. She is the author of the book Everyday Ambassador: Make a Difference by Connecting in a Disconnected World.
Ifrah Faiz (2020-21 Development Fellow, Pakistan) features Jalila Haider (2017 Development Fellow, Pakistan) in her podcast: “Blazing a Trail with Ifrah Faiz - Episode 13: Jalila Haider.” Jalila is a celebrated human rights attorney specializing in defending women's rights.
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Blazing a Trail with Ifrah Faiz - Episode 13: Jalila Haider
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Natashya Gutierrez (2018 Development Fellow, Philippines) dug into the historic comeback of the Philippines’ Marcos family to the country’s highest office, 36 years after dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. was ousted by the People Power revolution. Natashya is the Editor-in-Chief of VICE World News in Asia-Pacific. She is passionate about covering women's issues, politics, democracies and human rights. VICE - Season 3 Episode 11, Killing for Success & Marcos Returns | SHOWTIME
Iromi Perera (2017 Development Fellow, Sri Lanka; Former Trustee of The Asia Foundation) is featured in Cosmopolitan Sri Lanka’s 35 Under 35 list: “They are movers and shakers in their own right in various industries, from entrepreneurs to eco-warriors to creative pioneers to activists and more.”
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Mirak Raheem (2021-2022 Fuller Fellow in Peacebuilding) assumed the position of Executive Director of the Collective for Historical Dialogue and Memory (CHDM) in March. CHDM is a specialist institution working collaboratively and interdisciplinarily to devise and implement processes that interrogate Sri Lanka’s complex past, document the present, support the information needs of its citizens, promote the creation and exchange of knowledge, record individual and collective memories, and to preserve records capturing the peoples, spaces and events of the country. It was founded by a group of practitioners, including Mirak, from the fields of archives and records management, human rights, anthropology, sociology, museology, psychology, media, gender studies and transitional justice. It will function as an independent, non-partisan and not-for-profit institution.
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Collins Santhanasamy (2021-22 Development Fellow) is named a 2022 Health Equity Fellow. This sixth cohort of leaders for health equity includes mid-career professionals from Southeast Asia and China, who work in government, academia, nongovernmental organizations, international organizations, communications, the arts, and private business. Collins is a medical doctor who is training to become a disaster specialist through the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree Program organized by the University of Oviedo (Spain), Karolinska Institutet (Sweden), and University of Nicosia (Cyprus).
Alec Stimac (2022 LeadNext Fellow) is named a 2022-2023 John M. Belk Impact Fellow with the Hunt Institute. Designed with the goal of building future leaders in the area of social impact, the Fellowship places college students in 10-month internships with organizations focused on providing equitable access to quality education.
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Faye Simanjuntak (2022 LeadNext Fellow, Indonesia), is featured in The Asia Foundation's InAsia blog.
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Karin Underwood (2016-17 Luce Scholar spouse, Myanmar) was selected as a 2022 White House Innovation Fellow and placed in the Executive Office of the President. Karin is a healthcare expert and technology entrepreneur with a passion for service.
Kotchakorn Voraakhom (2016 Development Fellow, Thailand), an internationally celebrated landscape architect, will serve a year-long appointment as designer-in-residence for the Pulitzer Arts Foundation and the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. Kotch is founder of the Bangkok-based design firm Landprocess as well as the nonprofit Porous City Network. Her work centers on designing urban green spaces that alleviate the effects of climate change in at-risk communities.
In Loving Memory:
With heavy hearts we remember Tarlie Townsend (2013-14 Luce Scholar, Vietnam). “Dr. Tarlise Noelle Townsend (Tarlie) of Bloomington, Indiana left this earth far too early on May 30, 2022 from a rare form of melanoma.” Read Tarlie’s obituary.
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