Asia-Based Staff
| Cambodia |
Maryann Bylander, Resident Director
Maryann has been living in Cambodia since 2007, when she came for PhD research and stayed to work with PEPY, a non-profit working in education in Siem Reap. Originally from Austin, Texas, Maryann graduated from Rice University and earned a Masters Degree in Sociology at UT-Austin before beginning her PhD work. A strong advocate of studying and working abroad, Maryann has lived in France, Switzerland, Japan, and aboard Peace Boat, a Japanese NGO based at sea.
Favorite Destinations: Anchorage, USA; Kampot, Cambodia; Siciliy, Italy; Mulange, Malawi; and Zermatt, Switzerland |
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Daniela Papi, Site Director
Daniela is the director and founder of PEPY, an educational development organization working in rural Cambodia. PEPY focuses on building the capacity of teachers and communities to increase access to quality education. Daniela is active in the "Voluntourism" sector speaking regularly on the potential negative effects of this growing trend, while encouraging industry players to be self-reflective and proactive in measuring their impact. PEPY was the winner of the Notre Dame Social Venture Business Plan Competition and a 2009 National Geographic Geotourism Challenge Winner. Daniela, a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, has lived and worked in Asia for the past eight years and is based in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Favorite Destinations: Cambodia (of course!) and Papua New Guinea |
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| China |
Cheryl Chan, Asia Enrollment Coordinator (based in both China and Malaysia)
Cheryl was born in Selangor, Malaysia and speaks Bahasa Malaysian, English, Mandarin and Cantonese. She received her BSC (Hons) in Computing and Information System in Kolej Damansara Utama, PJ, Malaysia. She has been in the education industry in China for several years and joined the Education Abroad Network in 2008 as the Beijing Resident Director. With her different cultural background and being from a multiracial country, she has adapted well to the cultures in China and has proven to be an excellent resource for all Education Abroad Network participants. In her current role as the Asia Enrollment Coordinator, she assists our US office to insure a smooth application and enrollment process for our participants.
Favorite Destinations: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Beijing, China |
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Solaro Chan, Resident Director (Beijing)
Solaro was born in Calgary, Canada and grew up on the west coast in multicultural Vancouver, speaking 4 different languages (English, Mandarin, Cantonese, and French). He completed his BA (Economics) at University of Victoria and attained a TEFL certification prior to moving to China in 2004. Since then, he has worked in the education and youth travel industry where he has managed over 1000 travelers from around the world to experience the Chinese culture. Solaro has worked as support staff for The Education Abroad Network since 2008. |
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Ramona Liu, Resident Director (Shanghai)
Ramona is a native Chinese, and has extensive international and cultural experience through her studies and professional career. Fluent in English, Ramona obtained her Bachelor of Economics in 1992 from Shenyang University in China, before moving to Australia. She then lived in Australia for 5 years, during which time she obtained her Masters of International Business from the University of Wollongong. In her professional career, Ramona has worked extensively with multinational companies focusing on sales and marketing, business development, and training and consultation. Her academic background and professional experience allows her to effectively advise overseas students, as she understands their needs while studying in China. |
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Simon Shi, Staff Assistant (Beijing)
Simon was born in Zhejiang Province in 1978 and moved to Beijing in 1987 to attend Yongdingmen School. Following his graduation from school, Simon joined Integrated Education Services Global Limited upon the opening of their Beijing office in 2004. Since that time, he has gained international exposure and developed the skills necessary for working with students in the education industry. He is also currently researching the viability of home stays in China, as he has strong aspirations of developing this particular industry in China. Simon joined the Education Abroad Network as a Staff Assistant in the Fall of 2008, putting to use the skills he has gained over the last several years working in the education industry. |
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Matthew Wong, Student Liaison (Beijing)
Matt has been with the Education Abroad Network since the Fall of 2008. He was born in Sydney, Australia and has been living in Beijing, China since April 2008. He completed his Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting/Marketing) at Macquarie University, and has worked in the accounting field for over 4 years whilst maintaining an interest in marketing and business development. He has travelled extensively throughout the world visiting such locations as England, Canada, USA, Pacific Islands and many Asian countries. Matt is currently based in China as he fulfills his aspirations to work in business development and marketing. He sees China as the ideal location for this line of work as it has as much to offer him as it does to the rest of the world.
Favorite Destinations: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Canada; USA |
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| Thailand |
Pongsdhorn (Kai) Lertsukon, Resident Director
Kai was born in northern Thailand in 1958 and attended school in Chiang Mai before joining the Thai military in 1974. His military career was a highly decorated one and lasted almost 20 years. After leaving the military he returned to Chiang Mai University where he completed his BA majoring in Marketing. Kai had a strong desire to meet people from all over the world so he also undertook Thai Tourism training and became a licensed tourist guide.
He started his own company in 1999 and has focused on small highly educational experiences for visitors to Northern Thailand since then. Kai has designed and led many cultural and academic excursions for students from Australian and US universities over the past 15 years and brings an incredible knowledge of his region and Thai customs and a true cross-cultural understanding to his role as Resident Director for Thailand. He lives in Chiang Mai with his family, and his daughter just became the youngest concert violinist for the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra. |
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In addition, The Education Abroad Network utilizes several support staff in the United States and overseas to help administer and market the programs. All of the support personnel have previously studied, lived, or worked abroad and can provide unique insight into the study abroad experience.
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