Peace Leadership & Research Institute (PLRI) is an institution of higher learning affiliated with the Thabyay Education Foundation. Established in 2018 with the aim to cultivate a culture of responsible leadership and evidence-based decision making in the search for peace and national reconciliation in Myanmar, PLRI offers high quality training in conducting social science research to students and fellows from all over the country, and equips them for the leadership roles they are expected to play in the peace process.
STAFF & FACULTY PROFILES
Zin Mar Oo, Ph.D., is a founding member of Kant Kaw Education Center of Thabyay Education Foundation established in 2009 in Myanmar. As the Program Director, she leads the implementation of the Community Leadership and Social Studies (CLASS) program, and the Curriculum Department. She also chairs the United World College Myanmar National Committee. From 2001-2009, she was a Research Associate at Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, focusing on gender issues in armed conflict, women and micro-finance, cross-border migration and citizenship. Zin Mar holds a B.A (Honors) in English Literature from Yangon University, and an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Gender and Development Studies from Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand. She received scholarship awards from Open Society Foundations, Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) German Academic Exchange Service and Government of Japan. She also received the 2010 Gender, Place and Culture (A Journal of Feminist Geography) Award for New and Emerging Scholars.
Saw Myo Min Thu (Saw Kapi) is the Executive Director of Thabyay Education Foundation. He joined Thabyay in 2013 after serving in the US higher education system for more than twelve years – five years as a University Evaluator at the University of San Francisco, six years as an Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions at the University of Maryland, College Park, and over a year as the Director of Admissions and Records at California State University, Bakersfield. Since his return to Myanmar, Saw Myo Min Thu has been actively advocating for a better education system in his native country. He is involved in the national efforts for education reform through the Salween Institute for Public Policy and a broad network of Myanmar educators. He lectures on a part-time basis at the Myanmar Institute of Theology Liberal Arts Program. Saw Myo Min Thu holds a B.A. (1998) in International Relations from San Francisco State University and an M.A. (2000) in Development Economics from Williams College.
Saw Htein Linn is a Program Officer for PLRI at Thabyay Education Foundation. He received his B.A in English from Yangon University of Distance Education in Yangon and later studied Intensive Community Development and Leadership Program at Tounge La` Yat Academy, Education Gathering Group in Hpa An, Karen State. As a Project Manager, he led a team of young professional to winning the Outstanding Award of “Capacity Building” Project for the young people in Mu Yin Gone village, Karen State in 2015. He earned certificate in “Entrepreneurship and SME Management” organized by Young Entrepreneurs for Myanmar (YE4M) collaboration with CVT-Myanmar and Swiss academy for Development.
Soundous Drissi first joined Thabyay in 2014 as a Program Manager for the Curriculum Department and was later promoted to Assistant Director of Programs to oversee the day-to-day operations of all Thabyay’s programs, including PLRI, CLASS and Curriculum Department as well as Thabyay e-Learning Platform. She has more then five years of experience in international development. She worked as a development specialist before along the Thai-Burma border among the Karenni people. Soudous received M.A. in International Development and Education from Newcastle University, United Kingdom and B.A. in English Studies from Mohammed V University, Morocco.
Radka Antalíková holds a Master Degree in Psychology from Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia, and a PhD Degree in Cross-Cultural Psychology from Aalborg University, Denmark. Prior to working for Thabyay, Radka worked for a number of years as Teaching Assistant Professor at Aalborg University in Denmark, where she taught cognitive and cross-cultural psychology, research methods, and quantitative methodology as well as supervised numerous quantitative and qualitative research projects. In 2016, she took on the position of Academic Skills and Project Management Instructor at Global Border Studies, a university-level program for young refugees from Myanmar, located in Nu Poe Refugee Camp, Thailand. Here, she taught general academic skills, project management, and professional development and oversaw the realization of various research and community development projects. Apart from Slovakia where she is from, Radka has lived in the United States, England, Denmark, Spain, Thailand, and now Myanmar. Radka speaks Slovak, English, Danish, Spanish, and some German.
James MacMillan joined the Peace Leadership & Research Institute in the role of Programme Coordinator/ Instructor in May 2018. Originally from Canada, James has spent much of his professional career abroad, working in Ghana, South Korea, Thailand, and now Myanmar. James has fulfilled a variety of positions including CBO project manager, field researcher, academic and research mentor, and instructor in the field of the social sciences. Prior to joining PLRI, James was employed by the Karen Refugee Committee- Education Entity as the Peace and Development Foundations Instructor at Global Border Studies located in Nu Poe Refugee Camp, Thailand. In this position, James and his colleague guided a group of ethnically and religiously diverse refugee youth leaders in conducting a variety of peace and development related activities, including: social science research, community peace trainings, and community mobilization exercises. James holds a B.A (2012) in Politics and Governance from Ryerson University, Canada, and a M.A. (2016) in Development Studies from York University, Canada.