The Team
“Never underestimate the power of a small, dedicated group of people to change the world; indeed, that is the only thing that ever has.” - Margaret Mead
Anfernee Chansamooth / Project Manager
“I want to bring a sense of purpose back to education, and for schools to return to being centers of relevance and community learning. I believe that Design For Change is one way to make this happen!”
Lao-born, Anf grew up and studied in Sydney, Australia. Having worked for over a decade in customer service, business improvement, project management and training, Anfernee is now back in Laos for the first time in 32 years, with a passion for social change through education.
He is responsible for English teaching, teacher training and curriculum/program design at Sunshine School Vientiane.
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Somchit Phankham / Communications, Training, Strategic Partnerships (Lao)
“I feel that the DFC is an effective tool to broaden the mind of Lao teachers to try out new things. The project itself can clearly show concrete picture of what is learning by doing, which can lead to a great big step towards the dream of holistic education in Laos.”
Lao-born and bred, Somchit recently returned to Laos after 4 years taking a master’s degree on Holistic Education in Thailand. She is now continuing to work on her thesis on Holistic teaching and the learning methodology of Buddhist approach schools in Bangkok.
Somchit is an Education technical staff member of the Education Development unit at Sompanya School.
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Sam Pike / Communications, Training, Strategic Partnerships (English)
“I think working directly with youth on issues around them will be inspiring and eye-opening - they get to the heart of things quickly and with a lot less meetings and talking than adults - more DOING! If the videos I’ve seen from DFC around the world are any indication, I can’t wait to see what Lao children will feel, imagine, do and share!”
Born in Brisbane, Australia, Sam first came to Laos in 1995 and has lived here since 2004. Sam Studied International Relations and Asian Studies, and hopes to combine her education experience with development and her study in the future in Laos.
Sam is an Australian Volunteer (AVID) - Education Support Officer at Sompanya School as part of PADETC’s education unit (since November 2011). She trains teachers and writes experiential and project-based curricula to test at Sompanya. Sam previously worked at Vientiane College as an English and Information Literacy teacher.
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Hannah Leong / Information Officer
“Children are our future, and if they are going to change the world, there is no better time than to start now!”
Hannah is a Singaporean “greenie” who enjoys volunteering for environmental causes with an interest in international development, which is what has brought her here to Laos.
She’s an engineer at Sunlabob, a Lao renewable energy company, and she spends her days designing solar photovoltaic (PV) systems for applications in Laos and other parts of the developing world.
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Martin Momoda / Public Relations, Training
“We need to support and train teachers and create new methods of teaching and learning. I want to see what students can do when given the right guidance and inspiration.”
Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Martin has been in Laos for around six years trying to address the problem of English language education.
Martin self-published 13 books under “momobooks” with the intention of offering Lao students books that are affordable, bilingual and culturally relevant.
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Liena Lacey / Finance
“I’ve worked as a musician for 10 years. To survive you have to be creative and resourceful. I couldn’t have done it without having teachers say “you can!” I’m excited to be part of spreading that wonderful feeling - that no matter the problem or how little you have - you can!”
Liena is an Australian living in Laos for a year. She currently works as a volunteer (AYAD) for social enterprise Saoban. Not the yoghurt! The organization provides training, micro-finance and support to villagers in Laos who weave beautiful products from silk, cotton and bamboo.
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Marcia J. Harr Bailey, Ph.D. / Advisor, Youth Volunteer Facilitator
“I am eager to watch the Design for Change Laos project expand through the excited involvement of students participating in their own education.”
Marcia has nine years of experience working in Southeast Asian communities and eight years performing research on education, development, and service in the Southeast Asian context. As an educator, an educational researcher, and a consultant, Marcia has a passion for education and youth volunteers leading change to address social and economic needs.
She is the Founder and Executive Director of Poom Loom, a project of the We Are One Foundation, which is a unique postsecondary service-learning model in the Lao context that serves as a grassroots development movement. The program educates, engages, and empowers student volunteers while promoting progress in rural villages.
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Sombath Somphone / Senior Advisor
“I truly believe that to bring about change it has to be from the young people.”
The eldest son of a poor farming family from Ban Don Khio, Khammouane Province, Sombath knew about poverty, hunger, and insecurity first hand.
Highly respected as a farmer, scholar, scientist, social entrepreneur, and community developer, Sombath is the Founder and Executive director of non-profit Participatory Development Training Centre (PADETC) in Vientiane. PADETC was founded in 1996.
