Board of Trustees
Parami University's
The Board of Trustees (BoT) is an official governing body of the university, overseeing the strategic planning as well as the overall growth and well-being of Parami University. The trustees have diverse expertise in academic, non-profit sectors, business, and legal sectors. The trustees have supported the mission and visions of Parami University since the founding of the university and have shown their dedication through advising, investing time, and financial support. By having distinguished individuals with diverse expertise on the board, Parami University can ensure its long-term sustainable development and relevant impact on society.
Stan Sze
Treasurer
Stan Sze is the Managing Member of Rivermark Management LLC, an investment advisory firm specializing in enhanced long/short equity strategies. He has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, the capital markets and venture capital financings. He also serves as the President of the B.K. Kee Foundation and as a director of the Kim and Harold Louie Family Foundation and Community Partners International. The B. K. Kee Foundation and Community Partners International focus on humanitarian, health and development needs in Myanmar. Mr. Sze received his undergraduate degrees in electrical engineering and political science from Stanford University and his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center.
Zali Win
Chair of the Board
Zali Win is the head of Transactional Commodity Finance for North America at Credit Agricole CIB. He was previously the Managing Director at BNP Paribas. He has extensive board and pro-bono service experience and has worked with a number of Myanmar-related educational and charitable programs. He has served on the board of Kenyon College since 2015 and is the board chair of its Philander Chase Conservancy. He is secretary-treasurer of Rondout-Esopus Land Conservancy in Ulster County, NY. He previously served as Treasurer of Habitat for Humanity New York City and a director of Cultural Vistas in Washington, D.C. Mr. Win has an MBA from Babson F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business and a BA from Kenyon College in political science.
Lex Rieffel
Secretary of the Board
Lex Rieffel is a Washington DC-based economist, writer, and teacher with a long career of service. After graduating from college in 1963 (Princeton University, New Jersey), he served two years as an officer in the U.S. Navy (Saigon, Vietnam, and San Francisco). He then did two years of volunteer service in the U.S. Peace Corps (India). After completing a 2-year M.A. program in International Development Studies (Fletcher School, Tufts University, Medford MA), he worked for 18 months with the International Paper Company (New York City). From 1971-1975, he was employed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID; Jakarta, Indonesia, and Washington DC). From 1975 to 1994, he was an international economist with the U.S. Treasury Department. His last employment was as head of the Multilateral Policy Department at the Institute of International Finance (1994-2001; Washington DC). He joined the Brookings Institution (Washington DC) in 2002 and completed a number of policy studies in his 18-year affiliation, mostly as a pro-bono Nonresident Senior Fellow. He taught graduate seminars during ten semesters between 1993 and 2013 for three universities in Washington DC.
David Shein
Trustee
Dr. David Shein is Dean of Studies & Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and OSUN-Bard Network Programs at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY., where he also teaches in the Philosophy program. He was the founding director of Bard's Learning Commons and Bard's Center for Student Life & Advising, and he has overseen the development of academic policy and advising and support systems there and across the Bard international and domestic networks for over two decades. He is an associate of the Institute for Writing & Thinking, has twice served as dean of students, and in 2019 was awarded a Fulbright scholarship for his work in international education administration.
Nang Hlaing Tin Maung
Trustee
Nang Hlaing Tin Maung is the Deputy Director of the Coronavirus Science Branch at the California Department of Public Health. Prior to moving to California, NangHlaing was the Director of the Graduate Programs in Public Health at the University of New England (UNE) in Portland, Maine. NangHlaing has extensive experience in teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, and at UNE, she also led the program’s reaccreditation by the Council on Education for Public Health. NangHlaing was born and raised in Yangon, Myanmar. She received her BA (Biology) from Bard College at Simon’s Rock, her PhD from University of Massachusetts Medical School and her MPH from Harvard School of Public Health.
Dwight Clark
Trustee
Dwight Clark’s lifetime focuses on melding experiential education and service with formal academic study began when he was dean of freshmen at Stanford University. Students’ interest in the non-Western world led to an initial service program in Hong Kong and quickly expanded with the establishment of Volunteers in Asia (now VIA). That trans-Pacific flow later became two-way with the addition of Asian students seeking short-term programs in the Stanford/Silicon Valley area. After retiring from VIA, he founded Learning Across Borders (LAB) which offers short study programs in Southeast Asia to students from East Asia (mainly Keio University [Tokyo] and National Taiwan University). In recent years, these programs have focused on Burma/Myanmar and have included members of Parami University in Myanmar and the Pre-Collegiate Program.
Bob Tseng
Vice-Chair
Bob Tseng is the Managing Partner of Thanlwin Legal and the Co-Chair of the Legal Committee, AmCham Myanmar. He is qualified in both China and Taiwan. In Myanmar, he provides legal services and counsel in joint ventures, investments, mergers and acquisitions, banking, infrastructure and construction, among others. His legal career spans through various countries in the Asia-Pacific region and the Greater China Area. He received LL.B from National Taiwan University, one of the most prestigious universities in Taiwan and Asia, and LL.M from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.
Jonathan Becker
Trustee
Jonathan Becker is Vice President for Academic Affairs and Director of the Center for Civic Engagement at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson New York, where he is an Associate Professor of Political Studies and co-Director of the Global and International Studies Program. His scope of work includes academic oversight of the Bard High School Early Colleges; the Bard Prison Initiative; the Clemente Course in the Humanities; and Bard's international dual-degree partnerships with the American University of Central Asia, Al-Quds University, Bard College Berlin; and St. Petersburg University. Jonathan earned his B.A. from McGill University in 1987 and his Ph.D. from St. Antony's College, Oxford in 1993.
Kyle Anderson
Vice-Chair
Kyle Anderson is the Vice President of Strategic Programming at Academic Programs International (API) and one of Parami's Board members. He previously served as the Chair of Asian Studies and the Director of the Center for Global Citizenship at Centre College and was the Senior Director for Global Engagement over Global Partnerships and Initiatives at Clemson University. Kyle's experience includes on and off-campus curricular design and management; the creation and implementation of in-person and virtual global learning modalities; international faculty, staff, and student services: off-campus student success; faculty development; donor relations; integrated experiential learning pathways, and more. While at Clemson University, Kyle directed the Global Learning Institute for faculty and founded the VRMondi Global Learning Lab - the first lab of its kind dedicated to the adoption of XR technologies in global learning. Kyle's scholarship investigates student success in study abroad and the history of East-West--particularly Sino-Italian--cultural exchange. He is also a well-known translator of Chinese contemporary adult and children's fiction into English.
Nang Khin Khin Gyi
Trustee
Nang Khin Khin Gyi joined Yoma Bank in September 2016 and is currently serving as the Chief People Officer. Before returning to Myanmar, she worked for over 10 years in Corporate America as an Internal Auditor. She was a Global Corporate Internal Audit Manager for Alere Inc. based in Massachusetts. Prior to Alere, Nang also worked for Thermo Fisher Scientific, a Fortune 500 Company headquartered in Massachusetts. She holds a Master’s Degree in International Economics and Finance from Brandeis University, Massachusetts, a B.SC in Management from University of Massachusetts, and an A.A. in Liberal Arts from Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Massachusetts. She is also a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA).
Lynn Lynn Tin Htun
Trustee
Lynn Lynn Tin Htun is the Managing Director of Mango Marketing. She became co-founder of Mango Group after a 7-year career in FMCG Marketing in a multinational consumer goods company, Unilever, in Myanmar and Laos markets. She has in-depth knowledge and experience in consumer marketing, not only in ATL and BTL activities, but also the consumer marketing industry of emerging markets. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce specialized in Banking, and Master degree in Business Administration. She is an active mother, a successful business woman, a training facilitator, a mentor and a social contributor.
Daniel Siegfried
Trustee
Daniel Siegfried is a Co-Founder and Managing Director Programmes of Child's Dream Foundation. Daniel serves on various boards of the Child’s Dream charity family and chairs the board of the Swiss association. He is responsible for the overall strategy of the organisation as well as the development and implementation of local humanitarian projects aimed at improving health and education for sustainable development. With a budget of close to US$ 10 million, Child’s Dream, with its 50 colleagues, has implemented or runs over 700 charitable projects and programmes in the Mekong Sub-Region. A graduate of the Zurich Business School, Daniel worked for close to 10 years at UBS in Zurich, Hong Kong, Seoul and Singapore before leaving the financial sector for good in 2003 to dedicate his life on empowering people in the Mekong Sub-Region to shape their communities.
Abby Pratt
Trustee
Abby Pratt is a long-time supporter of Parami Institute. As the founder of New World Fund of the Berkshires, Abby has a deep interest in supporting educational initiatives and those in need. She was born in New York City in 1941. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. After college she worked in foster care and at Doubleday and Co., in New York City, before moving to Malawi with her husband where she taught English. On returning to the States, Abby became a reporter and editor for The Berkshire Eagle, the Berkshires' daily newspaper. Since retiring, she has made 15 trips to Myanmar where she has visited all but the far north and far south of the country.
Naw Show Ei Ei Tun
Trustee
Naw Show Ei Ei Tun currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Party at USAID-funded Transparency and Inclusive Growth Activity. Previously, she served as the Deputy Chief of Party at USAID-funded Private Sector Development Activity. Prior to this, she was a consultant at APCO Worldwide, specializing in economic and development issues in Southeast Asia. She has also served as a Research Assistant at the Washington D.C. think-tank, Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars, where she focused on US foreign policy in developing countries. Show Ei Ei Tun holds an M.A. in International Relations and Political Economy with a focus on Southeast Asia from Johns Hopkins University. She earned her B.A. in Economics and Finance from Eastern University, Pennsylvania.
Parami University's
Management
The Parami University management team is composed of the following individuals who oversee the implementation of academic and administrative functions of the University.
Dr. Kyaw Moe Tun
President
Dr. Kyaw Moe Tun completed his undergraduate education at Bard College at Simon’s Rock (USA) and Oxford University (UK), and received his PhD in Chemistry at Yale University (USA). The transformative liberal arts and sciences education that he received abroad challenged him to find deeper meaning behind his actions. This notion has informed much of his ensuing work. He went back to Myanmar right after his PhD to dedicate his life to the development of his native country. He believes that empowering the youth is the most rewarding investment that a country can make to safeguard its sustainable future. With this mission in mind, Dr. Kyaw Moe Tun led the establishment of a well-regarded school known as Parami Institute in early 2017, which is a precursor to the planned establishment of a regional institute of higher education known as Parami University in 2021. Given how the coup in February had disrupted the plans, he is currently exploring alternative innovative educational initiatives that will provide contextualized quality higher education to Myanmar students.
Dr. Phil Enns
Dean of Academic Affairs
Dr. Phil Enns received his Ph.D. in Philosophical Theology in 2006. His specialty is in Epistemology, Religion and Democracy, and Philosophy of Language. Before joining Parami University, he taught in Nigeria, Indonesia, and most recently in Kazakhstan. Dr. Enns’ research is focused broadly on epistemological issues surrounding the role of beliefs and reasons in public life. He has published several articles exploring the role of religious reasons within public discourse in democracies, as well as on Kant and the role of public and private reasoning. He also has research interests in Nietzsche, Wittgenstein and Donald Davidson. Dr. Enns has also published in the area of medieval Islamic philosophy, focusing on the works of al Farabi, Ibn Sina and al Ghazali.. As the Dean of Academic Affairs at Parami University, he is responsible for all academic affairs, evaluating the effectiveness and quality of the Parami programs and planning and improvement of programs through cooperation with faculty.
Aung Myin Thu
Director of Admissions
and Student Affairs
Aung Myin Thu is the Director of Admissions and Students Affairs. He believes that promoting student diversity and inclusion is vital for the quality of classroom dialogue, mutual learning and the overall university experience for students. His passion for these areas was developed while pursuing a master's in Higher Education Leadership at the University of Washington, Seattle. Before joining Parami, he worked with hundreds of underserved Myanmar youth on English language, debate and pre-college programs for about seven years.
Myat Su San
Director of Institutional
Advancement
Myat Su San graduated from Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York with a BA in economics. Her academic and professional interests focused on development, law and policy. She spent five years working in the legal and development fields in Myanmar, working on law and policy reform of various sectors at USAID funded projects. She also volunteered for and supported education projects during the time since education is one of the fundamental pillars for sustainable development. She joined the Parami team full-time in July 2020 to bring her experience in law and grants management to lead the Office of Institutional Advancement where she oversees grant portfolios, manage donor relations and support the license application process of the University.
Meggan A. Houlihan
Interim Director of Library Resources
Meggan A. Houlihan is the Director of the Open Society University Network Library Resources Program and interim Director of Library Resources at Paramii University. Previously she held leadership roles at Colorado State University, New York University Abu Dhabi, and the American University in Cairo. She is the editor of the The First-Year Experience Cookbook and Everyday Evidence-Based Practice in Academic Libraries: Case Studies and Reflections, both published by the Association of College Research Libraries Press. Meggan has presented her work at the Evidence Based Library and Information Practice Conference, European Conference on Information Literacy, American Library Association Annual Conference, Association of College and Research Libraries Conference, LOEX, and LILAC. Her research interests include information literacy, international students, open educational resources, and the use of evidence synthesis methods in LIS. She is a graduate of Indiana University and the University of Reading.
Aye Marlar Htat
Director of Finance and Operations
Aye Marlar Htat is the Director of Finance and Operations at Parami University. She has about 15 years of experience in financial management, including audit, tax, funding, valuation, JV, and MIC, at INGOs, CSOs, MNCs, and other companies. She joined Parami University in February 2022 to bring her experience in financial management to lead the Office of Finance and Operations.