BANGKOK OFFICE
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Shalmali Guttal is our Executive Director and has worked with Focus since 1997. She has worked in India, the United States, and mainland Southeast Asia. Her academic background is in the social sciences with particular emphasis on participatory education and qualitative research. Since 1991, she has been researching and writing about economic development, trade and investment, and ecological and social justice issues in Asia – especially the Mekong region and India – with emphasis on peoples’ and women’s rights to resources. To read articles by Shalmali, click here. |
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Walden Bello is a Senior Analyst, and he co-founded Focus in 1995 with UNDP Senior Advisor Kamal Malhotra. Until recently, he was a representative to Congress in the Republic of the Philippines. A 2003 recipient of the prestigious Right Livelihood Award (the “Alternative Nobel Prize”), Walden is considered the most respected anti-globalization thinker in Asia by the Belgian newspaper Le Soir. He is the author and co-author of more than 14 books. To read articles by Walden, click here. |
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Sophea Chrek is a Programme Officer under our Mekong programme and is a feminist activist from Cambodia. From a garment worker background, Sophea has been working to empower young women workers for the last eight years and has dedicated herself to working with different movements fighting for social, economic and political change. |
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Edgardo Legaspi is our Program Development Manager. Ed studied economics and human rights, and he has been working as an activist for three decades, doing communications, advocacy, research and documentation work as well as program and organizational management. He has worked with various NGOs in the fields of media, human rights, peace and conflict, people-to-people solidarity, and indigenous peoples at the national and regional levels. |
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Soontaree Nakaviroj is an Administrator, and has been a staff member at Focus since 1998. She has a Bachelor’s degree in English and Art History from the Faculty of Archaeology at Silpakorn University in Bangkok. She previously worked as the administrative assistant of SARCS Secretariat at the Environmental Research Institute at Chulalongkorn University. |
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Nathaporn Meesuay or Note is our Accounting and Finance Officer. He graduated in accounting from Chulalongkorn University and has an MSc. in information systems management from the University of Surrey in the UK. He has worked as an accountant for several private companies in different industries. |
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Supatsak Pobsuk is our Thailand Programme Officer. Tum has worked for 10 years with an international non-governmental organization assisting refugees and displaced persons in Thailand. During this time, he developed a specialization in project management and partner development as well as extensive collaborative work with local civil society organisations on policy advocacy for refugee protection. His academic background is in political science and international development studies, and he has published articles and a book on to refugees from Myanmar residing along the country’s border with Thailand. |
MANILA OFFICE
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Joseph Purugganan is the Coordinator of Focus program in the Philippines. He joined Focus on the Global South in 2003 to help coordinate the nationwide campaign of the Stop the New Round Coalition to derail the World Trade Organization’s Doha Round negotiations. He works on trade issues and is the co-coordinator for Southeast Asia of the EU-ASEAN FTA Campaign Network. Joseph also spearheads Focus’ climate work in the Philippines. He sits as Focus representative to the Coordinating Committee of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ). To read articles by Joseph, click here. |
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Galileo de Guzman Castillo delves into the complex issues around climate and environmental justice, and in so doing, cannot but also be involved in intertwined concerns about the commons, humanity’s relationship with nature, and sustainability. His work in Focus allows him to build on his academic background in the inter- and transdisciplinary field of human ecology, and to channel more concretely his deep interests in peoples’ alternatives, grassroots capacity building, and critical pedagogy. Galil also has abiding interests in philosophy, geopolitics, vexillology, progressive bluegrass and indie folk music, poetry, and the avant-garde. To read articles by Galil, click here. |
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To read articles by Togs, click here. |
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Lyn Cacho-dela Cruz is in charge of administration and finance in Manila. With 11 years of experience working with people’s organizations, Lyn joined Focus on the Global South in January 2010. She graduated from Polytechnic University of the Philippines with a Bachelor’s degree in Accountancy and Law.
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NEW DELHI OFFICE
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Afsar Jafri has been with Focus since 2005 and is our India/South Asia coordinator based in New Delhi. With over 15 years of work on agriculture and food policy, he has been leading Focus’ research on food sovereignty. Afsar is closely linked with farmers’ groups in India and outside. He has a Master’s in Philosophy (International Law) from Jawaharlal Nehru University. To read articles by Afsar, click here. |
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Mansi Sharma is as our Finance and Administration Officer in New Delhi since 2012. She has experience as an administrator and finance manager at national and international organizations. She is activist at heart and has led many programs and campaigns on the issues of rural livelihoods, women’s empowerment, peace and democracy. Mansi enjoys reading contemporary literature and has large collection of books in her personal library. She is Bachelor of Commerce with Honors from Delhi University and has completed Masters in Business Administration specialized in Finance in 2017.
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