Traces Jay Demetillo

For this episode will be talking to Cho Chan Myei Oo. She is currently a Product Owner at a tech startup based in Thailand. She has worked in the fintech and telco industry in Myanmar with extensive work experience in risk and strategy planning.

She has led the launch of digital payment products in KBZPay e-wallet and digital banking. As a former Country Lead of The Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Women's Leadership Academy Alumni Network, she has participated in and hosted workshops and events on disadvantaged communities, youth empowerment, and entrepreneurship.

Her new interest is emerging technologies such as web3/defi and how it can contribute to great causes. She writes content about product design and her learning journey in Medium and her personal blog https://chochan.squarespace.com/.

For this episode will be talking to Min Zaw who is currently working as a graduate researcher based at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

As a minority from the Rakhine state, he's advocated and worked with different grassroots organizations during the Rakhine conflicts. He is concerned about Burma, he continues to work with student organizations to contribute to local advocacy efforts, sanctions, and data-related efforts after the 2021 coup.

For this episode will be talking to Thinzar Shunlei Yi who is one of the leading youth advocates and activists based in Yangon.

She is known for her tireless activism for peace and justice campaigning against the ongoing civil war in Myanmar. She is the daughter of an army officer and spent the first 16 years of her life on military grounds. When she discovered the world outside, she felt a responsibility to use her status to fight for others.

From 2012 to 2016, she co-organized and led nationwide and regional youth forums in Myanmar, as well as the National Youth Development Policy process. She is the first woman coordinator of the National Youth Congress (NYC) and a two-term president of Yangon Youth Network, Shunlei Yi is also currently an advocacy lead at Asian Youth Peace Network (AYPN).

For this episode will be talking to Than Toe Aung. He is a poet, writer, and activist-scholar.

He started a spoken word movement called “Slam Express,” which intersects activism and art, in his hometown Yangon. He is currently completing his Masters in Critical Gender Studies at Central European University in Vienna, Austria. 

When he is not writing or slamming poems, he writes about his ongoing identity crisis of growing up and living as a minoritized Muslim in Buddhist Burma. His interests lie in identity, belonging, borders, migration, race, ethnicity, decolonization, (trans)gender, non-binary, and queer politics.

For this episode will be talking to Maw Htun Aung Laphai, Deputy Minister for the National Unity Government in Mynamar.

A fellow in Obama foundation’s Leaders Asia pacific program, Maw was the Country Manager for Natural Resource Governance Institute in Myanmar. He is a devoted policy advocate on Transparency and Accountability in Natural Resource Governance.

He oversaw the research and advocacy on SOEs reform Fiscal Analysis on mining, Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, Natural Resource Federalism, and open data utilization in the extractive industry.

He is a Founder of Another Development, a local think tank for sub-national governments and currently helping as a strategic advisor.

He also serves as board chair for Arravati social development organization and a board member for Paung Ku, a local civil society strengthening initiative and its affiliate Lann center.

He currently now serves as the Deputy Minister for the National Unity Government.

This episode was recorded earlier in the year in March. Due to technical issues, there was a delay but luckily it is out now.

For this episode will be talking to Crystal Thane, an Art Director.

Born and raised in Yangon, Crystal is an art director currently based in NYC. She moved to the U.S. seven years ago to pursue a film degree with plans to eventually return home but somewhere along the way, she stumbled into the world of advertising and now works for a global ad agency. She’s passionate about storytelling, crafting experiences, and flamin’ hot Cheetos.