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.
Alexis 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.
Stephen Tremaine
Trustee
Stephen Tremaine serves as Bard College’s Vice President for Network Education and was a founding leader of Bard Early College, a growing network of undergraduate campuses for younger students in public school settings. As Vice President for Network Education, Tremaine works across Bard's global network to advance research, teaching, and access to education in the liberal arts and sciences, working with policy-makers, researchers, education partners, and young people worldwide. Tremaine earned his PhD in Comparative Literature from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. With colleagues and school partners, Tremaine has established innovative high school and postsecondary programs and schools around the world, including in his hometown of New Orleans.
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.
Chin-Po 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.
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.
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Dean of Academic Affairs
Dr. Winmar Way
Dr. Winmar Way completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Harvard College, along with a Language Citation in French. She holds an M.A. in International and Comparative Education from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in Social Sciences and Comparative Education from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
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Director of Admissions and Student Affairs
Aung Myin Thu
Aung Myin Thu is the Director of Admissions and Student 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.
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Director of Finance and Operations
Aye Marlar Htat
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.
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Director of Institutional Advancement
Phoo Pwint Thiri Khine
Phoo Pwint Thiri Khine brings a wealth of experience in higher education management, holding a Master’s Degree in Business Management from Webster University and over a decade of expertise in institutional assessment, fundraising, alumni engagement, and strategic planning.
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Director of University Partnerships and Engagement
Dr. Dan Wessner
Dr. Dan Wessner serves as Director of University Partnerships and Engagement and is a Professor in the Division of Social Science and Humanities at Parami University.
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Director of Institutional Assessment
Michael Jennings
Michael Jennings is the Director of Institutional Assessment at Parami University. During his forty years on the faculty of Princeton University, he held appointments in the Departments of German, Art and Archaeology, and French and Italian, and in the School of Architecture; he retired in 2021 as the Class of 1900 Professor of Modern Languages, Emeritus.