Some of our most promising young leaders have been selected to be a part of former US president Barack Obama’s leadership program, and we can’t be more proud!
These young Malaysians come from various fields in media, social activism, aviation and property development. Despite being from different areas of expertise, they are all driven towards a similar goal: to create positive social impact.
The year-long programme, dubbed ‘Obama Foundation Leaders: Asia Pacific’ will kick off in December when Obama visits Kuala Lumpur to meet the selected Malaysians along with other young leaders around Asia.
Get to know some of the selected Obama Foundation Leaders here:
Siti Aishah Hassan Hasri
Source: the star
Siti is the founder of SPOT Community Program, which provides comprehensive sexual education to girls aged 9-12 years old. She believes educating girls on sexual education helps shape confident and resilient girls.
Tee Ee Lynn
Tee is the head of innovation and new ventures at Sime Darby Properties where she uses technology to deliver sustainable solutions.
Rozella Marie
Source: facebook
Rozella is the founder of True Complexion, a social awareness platform that uses the art of storytelling to highlight issues related to differently-abled communities.
Ian Yee
Source: the star
Yee is the editor of R.AGE, the Star Media Group’s social impact and investigative journalism team. He believes responsible journalism has the ability to inspire social change.
Vivienne Chew
Chew is the Asia Pacific regional coordinator at the International Detention Coalition, an organisation that envisions a world that respects the rights and dignity of immigrants.
Cheryl Ann Fernando
Source: the star
Cheryl is the country director for Global School Leaders Malaysia, an organisation that provides training support and leadership skills for local school principals.
Sasha Ridzam
Sasha is the group head of the global affairs and sustainability team at the AirAsia Group. She believes in providing opportunities for people to thrive and in using mentorship as a tool to help others achieve their goals.
Wong Gwen Yi
Source: the star
Wong is the founder of Tribeless, an organisation that “creates safe spaces for people to learn and practice empathy skills”. She believes that equipping people with empathy skills will lead to a world that puts humans first and works to optimise social interaction.
Zoe Ng
Ng is the co-founder and CEO of Raintree Development, a workspace that enables organisations to network, educate and work.
Oga Chan
Chan is the programme lead at Acumen Academy Malaysia, an organisation with a mission to unleash entrepreneurial moral leaders across the country.
Rashvin Pal Singh
Source: the star
Rashvin is the Group CEO of the Biji-Biji Initiative, a group of social enterprises that champions sustainability and creative education to achieve collective impact.
Amalina Ariffin
Source: the star
Amalina is a youth advocate and co-founder of environmental education accelerator programme Chili Padi Academy.
Jordan Kho
Kho is a special project senior executive at the AirAsia Group. He believes connectivity is necessary in driving positive change and improvement in society and is always pushing for innovative ideas through human-centered approaches.
Lim Ben-Jie
Lim is an executive assistant at the AirAsia Group. He is passionate about improving the mobility of people to foster greater peace and understanding.
Kathleen Largo
Originally from the Philippines, Largo is a senior executive for the AirAsia Foundation. Kathleen is passionate about encouraging social entrepreneurship in companies that create shared value for customers.
Nalindra Annalia Pelekai
Source: the star
Nalindra, who is from Indonesia, is a consultant working on youth development programs. She believes that through positive leadership and a platform to generate ideas into action, people will be empowered to make global change.
We hope these amazing men and women will continue their noble efforts in making the world a better place for future generations!
Also read: You Could Meet Barack & Michelle Obama This 10th – 14th Dec As They’re Coming To KL!
