1. Tell us about yourself: What’s your educational background/professional experience?

I hold a master's degree in Social Anthropology from the University of Oxford, and a bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences from Mahidol University International College. I am a passionate development worker who seeks to explore development from diverse angles as reflected in my professional experience. Before joining UNDP, I was the Director of Operations at the Mae Fah Luang Foundation under Royal Patronage, overseeing the management of development programmes in Thailand and Myanmar to improve the livelihoods of underprivileged communities. I also have work experience as a lecturer at Mahidol University International College, and an International Relations Coordinator at the Thailand Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS). 

Since 2021, I work as the Head of Solutions Mapping at UNDP Accelerator Lab Thailand, UNDP’s strategic initiative to deliver a new generation of solutions to address complex global development challenges. Guided by human-centred innovation approaches, I lead initiatives to engage multisectoral stakeholders in co-creating innovative solutions in diverse thematic areas such as sustainable tourism, air pollution, etc. 

2. What made you apply to work with one of the Labs of UNDP Thailand? 

Like a typical social science student, I have always hoped to work for the UN one day. However, it was the Accelerator Lab’s job post that made me think “This is it!” It was the most inspiring recruitment message I have ever came across. Many of its keywords resonated with me… “driven by learning new things, figuring out how they work and translating them across sectors”, “natural inclination to interdisciplinarity, cross cultural mindset and cross sectoral experience”, “a natural strategic thinker and a talented do-er”. As I learned about the Accelerator Lab’s thinking, I found its sense of humility so admirable. When facing complex global challenges, we have to admit that there is so much we don’t know. At the same time, there is a wealth of knowledge where we never look before. ‘Experts’ no longer have the monopoly over the way we address development challenges. We need to engage people from all walks of life, search for grassroots innovation created by common folks, and create an environment where we can harvest the fruits of collective intelligence. We need to challenge the status quo and shift the power dynamic so that development is everyone’s matter. I found myself in total agreement with these approaches and couldn’t feel more grateful to get to become a part of the Accelerator Lab network. 

3. What are your activities or main responsibilities? What is a day at the office like? 

My days can differ a lot! And many of them are not at the office. I have days where I run around in interactive workshops to build innovation capacity of the locals in Mae Hong Son, Yala, etc. I also have days on the ground walking the local communities with multisectoral stakeholders to put the co-creation approach into practice and turn ideas into action. Many days are filled with coordination and behind-the-scenes work to make the field actions possible. Last but not least, there are days of digging into content work to produce knowledge products for sharing Thailand’s experience with the global community. All these responsibilities are part of my mission to mainstream human-centered innovation approaches and make innovation capability accessible for local partners.