Dr. Su-Ann Oh
su-ann@roomtogrowfoundation.org
a Board Member, is a Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore. She conducts research on education, forced migration, exclusion and identity. She has written on the situation of orphans and unaccompanied minors in Umphium Mai and has published papers and reports on education for refugees in Thailand.
Jennifer Allore
jallore@roomtogrowfoundation.org
a Board Member, arrived to Thailand in 2005 to teach English at a ‘post-high school’ in Umphium Mai camp, where she was also fortunate enough to live much of the time. She has a Bachelor of Arts from York University in Toronto and wide-ranging English teaching experience in Canada, Japan and Thailand. She spent three years in Mae Sot, Thailand and has developed and managed an educational project for refugees for a large international non-governmental organization, ZOA Refugee Care. She first became involved with orphans when her students in Umphium Mai told her about a boarding house that had burned down, leaving the residents with almost nothing. Soon after, together with Su Ann Oh and Jennifer Jones, Room to Grow Foundation was started. She eventually moved on from Thailand and spent a few years in China and Hong Kong. Recently, after nearly a decade in Asia, she returned home to Canada with her husband and two young children to raise their family.
Sandra Jones
sandra@roomtogrowfoundation.org
the Executive Director, was born in Australia and has lived in Canada for 35years, working as an Occupational Therapist. Sandra has three children, each of whom has been able to attend post-secondary education and travel the world. She now has two young grandchildren. In June 2010 Sandra spent 6 weeks in Mae Sot working with Room to Grow. Working with R2G projects, Sandra was able to help put into practice the core Occupational Therapy principles of self-care, productivity and leisure. For children this means that learning and self-confidence come from play (informal), and classroom (formal) education. This allows children the opportunity to fulfill their potential and inspires them to be curious about the world. Play and dance also promote children’s physical development and improves their overall health. Sandra believes that all children have the right to participate in educational opportunities, to have fun, to relax and to play.
Jennifer Jones
jjones@roomtogrowfoundation.org
a Director, has a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University in International Development and Women’s Studies. She has been working on the Thai-Burma border on projects related to education and children since 2004, including working as a consultant for World Education and ZOA Refugee Care. Over the past three years, she has implemented a variety of programs for children in the refugee and migrant areas, serving as R2G’s Executive Director and Program Coordinator during much of this time. In 2012 she will be beginning a program with the University of Sydney in order to work towards a Masters of Social Work.
Amber Jones
amber@roomtogrowfoundation.org
is the Treasurer of Room to Grow. Amber was born and raised in Saskatoon. She attended the University of Saskatchewan to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Saskatchewan, studying soil and environmental science. She was fortunate enough to travel extensively, around the world and across Canada including a canoe trip that crossed Canada. After working in the environmental industry for several years, she managed a small non-profit organization called Road Map Saskatoon that works with government, other non-profits, and local businesses to achieve sustainability initiatives. She is now focused on raising her two children (who are one and four years old) while volunteering for several organizations including the Green Party of Saskatchewan, the Permaculture Institute of Saskatchewan, and Room to Grow. She is currently developing an innovative self-sufficient farm that will encompass permaculture principles, organic agriculture, and a year-round passive solar greenhouse to someday provide fresh, local produce, meat, and grains to Saskatoon residents with minimal use of fossil fuels.
Joanna Flint
joanna@roomtogrowfoundation.org
is the Program Coordinator for Room to Grow. A little over seven years ago, during her first university vacation, she spent several weeks volunteering at an orphanage in Bulgaria. Spending time playing with the kids, learning their stories and showing them some love and affection brought home to her how much some children have to go through so young, how strong they can be and how little it can take to help them realise their dreams. Seven years later, after graduating, completing her Masters in International Education and Development and working on the ground in Bulgaria, she has moved on, and intends to use the skills and experience she gained to be the next Programme Co-ordinator for Room to Grow. Joanna firmly believes that all children deserve time to play and just be children, as well as the opportunity of a quality education that will help them to fulfil their potential and realise their dreams and she looks forward to helping make that happen here in Mae Sot.
Myat Nobel Than
nobel@roomtogrowfoundation.org
is the Program Manager of Room to Grow’s Mae Sot programs. She graduated from Taungoo University (BSc.Maths), in 2003. She finished a diploma course at the State Agriculture Institute in Pyinmana, inside Burma, in 2006. In 2010, she graduated from the English Immersion Program in Umphium Mai Refugee Camp. While living in Burma, she worked for the Muslim Youth Association as an Education Coordinator. She organized activities for uneducated people and orphanage children. Nobel lived in Umpiem Camp for three years, during which time she worked at the Vocational Training-Agriculture School and at the Muslim Middle School as a teacher. When she had free time, she taught some children in the Umpiem community, and she spent most of her spare time with some boarding house children. She has many years of experience teaching and managing children. Myat Nobel Than is very enthusiastic. She really wants to help young students and uneducated people to become educated leaders in their communities.