ALUMNI AROUND THE GLOBE

Over its 20-year legacy of promoting professional and intellectual growth while advancing an international perspective on social sectors, the International Public Policy and Management (IPPAM) program at the USC Price School of Public Policy has served as a springboard for many global leaders.

South & Southeast Asia IPPAM Alumni

North America IPPAM Alumni

South America IPPAM Alumni

East Asia IPPAM Alumni

South & Southeast Asia IPPAM Alumni

Eurasia IPPAM Alumni

Middle East IPPAM Alumni

Central Asia IPPAM Alumni

Africa IPPAM Alumni

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Damantoro is a social entrepreneur in the sustainable transportation sector. He worked as an independent consultant for international organizations prior to his study at USC. After obtaining his MPPM from IPPAM and MSTE from Viterbi, Damantoro was actively involved in high-level transport initiatives, including the transitional team that developed the main infrastructure policies for President Joko Widodo’s administration, as well as the development of the first port-emission measurement methodology in Indonesia with the University of Gadjah Mada and UNEP. Damantoro has recently worked as a National Advisor for the Integrated Urban Road Safety Program of Indonesia Infrastructure Initiative, where he assists with the first initiative of the Directorate-General for Land Transport to design an integrated road safety program for urban areas and develop a national technical standard for designing road furniture as a tool to improve road safety conditions. He is also working as a Transport and Learning Program Specialist for United Cities and Local Government Asia Pacific (UCLG ASPAC), where he travels across regions to develop and manage learning and capacity building for local governments on sustainable transport issues, which provides him with many opportunities to meet other IPPAM fellows.

For Damantoro, the IPPAM program was highly fulfilling and rewarding for his professional and personal capacity. Robust and intensive courses in IPPAM helped him excel in his analytical skills and restructured his way of thinking, while at the same time improved his expression in a more academic manner. The international nature of IPPAM allowed him to become more familiar with diverse cultures, which supports him in his work with many international organizations.

TORY DAMANTOROIPPAM 14
Ichsan worked on program evaluation for the Center for Education and Training at the Ministry of Public Works in Indonesia prior to and after coming to IPPAM, and is currently working as a teaching staff at the Faculty of Economics at the Malikussaleh University where aside from teaching, does research, designs research materials, and assesses student progress. He attributes many successes in his career to the IPPAM Program and says that his graduation from the program has opened new doors for him. These include: serving as a manager for the personnel education and training of Jakarta Regional Training Center and as a member of several training guidance formulation teams at the Ministry of Public Works in Indonesia. He says that the International Public Policy and Management Seminar had been instrumental in developing his policy formulation and program management skills which have been very helpful in his career.



Ichsan is a Fulbright Scholarship recipient and was awarded an achievement award for his outstanding academic work at IPPAM.

ICHSANIPPAM 3
Mohammad is currently the Assistant Director at the Public Service 21 Office, Public Service Division, where he examines governance practices in other jurisdictions and applies best practices in the Singapore context. During his time at IPPAM, he refreshed the fundamentals of policy analysis and stakeholder management, enhanced his understanding of core leadership skills such as empathy, delegation, managing different temperaments in a group setting, and broadened my horizons in terms of differences in Governance style in the U.S. context vis-a-vis Singapore and other countries. Mohammad also broadened his inner understanding of the diversity of people, and learnt about other cultures, and learnt to appreciate and embrace diversity as a key feature in our globalized world. Dr. Bob Myrtle and Dr. Rym Kaki impacted him the most during his time at IPPAM. Dr. Myrtle is a world-class educator in professional leadership skills. He combined theory with practice and constantly encouraged the students to push their limits and go beyond their comfort zones to try new things in how students managed people and themselves. Dr. Kaki is an intellectual powerhouse and a passionate reader of the world. Her public policy classes acted as the crucial link between concept/theory and real-life, pressing issues.



IPPAM facilitated his participation in the Public Administration Conference that occurred in Chicago this year, which was a great opportunity to network with academics and senior public service officers in the U.S. IPPAM was also able to provide plenty of opportunities in terms of invitations to talks/seminars by members of the Price School community. The sheer diversity of students enrolled in the IPPAM program was the biggest draw for Mohammad. Nowhere else would he have been able to closely interact with people from so many different cultures, countries and governing systems. He was able to appreciate the diversity of the lived human experience, and he was humbled at the expansive nature of human history and culture.

“Such diversity will help you become more learned in terms of cultural sensitivities in this globalized world. IPPAM also offers exposure to the American experience. If you choose to do so, non-IPPAM classes at the Price School will allow you to immerse yourself among American classmates and get to know their culture and mindset too.”

MOHAMMAD JALEESIPPAM 17
Aimee has been working for the Ministry of Interior, Thailand since 2007 as the Plan and Policy Analyst. She is currently at the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) in Research and International Cooperation Bureau. Her responsibilities are coordinating and managing projects/activities under the cooperation between DDPM and international entities such as ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM), WMO/ESCAP Typhoon Committee, WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclone, ASEAN Regional Forum etc. She also has been appointed as the Thailand delegate to participate in several national and international level conferences on Disaster Management and Disaster Risk Reduction. Aimee’s work primarily focuses on disaster responses and preparation both domestically and internationally.

The presentation and project management skills she gained from IPPAM were very valuable to work. Also, she reviews her notes and resources from the project management class (project design, framework development, log frame development, and evaluation) almost every time she has to prepare for a project or workshop. Aimee thinks that the IPPAM curriculum was unique, and it has assisted her tremendously in her current position as civil servant in the growing sector of disaster management.

PANNAPA (AIMEE) NA NANIPPAM 5
Donald Pardede, an alumnus of the inaugural IPPAM class graduating in 1999, has dedicated his life to civil service with the Indonesian Ministry of Health. Dr. Pardede earned his medical degree from University of North Sumatera (USU) in 1985 and spent his dedication period working as a physician in a remote area near the border of East Kalimantan and Sabah (East Malaysia).



In 1990, Dr. Pardede Jump-started his career during his first position by obtaining the recognition of National Best Physician, East Kalimantan. He was soon named the head of the Bulungan District Health Office in East Kalimantan. Dr. Pardede was then promoted to Deputy Director of Health Care, Directorate of Managed Health Assurance for the Ministry of Health in Indonesia. With a promising career ahead of him, Dr. Pardede was not satisfied and wanted to further his education. In 1998, he joined the IPPAM Program at USC and regards IPPAM as having been a very useful tool for his career advancements. Shortly after graduating, Dr. Pardede received yet another promotion in April of 2000 as the head of the Accreditation Section in the Ministry of Health’s Directorate for Managed Health Assurance. Currently, Dr. Pardede continues his work within the Indonesian Ministry of Health and spends any free time with his family of three children.

DONALD PARDEDEIPPAM 1
Andy heads one branch of his family business, Tesco Engineers. The family established the company in 1965 and has gained much experience in the construction of steel water pipes. The business also specializes in mechanical engineering for onshore oil and gas in Thailand. After graduating from IPPAM in 2008, Andy returned home to expand his family business in various locales in Asia, such as Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries. An offshore project with Chevron was developed as a result. Andy’s plan is to continue the expansion and eventually take the company public in either Singapore or Hong Kong.

“IPPAM is a whole year filled with joy. You can feel the friendship on the first day you step into the IPPAM family. The students come from all over the world, but IPPAM brings us all together. I’m sure all the IPPAMer agree when I say that time at IPPAM was the best year of my life.”

ANDY KONGKIAT VARAKORNKARNIPPAM 10
Prior to IPPAM, Nyein Su Su Thwe (SU) worked for international NGOs (eg, Médecins Sans Frontières-Switzerland and Welthungerhilfe-Germany) implementing humanitarian and development projects in Myanmar. Much of her work focused on assisting ethnic minorities in conflict regions. In witnessing the hardships in these regions and being committed to the development of her nation, Su decided to pursue a master’s degree in the US to learn how to better promote economic and community development in impoverished areas. She was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and enrolled in the IPPAM-15 cohort in summer 2012.


In IPPAM courses with Professor Rym Kaki she learned how to leverage the role that NGOs can play in bridging government services and empowering communities and came to appreciate the international stage on which they operate. Her projects investigated food security in Kayah state, human trafficking in rural areas of Myanmar, deforestation in the Irrawaddy Delta, and using the tools of social finance to improve income-earning opportunities for ethnic minorities in rural Myanmar.


Upon returning home, she initially worked for the British Department for International Development (DFID) and then joined CARE International in Myanmar as HR & Administrative Director, focusing on capacity development of local staff, particularly ethnic minorities. Part of her responsibilities entailed going to Rakhine State, one of the most vulnerable areas in Myanmar, to partner with the local community on development projects. In 2018, Su joined her current employer, Community Partners International as Regional HR & Administrative Director where she oversees South East Asian Projects in Myanmar, Thailand, and Bangladesh, and assists with COVID response projects in Nepal and India. Su is also responsible for providing technical support to the headquarters office in San Francisco, California.


“If I did not enroll in IPPAM, I would not have been able to contribute as much to the development of my country and my region. IPPAM opened my eyes and connected me with the world. When I was in IPPAM, I was cared for so much that I felt like home. YES! We are a FAMILY!
Now I am back home in Myanmar, and I miss my second home, IPPAM and USC Price!”

Nyein Su Su ThweIPPAM 15
Sonskuln Thaomohr (Sorn) currently serves as the Policy Assistant to Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Commerce. One of the projects he manages is a $2.2 million farm income guarantee for strategic crops to ensure food and medical supply security during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the difficulty in sustaining a country’s economic competitiveness while balancing strict outbreak control, he has relied heavily on the skills of policy science and problem-solving that he learned in IPPAM.


Sorn received a scholarship from the Royal Thai government to join the IPPAM-20 cohort in 2017. Through his studies he gained an in-depth understanding of how choices, conflicts and practices of policy analysis impact the lives and well-being of people and drive social change. Particularly in his statistics course with Professor James Moore and his two policy courses with Professor Rym Kaki, he immersed himself in data-driven public policy knowledge amply illustrated by numerous case studies from his international classmates. His final project involved developing a grant proposal to use new advances in agricultural technology combined with community-building to assist smallholder farmers in Thailand. IPPAM provided Sorn with a rigorous international and multidisciplinary environment in which to explore and critically evaluate ideas for devising innovative policy solutions.


Sorn is able to engage more fully with the policy sector to forge new paths for sustainable and equitable development in his home country because of his years in Los Angeles with IPPAM and with the help and kindness of his professors, IPPAM staff and his classmates from around the world.

Sonskuln Thaomohr IPPAM 20
Surada Chundasutathanakul, also known as Shane, is an alum from IPPAM 11. Currently, she is a team member of General Prawit Wongsuwan, the deputy prime minister of Thailand.
Shane had an impressive experience with IPPAM. She had learned so many valuable skills and knowledge that she believes only a unique program like IPPAM could offer. She profoundly enjoyed her time at IPPAM and has made many life-long friendships with students from around the world, whom she still keeps in touch with these days. The IPPAM alum in Thailand has a strong network, and they always offer a helping hand to one another when there is a need.



“IPPAM, especially the staff, has helped to shape the person I have become today, and for that, I am truly grateful. I want to go back to the States and visit IPPAM as much as I can and to see if there is anything I can do for the program.”

Surada ChundasutathanakulIPPAM 11
Eko Arisyanto is from IPPAM 20. He spent a wonderful 2-year master’s study and graduated from the IPPAM program in 2019. Now he lives in Jakarta, Indonesia, and working at the Ministry of Finance of Republic of Indonesia. His current position is the Head of Information
Technology Infrastructure Management and System Security Sub-Division.



“It was lucky for me to have IPPAM as a part of my life journey. Become a part of the IPPAM family provides me with a great opportunity to gain tremendous knowledge from the best and experienced faculty. Moreover, the students from different backgrounds and cultures have contributed to a highly-dynamic-class which I truly enjoyed. Also, as an elected student senator in my first year and then working as a part-time technical lead in the IT Support office contributed significantly in growing my leadership skill. I believe that all of this knowledge and skills could benefit my career in the future.”

Eko Arisyanto IPPAM 20
Taiwanese-American IPPAM alum Kenny Chang possesses a dual perspective on learning and working, both in the United States and Asia. After moving to the U.S., Kenny attended high school in Los Angeles and went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, San Diego. He commenced his career working for an aerospace contracting company in Los Angeles, and then found himself working overseas in Shenzhen, China. Inspired by working in an international environment, it was during this period that Kenny sparked an interest for the public policy sector.
While searching for the right program, Kenny spoke with Academic Director Dr. Joanna Yu and realized USC IPPAM would align with his interests. He best recalls his experience with Professor Tom D’Agnes’ class–revolved around effective policy implementation–as “fascinating” and “insightful,” a place where you learn “everything about how economics and politics works in the world.”
Kenny’s fruitful IPPAM experience was shaped by the people and the networks. He met Jenny Lau, an IPPAM 7 alum, who kindly invited him join her Business Aviation company based in Hong Kong. Which later led to the formation of an educational services startup in Beijing with an IPPAM classmate. Kenny’s most recent activity revolves around cryptocurrency, trading, DeFi (Decentralized Finance), and most importantly, being a father. Looking back on his career shifts and IPPAM, he says “IPPAM prepared me for many things. It opened my eyes to different things as well.”
Now, Kenny wants to give back to his beloved IPPAM folks. He hopes his donation can assist current students with more field trip experiences, an essential path to learning with an open perspective on the U.S.

Kenny ChangIPPAM 10
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