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Dr Gongbo Tashi
Agricultural Development
( PP Associate )
China
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Dr Gongbo Tashi's Bio
[ Expert advisor | Highland agriculture, community development ]
Dr Gongbo Tashi gained his Master’s degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Management at University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA, and his PhD from Northwest Agriculture & Forestry University in Xian, China. He is Professor emeritus from the Agriculture & Animal Husbandry College of Tibet University, specialised in crop breeding and community extension work. Dr Tashi continues his research/extension work while also serving as project manager for the ICDP is International Child Development Project in Lhasa, Tibet.
Dr. Tashi introduced Quinoa to China and has bred new varieties well adapted to the Tibetan plateau. He continues to train local farmers in cultivation practices, especially for the new Quinoa crop on the Tibetan plateau.
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Chris Yuan
Tourism Innovations
( PP Associate )
China
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Chris Yuan's Bio
Chris Yuan has contributed substantially to disaster relief and development in western China over the past couple decades. He has led emergency response teams and provided on-going support to many people, especially children, who suffered greatly from the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and 2010 Yushu earthquake. In more recent years, he has specialised in outdoor pursuits and has brought together his passion for the environment and caring for the wellbeing of people in poor rural areas through the development of community ecotourism. Chris has also integrated nature education into his work, with special attention given to young people at both high school and university levels. Through the Horseback Planet Society (HPS), which he co-founded in 2016, he has enabled the launch of several local ecotourism entreprises in the Tibetan plateau region. Working together with Plateau Perspectives, HPS has successfully strengthened environmental awareness amongst its members, promoting conservation of wildlife within the growing social network. In 2017, HPS extended its work into Central Asia.
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Amadeus DeKastle
Conservation Science
( PP Associate )
Kyrgyzstan
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Amadeus DeKastle's Bio
Amadeus DeKastle has been living and working in Kyrgyzstan since 2009. He holds a BSc in Biology and MA in Education from Liberty University, USA, and an MSc in Entomology from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, USA. He co-developed the “Central Asian Nature Guides” smartphone application with Plateau Perspectives in 2015 and subsequently led the creation of its first citizen science digital field guide and data tool, “Butterflies of Kyrgyzstan.” He also has consulted for University of Central Asia (UCA) through the Mountain Societies Research Institute.
Currently, he is Assistant Professor at the American University of Central Asia (AUCA) teaching undergraduate and graduate classes. He is also pursuing a PhD in Ecology at the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) with research on environmental impacts of road infrastructure developments on freshwater habitats in Kyrgyzstan.
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Matt Raulerson
Climate Adaptation
( Ilbirs Foundation )
Kyrgyzstan
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Matt Raulerson's Bio
Matt and Charlotte Raulerson lived and worked alongside rural communities in Western Mongolia from 2016 until 2020. While there they supported the local Youth and Development Center on various projects focusing on youth engagement and the environment. In 2021 they relocated to Kyrgyzstan where Matt interned with a Kyrgyz NGO and worked on community-based conservancies while Charlotte became involved with supporting a local preschool. Matt holds a MSc in Climate Change and Development from SOAS at the University of London and is a member of IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas. Currently, Matt and Charlotte are based in Kyrgyzstan. They both work on Plateau Perspectives projects with Matt focusing on climate change, conservation, and community development, and Charlotte is involved with childhood development and supporting local women.
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Randall Gwin
Educational Tech
( PP Associate )
Kyrgyzstan
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Randall Gwin's Bio
Randall Gwin has a Master’s in Teaching English as a Second Language and a Doctorate of Education focusing on Educational Technology. He has lived with his wife, a Family Practice Doctor, and their four children in Central Asia since 2004. Since 2014, his research and practice have increasingly focused on ways to use mobile technology to provide education to communities that are prevented from accessing traditional education due to economics, social status, or geography.
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Andrew and Jennifer Holloway
CommDev and Health
( PP Associates )
Kyrgyzstan
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Andrew and Jennifer Holloway's Bio
Andrew and Jennifer Holloway currently live in southern Kyrgyzstan with their three children. Andrew has a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Alabama, an MS in Environmental Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and a PE in Chemical Engineering. He has worked as chief engineer at a small engineering firm in China and as project engineer on renewable energy and environmental projects across the United States. Jennifer has a BA in Public Relations and an MA in Journalism, both from University of Alabama. She has written articles for various publications across several industries and worked with a refugee resettlement nonprofit organization in the United States. Together they enjoy hiking and camping with their kids in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan.
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Dr M Torrance-Foggin
Programme Director for CommDev and Health
Scotland
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Dr M Torrance-Foggin's Bio
Marion Foggin is a community paediatrician. She earned her medical degrees at University of St Andrews and University of Manchester. Postgraduate qualifications include MRCP and MRCPCH and she gained a Masters in Community Child Heath at the Institute of Child Health, University of London. Following 10 years of medical experience in the UK including her final position as a Consultant Community Paediatrician in Northumberland as well as other development experience in inner city areas with high unemployment, she has since 1998 led the health and community development work of the international NGO Plateau Perspectives in Qinghai Province and Tibet Autonomous Region, China. While still contributing to the work of Plateau Perspectives in China, she has also contributed to projects in the Kyrgyz Republic related to the health and wellbeing of children with disabilities and is preparing to start further health development projects more widely in Central Asia. Her main focus remains on rural livelihoods and the wellbeing of pastoral communities in high mountain regions
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Dr J Marc Foggin
International Director,
Plateau Perspectives
Scotland
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Dr J Marc Foggin's Bio
More than 20 years’ experience in biodiversity conservation and community development, with primary focus on community-based initiatives in the Tibetan Plateau region of China and in Central Asian mountain areas. From 2014 until 2018, served as Associate Director of Mountain Societies Research Institute (MSRI), University of Central Asia (UCA). Lengthy experience in both NGO project implementation and academic research in fields of grasslands and wildlife ecology; community conservation projects; development projects focused on enhancing pastoralists’ livelihoods and well-being, including education, community health and income generation; community co-management and protected area management; policy analysis; and capacity building at different administrative levels. Has led the work of the non-profit organization Plateau Perspectives since 1998, and also has served as consultant for World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Fauna and Flora International (FFI) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). In 2013 served as Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) for the UNDP/GEF Qinghai Biodiversity Conservation Project, which seeks to strengthen the management effectiveness of the protected area system in Qinghai province, China. Previously was Honorary Research Fellow at the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University of Kent. Since 2016 has been honorary Research Associate in the Institute of Asian Research in the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (SPPGA) at University of British Columbia (UBC). Professional member of the international Society for Conservation Biology (SCB), IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas, and several other IUCN working groups.
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Tze Hung Seeto
Documentary Film
( PP Associate )
Scotland
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Tze Hung Seeto's Bio
Tze-Hung Seeto is a documentary photographer and film maker who has over 15 years of experience living and working in different regions around the world. In that time he has worked with multiple NGOs and other institutions to help them tell stories from their fields as well as pursuing his own long-term documentary interests which include unique ways of life and creation care. He has been based in Scotland since 2020 where he also works commercially as a photographer and videographer.
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Philip and Julie Steiner
Yagnob Project
( PP Associates )
Tajikistan
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Philip and Julie Steiner's Bio
Philip and Julie Steiner live in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Philip holds a BA from Toccoa Falls College in Cross-Cultural Studies: TESOL, and an MBA in International Economic Development from Eastern University. Julie holds a BS in Cross-Cultural Studies from Toccoa Falls College, and an MA in Sociology from Sam Houston State University. She is also a licensed Community Health Worker. The Steiners have spent much of their career in China, focusing on several different aspects of community development. They have conducted health education, contributed to disaster relief and recovery, and participated with Plateau Perspectives in the implementation of a long-term community co-management conservation project with herder communities in the Yangtze headwaters. Most recently, they worked in the tourism sector in Tibetan areas of China, helping develop local businesses and opening their own tourism and hospitality services company. Philip is an avid birder and in his spare time is working to survey previously unbirded locations in Tajikistan.
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