Facilitators

Khae (Ponpapatch) grew up in a small town in the northeastern of Thailand. Born and raised as a normal Thai, when 15, she went for her dream to be an exchange student in USA for a year. After graduated from Urban Community Development, she threw herself into social development. She was an English teacher with Teach For Thailand for 2 years to develop her belief in human growth and join NGO to develop Life Skills for youth in contact with laws. These experiences confirmed her belief that each and every one is capable of bringing positive change to the society. She loves to work with youth leaders, adult trainings and all kinds of activities involving the nature. She also writes, sings and heals.

Ashley was born and raised in Chennai city located in Tamil Nadu, India.  He now lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand. With two master’s degrees; one in social work and the other in human rights, he has over 5 years of experience working with nonprofits in South Asia and SEA in the development and human rights field. He grew up as a boy scout in India and enjoys spending time outdoors. He loves meeting, interacting and befriending new people. These interactions help him learn new perspectives through their experiences, cultures and practices. Ashley enjoys music and strumming a few chords on the guitar by himself to feel, live and appreciate solitude. He takes joy in hosting friends for dinner parties and cooking for them. He likes to overcome fears by confronting them and Scuba Diving was one of them.

MacKenzie has worked with refugees in the USA, Jordan, Greece, and India. She believes in the power of service to catalyze young people into empowered global leaders. MacK is an advocate of interdisciplinary study and systems thinking and is interested in how environmental and sustainability issues affect human health and security. MacK has degrees in business management and in neurobiology and is currently studying social innovation and sustainability at Thammasat University in Thailand. When she’s not studying, MacK loves riding horses, rock climbing, and standing on her hands.

Bouncing between big cities and beachside suburbs, Connor grew up exposed to a diverse America. Inspired to help create a more empathetic and equitable world, he spent a year working with students in New York City schools, and eventually studied Social Justice Education in university. He developed a passion for youth advocacy and a love of building strong, supportive communities. As a program manager in Japan and the US, he devised workshops on leadership and social-emotional learning for young adults and outdoor professionals. In his spare time, Connor enjoys exploring our beautiful planet, watching a lot of comedy, and expressing himself through writing, filmmaking, and performing.

Kai was born and raised in a farming family in Ubon Ratchathani, the so-called “Isaan” or northeast region of Thailand. Growing up on the farm, he learned to get his hands dirty at a very young age – helping his family to plant and harvest rice, herding and caring for the family buffalo, making and playing with toys built from natural materials –Kai’s childhood shaped his worldview, teaching him to be humble and to appreciate the simple things in life. Kai’s passion for teaching started when he was a teenager at school. Today, he is a teacher, teaching young children in Ubon Ratchathani. 

Genevieve was born and raised in New York and moved to Washington, D.C. after completing her undergraduate degrees in International Development and French. She has always had a passion for working with youth and learning about other cultures and languages, which led her to join the Peace Corps in 2017. For 2 years, Genevieve worked to empower youth in Northeastern Thailand to become leaders in their communities and collaborated with local government agencies to provide youth with experiential learning opportunities. Now residing in Bangkok, in her free time, Genevieve can be found exploring Bangkok’s green spaces and coffee shops.

Kai is a random Asian guy with a love for food, martial arts, stories and meeting new people. He fell in love with the outdoors at a young age and started his journey as an outdoor educator as a participant in KYC before volunteering as a Camp Assistant. From there, he was open to the world of experiential learning and he never left since. With a thirst to explore this field, he pursued a degree in psychology while rock climbing, practicing different martial arts and eating any local delicacy he could get his hands on.

Marina, originally from California, joins the JUMP! team after several years living in Southeast Asia reconnecting with her Thai family. With experience working in experiential education, running environmental education programs, and outdoor guiding trips – backpacking, climbing, kayaking, day trips, Marina eagerly applies her time and skills to the dynamic world of JUMP! Programs.  Marina’s background hosts a wide range of experiences from hospice and mental health care to citizen science in restoration and water quality to fisheries and marine science. She spent her university years studying environmental science and ecology providing a strong foundation for topics in environmental justice and scientific literacy.  When she is not working in the lab, greenhouse, or onsite for JUMP!, Marina may be found practicing yoga, swimming in the ocean, or exploring all the food markets in Bangkok.

Born and raised in the sub-urban towns of KL Malaysia, Beh was exposed to mud and trees and rivers at the age of 3. His turning point in life came about when he quite his corporate job in Financial Investments and started embarking on the journey of outdoors and education. After hiking a lot of New Zealand, he was based in Yangshuo, China where he led educational trips covering cultural, adventurous, community projects and leadership aspects of the modern curriculum. He then took on the role of Training Manager in one of the pioneer outdoor companies in China to standardized facilitation and SOPs Risk Assessments across programs. He has great passion in Safety and has specialized in Wilderness First Aid being an instructor for the Wilderness Medical Associates since 2019. Beh has been actively improving himself, recently in the art of Adventure Therapy and will continue to share his passion for education.

Patrick was raised in Ohio, USA, and has always enjoyed being outdoors. He has experience working on farms, and has a lifelong goal of building his own self-sufficient, off-grid community. He studied the discipline Ecological Engineering in university, and was elected the safety coordinator for the school’s mountaineering club, leading trips across the states. After graduation, he moved halfway across the world to live in New Zealand, where he further this environmental drive into a career in conservation. As a Team Leader for a large scale restoration project, he helped to build back the biodiversity of that beautiful country. When he is in his element, you can find him rock climbing, backpacking, or swimming. And spreading his message of sustainability and respect.

Tonatiuh was born and raised in Mexico City. Getting introduced into outdoor and experiential learning when he was 18. He loves been in the outdoors: hiking, climbing and enjoying nature. He has traveled and worked in different parts of the world such as Costa Rica, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong and London just to mention some. Enjoys reading and tries to learn something new everyday. Since living and sharing experiences with different people from different cultures he really encourages and supports students to learn and understand the international cultural and how to become a global citizen.

Lauren grew up in England but has spent the past 5 years living in Myanmar. Lauren has over 10 years work experience as a facilitator and trainer in over 20 countries. Lauren works in the field of social justice, and recently worked on a project in Myanmar promoting access to justice for women. Lauren believes that as global citizens of today world we all have collective responsibilities to work towards creating a more equability society for everyone. 

Sky has recently joined the Jump! Foundation team as an intern. They graduated from Kwantlen Park Secondary in 2019, and is working their way toward becoming a child and youth worker. Through their recreation, Sky found their passion for working with at-risk youth and is very passionate about spreading kindness and love wherever they are. They believe through love and dedication, people can achieve things they never thought they could. Sky is very artistic, and loves hiking, basketball, swimming and reading.

Luis Miguel Castro, or simply Luismi, was born in Colombia, holds citizenship in the US, has lived and worked in 6 countries, and considers himself a citizen of the world. He’s been working in the field of experiential education for the past 4 years, covering the whole range of outdoor education programs with schools, service-learning trips, and summer camps. He enjoys rock climbing, sea kayaking, and backpacking in the mountains. He’s also really into chess and logic riddles, and loves getting his students to think outside the box and challenge themselves. 

Oli grew up in South East England, studying physical geography at university in Wales where he combined his learning about the natural world and passion for playing in it. Whitewater kayaking and love of the outdoors has allowed him to experience and work in various countries around the world in a variety of roles, including kayak instruction, raft guiding, glacial guiding and outdoor education. When not in the outdoors, Oli can be found in the kitchen pretending he knows what he’s doing, but loving the experience of making and enjoying food with friends and family none the less.

Peam grew up in Phuket. He has a degree in Social sciences from Mahidol University and a passion for education and social impact. He spent a fair amount of time as an Exchange student and working with a youth lead student group in the San Francisco Bay Area. Throughout his career, he always spares his free time in voluntary work and teaching underprivileged children throughout Thailand. He has experience working with Public Sectors, INGOs and Private sectors over the past 6 years, which inspired him to try to inspire others to keep developing and improve themselves.

Shreya grew up in Kolkata, the cultural capital of India. She studied humanities until bachelors and  started adventure sports while still in school. She interned with media marketing while in college. She eventually ended up moving to New Delhi for richer work opportunities in the outdoor  education industry. Shreya has an experience of about 4 years in the sector. She loves to take risks in general which increases her challenge level capacity. Photography is an integral part of her. Shreya loves to take photographs and create memories. Throughout college she has been the official photographer for fests, participated in exhibitions and won inter college competitions. Shreya tried her hand in karate too and possesses a green stripe belt. Shreya is passionate to travel across the globe, interact with new people and exchange cultures. 

Tchissole grew up in Macau, south China and is originally from Portuguese-Angolan descent. She has lived in Asia for a total of 19 years and is living in Thailand since 2016. With a background in Human Resources, she has worked extensively in the private sector in Recruitment and Organisational Development. In the last 4 years, she has collaborated in the area of social entrepreneurship in Bangkok. Tchissole is an advocate for women’s empowerment and has contributed to promoting women’s leadership programs throughout Southeast Asia. She is passionate about empowering others and is a mentor supporting African startups as well as a career coach. Tchissole has a degree in Human Resources Management and Sociology from the UK.

Luisa was born and raised in the Philippines and has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She loves music, traveling, and being by the beach. Luisa served as a Youth in Development Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand. Her travels have brought her to over 30 countries around the world, through work, education, and leisure. She’s learned to speak 4 languages (English, Filipino, Thai, Spanish) and hopes to be more fluent in all of them! She loves outdoor activities like hiking, skiing, camping, snorkeling, biking, and much more. Fun Fact: She is a certified Rescue Scuba Diver!

Sam is from the coast of Oregon, USA where she enjoys beachcombing and watching the waves when she gets a chance to return home. She studied political science in college and spent some time in NE Thailand after graduating. Sam has worked with students of all ages and enjoys creating fun activities that get us all thinking outside of the box.

Born in a rural Northern Vietnam village, Linh is passionate about bringing innovative educational opportunities for countryside students. The awareness of self, community and globe emerged after her first overseas voluntary experience to teach English to Thai kids in 2017. She then shifted her direction to pursue Social Entrepreneurship major at School of Global Studies, Thammasat University. She took a gap year to dive in hands-on experience related to youth education and climate action, and also backpacking around Vietnam, Cambodia and Singapore. What motivates Linh is the beauty of small things and the humanity of life.

Abhi grew up surrounded by sunshine, beaches, and mountains in California, USA. Having a background in global health, he is driven by the goal of advancing health, human rights, and education for all. He’s been fortunate to have worked and studied in the USA, Switzerland, Nepal, Malaysia, and Lebanon. Abhi loves cooking huge meals for friends and family and geeks out on food cultures from around the world. In the past year, he’s been enthralled by trail running, realizing it combines the feeling of a runner’s high with “nature bathing” into what can only be described as a spiritual experience

Noureen has impact fever as she deeply believes in philosophy of, ‘Each one, teach one.’ Growing up in a small town called city of palaces, Bahawalpur in Pakistan, she took the less-travelled path full of adventures, challenges, and learnings as she decided to continue her higher education abroad. Currently, she is a 4th year student pursuing Global Studies and Social Entrepreneurship at Thammasat University, Thailand. She founded Think Beyond Borders to inspire women to follow their dreams despite barriers. Noureen is passionate about cycling, martial arts, and poetry and her goal is to be physically, mentally and emotionally strong and support others in their journey. 

Lena is the daughter of Greek immigrants, grew up in the United States, and has spent the last 15 years traveling and working in more than 60 countries. After 12+ years facilitating leadership development, community-building, and cultural exchange programs across the globe, Lena believes the division between us is a reflection of the disconnect within us. Committed to transforming the world from the inside-out, Lena helps impact-driven visionaries and changemakers discover and embrace their unique gifts, so they can live in alignment with their personal Truth, embody their unique purpose, and make a positive difference.

Thinuwan, from Colombo Sri Lanka, is a seasoned experiential trainer. Quitting his decade long corporate career in search of new adventures globally, he is a passionate adventurer and a mountaineer with several Himalayan expeditions under his belt already. Certified as an International trainer and an advocate of emotional intelligence skills development, he worked as an outdoor instructor in Hong Kong during the fall seasons of 2018 & 2019. Thinuwan enjoys working and sharing his knowledge, skills, and experience with participants of all ages facilitating their growth enabling them to become a better version of themselves.

Fai (Piyatida) was born in Chiang Mai and raised in the hottest city of Thailand in Thoen District, Lampang Province. She is a countryside girl and enjoys her time being in nature. At the age of 17 years old, she joined an exchange student program in San Francisco, California, USA for one year in Junior High School which gave “Piyatida” such amazing experiences and culture exchange. She has been working as a Local Guide in Chiang Mai since 2016 but at some point taking people to visit most tourist areas isn’t something that she wanted to do everyday. In 2018, she left Thailand and explored another continent in Switzerland as Au Pair for one year and every single weekend, she would take a train to discover a daily hike by herself and learn to develop the mindset as every step that she moves. It feels incredible once she knows what can be happening next and how to make the next step forwards to her goals.

A graduate of Theatre Design and Direction from the National School of Drama, Nikita likes to work with various disciplines, concerning her work mostly with Gender, Privilege, and Sustainability. She is a creator and curator who likes to let her artwork be an entry point for sensitive conversations to happen sensibly. She prefers to work with communities in rural India to use art as an intervention of social and ecological concerns. She is a student of the Baul tradition and Kudiyattam and through the aesthetics of these traditional art forms, explores the meaning of modernity in art and dynamics of the audience-performer relationship. Her work is mostly site-specific and tries to include lesser-known narratives of a place. As an art educator, she undertakes modules on sustainability and design thinking in remote villages as well as urban cities of India. As a performer, she’s performed in Hungary, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and London. She was recipient of the Ministry of Culture Performance Research fellowship for two years consecutively (2017-2019) and was an arts fellow at the Anant University of Design (2020). She is the founder member of The P(art)icle Collective (Delhi), Technical Director of Festival Tantidhatri (Shantiniketan) and the founder of SICCA (Sustainable Indeginous Centre for Collaborative Arts).

Chris Wrinkle is a 22 year old currently living in the beautiful Cariboo, BC. He was born and raised in the Bahamas for most of his life until he moved to Vancouver at 15 and eventually to Lethbridge, Alberta to complete his degree for agricultural sciences. Being outdoors is an absolute pleasure for him, from surfing on sandy beaches, to climbing mountain peaks as an Educo student. Educo has provided him a place to truly be himself and he can’t wait to share experiences with new students!

Jade is passionate about learning and teaching. Jade started out their career as a theatre teacher and found their way to becoming an outdoor educator because nature is their biggest teacher and they don’t really like walls. Their goal remains the same: fostering individuals’ passions and skills to create magical communities in which no challenge is a problem we can’t solve. A few of Jade’s favourite things are anything having to do with water (including rain), stars and planets, science fiction, bikes, the sound of a drum and dawn.

Curt grew up in bustling southern California, but was fortunate to have parents who were both educators and interested in the outdoors and loved animals. He is currently a PhD. candidate in the Department of Biology at Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand studying venomous snake conservation and management of snakebite. His professional interests including facilitation and research
span a diverse range of topics, from recycling of human materials in natural areas to bird of prey conservation to reptile and amphibian natural history. Curt is passionate about engaging diverse audiences with outdoor and environmental knowledge and experience.

My name is Kritsakorn Naimnil. My niackname is Bank. I lived and grew up from Samut Sakhon, a small province. Outstanding in seafood and in my province that has a lot of factories. But I prefer nature more than city and factory. I graduated with a master’s degree from
College of Management Mahidol University the major is Business Administration. I decided to study in this major becauseI I believe this word “Put the right man on the right job” is that true for the real life. When you want the job perfect and success, You have to keep this in mind. Now, I work as a General Administration Officer at a Foreign Worker Employment Agency called Plannetlaw Company Limited. My duty is to assist the foreign workers such as Myanmar, Laos and Cambodian Workers to work in Thailand legally. In my work, I gain experience working with people of different nationalities an cultures. Moreover I have traveled frequently and I have worked
with foreigners that make me to be an adaptable and well organized person. When I have freetime, I want to learn a new thing from people or social media. Furthermore, I love to travel and find a new experience such as a new places and new peoples. I love meeting and talking to a new friends. Because I am friendly and easy-going with other peoples. I like to listen and give advice to others. It shows to respect for people. And the most important, That I am the part for support and encourage them.

Esly was born and grew up in Thailand. She was a one-year exchange student in Germany. She graduated in Global Studies and Social entrepreneurship from Thammasat University. While studying for her bachelor’s, she developed a keen interest in resolving the social problem in the rural area in Thailand, specifically in community development, human rights, and education. She enjoys working with children, and in her free time, she works part-time as a tutor and educator for youngsters. Her favorite profession is connecting with new people since it allows her to gain a fresh perspective and learn new things.

Jeans grew up in the land of smiles. Being an exchange student between three different countries in Europe and Oceania allows her to open up to the world by seeing the diversity of people and the beauty of nature. Inspired to be part of creating a more empathetic world with a passion for exploring new cultures and spreading positive energy. Eager to learn and grow as a global citizen. “Always open to the opportunities, appreciate adventures and people around you” is her life motto. Recently, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Global Studies and Social Entrepreneurship from Thammasat University, Thailand. It is time for her new journey to step into another phase of life.

Carol lives in beautiful British Columbia, Canada where she loves to explore the natural world through her work and play. Her many years of providing experiential education in the outdoors include working
with kids at Educo Adventure School in the interior of BC and training adults in outdoor recreation skills at Capilano University in Vancouver. Most recently Carol has been enjoying working as an office manager and yoga therapist in a wellness clinic in Keremeos, BC. Carol’s passions include hiking, biking, paddling,
cross country skiing, gardening and preparing healthy whole foods. She enjoys a regular yoga and meditation practice and loves to live a simple life and care for the earth. She is involved with organizations that inspire hope, optimism and empowerment in these challenging times. Carol is extremely passionate about climate action and sustainability and is very excited to be able to share that passion as a part of the Jump team.

Daniela is passionate about facilitating meaningful connections amongst diverse individuals. Originally from South Africa, she has a background in education, an MA in Conflict Analysis and Management, and extensive experience designing and implementing initiatives to foster intercultural understanding and support refugees and immigrants in adapting to their new home in both South Africa and Canada.

Daniela has designed and facilitated experiential workshops to engage both youth and adults in various communities in conversations to foster understanding of diversity, equity, power, privilege, and inclusion. She has also trained youth and school staff in conflict resolution skills and facilitated conflict resolution processes, including mediation. As a writer and journalist, she focuses on highlighting underrepresented perspectives to be able to create greater empathy and understanding around critical social issues. Her passion for writing, exploring the complexities of identity and youth empowerment led her to co-create the Identity Pages youth writing mentorship program.

Namwan was born and raised in Thailand. She studied in Rome for 3 years. She later continued her education at Thammasat University in the school of Global Studies and Social Entrepreneurship. She’s a foodie who enjoys indulging in new cuisines as well as traveling and doing activities with people, as she believes it helps her learn through experience. Her topic of interest is sustainability, being able to create and ideate new approaches to help resolve issues. As she believes that growth comes from self-development, she’s  enthusiastic about empowering people to take charge and be the change they want to see.