OUR TEAM

Alex is an activist educator, facilitator, and organizational leader. She specializes in unleashing people's potential through participatory processes that foster connection, joy, and dismantle limiting narratives. As the head of AktivAsia Regional, she ensures impactful programs, managing resource allocation and expansion to new areas with emerging needs. With nearly 30 years of experience in environment, social justice, and international development in the Asia Pacific, Alex spent 13 years in Indonesia, a place close to her heart. Co-founder and Managing Director of AktivAsia, previously led Hijau Biru, a team of bilingual educators focusing on facilitation, design, monitoring, evaluation, and strategic planning. In her free time, Alex enjoys busking with her guitar as a singer-songwriter.

Francis, an avid campaigner and organizer, ignited his activism in 1984 during the Marcos dictatorship, fighting for democratic rights in the Philippines. Transitioning to the non-profit sector in the early 1990s, he embraced sustainable development, highlighted by the 1992 Earth Summit. Actively working on environmental issues, he collaborated with Greenpeace Southeast Asia and the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC).

Driven by a growing interest in humanitarianism, he engages in various efforts in his homeland. As a facilitator in campaign organizing, leadership, project management, and nonviolent social change, Francis aspires to teach Civics Education someday, nurturing knowledge and empowerment.

Noorulain Masood, the AktivAsia Pakistan lead and CSIDC Founder and CEO, is driven by strategic, self-reflective, and constituency-focused sustainable change. She first collaborated with Marshall Ganz at Harvard University in 2012, further developing Organizing and Public Narrative frameworks. With experience teaching Adaptive Leadership and coordinating courses, she's worked with over 1000+ activists, nonprofit executives, and grassroots leaders. Following her Fulbright-funded Masters in Public Administration/International Development at Harvard, she contributed to policy-making institutions like the World Bank and United Nations, led Teach For Pakistan, and designed a DFID-funded pilot for grassroots leaders. Noor served as a teaching staff at Harvard University from 2019 to 2021.

Jihun Jang is an environmental educator and the Korea Training Coordinator for Aktivasia. She believes in people power and loves bridging people, organisations, and strategies for collective impact. She is a Director of BigWave, a local youth climate change organisation.

Elainne is an engineer and a community worker with a passion for working with communities in solving their problems and making science and technology work for the people. She was part of  the first nationwide hazard mapping project in the Philippines before getting involved in the development sector through the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities or ICSC where she worked on different studies and partnerships to integrate climate action in governance and policy making for sustainable development. After obtaining her master’s degree, she took on the role of the Operations Manager in AktivAsia Philippines with the hopes of empowering people to win their own campaigns through workshops and alliance building. She likes to travel and listen to ambient and worship music along with her interests in the application of systems thinking and complexity theory as well as her knowledge in Korean language and culture.

Amna Tufail, a Program Associate at CSIDC, holds an undergraduate degree in Psychology from IBA Karachi. Previously, she served as an Assistant Manager at The Citizens Foundation (TCF), contributing significantly to designing the Social Studies curriculum. A Fulbright scholar, she completed her master's in educational psychology and human development at the University of Minnesota. Amna's research focuses on Pakistani public school students' experiences, socio-emotional and cognitive development, and integrating skill-building into curricula. Her thesis explored the spatial ability of students in low-cost schools. Currently adjunct faculty in IBA's Social Sciences and Liberal Arts department, she aims to blend theory and practice to address societal challenges effectively.

Nurul is a dedicated researcher and lecturer with over 20 years' experience in economic development, and project and organisational management. At AktivAsia Nurul coordinates organisational governance and program monitoring and evaluation. In her career, Nurul has contributed significantly to diverse projects across civil society, universities, and international development. Outside work, Nurul immerses herself in the world of literature. She is also an avid traveller, exploring new places and gaining valuable insights from different cultures. Above all, she cherishes moments spent with her family. 

Piyali provides comprehensive tech implementation and data support to AktivAsia, encompassing various aspects such as website, Salesforce implementation, and data streamlining for training data. Her expertise ensures smooth and effective operations for AktivAsia's digital platforms.

Priyanka Hafeez Dero is a Program Associate. She had done her MPhil in Applied Linguistics, she identifies as Socialist- Marxist Feminist and currently working as a Movement Building lead in Pakistan.

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Muneed Gazdar is the Accounts Assistant at CSIDC. He assists Zaheer in handling and maintaining the accounts and financial reporting.

Bilal Gazdar is the Administrative Assistant at CSIDC. He assists Zaheer in administrative facilitation and overlooks the operations of the organization.

Zaheer M. Gazdar has been a finance consultant with CSIDC since its inception. He leads on financial management and reporting, as well as administrative facilitation.

Umaima Jamil is currently a Coordinator at the Center for Social Innovation and Development Cooperation (CSIDC). She  joined the team on August 2024, and plays an integral role in managing program activities, facilitating communication, and ensuring efficient coordination across various initiatives. In addition to her core responsibilities, Umaima also takes care of logistical matters within the office as well as handling the logistics for training sessions.

Umaima graduated from Karachi University and brings her experience as a former school teacher to her current role. She has also been an part of the PCC 2023 and is an alumna of the CSIDC program, which has further enriched her knowledge and skills in community development.

In her free time, Umaima enjoys bike riding and playing games, which provide her with a fun balance to her professional life.

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