ACADEMIC COUNCIL OF THE INSTITUTE

MAURUS IRSAN RIMAWAL SJ

As a Jesuit, my perspective on leadership is grounded in the Ignatian spirituality. The primary source of the Ignatian spirituality is the Autobiography of St Ignatius of Loyola and the Spiritual Exercises. One among many core leadership practices in the Ignatian perspective is to find God in all things. There is a fundamental belief in the Ignatian spirituality that God is continuously at work in the world. God is ever present, constantly in touch and communicating with us in many ways for the betterment of the world – through events we experience, through people we meet and work with, through mental processes we undergo, through things we perceive, and so on. Leadership is a way to respond to God’s active presencewith loving joy and unfolding freedom.To see in that way, leadership is not about power and position, but a way of living in relationship with oneself, and with others for the greater glory of God.

This program of leadership consists four quarters. In the first quarter we learn about leading the self. It is very basic in developing leadership. We cannot lead others when we still struggle with ourselves. Physicians cannot treat the patients when they are sick. Only when they are well, they can function well as physicians. Similarly, we cannot become a good leader when we don’t know how to lead ourselves. The better we know ourselves the better we develop leadership. In this quarter we discover self-deception that leads us away from self-awareness.

In the second quarter we learn about leading a group. As a leader, we cannot just lead ourselves. We develop our leadership when we learn how to lead others. In this context to understand dynamic of a group is important. In developing leadership, we need to value the importance of group, because group helps us be effective to lead people. When we have good groups, we can lead people well. Therefore, we should never underestimate the dynamic of a group. We don’t value the importance of group because we have many bad memories about joining group. In order to appreciate more the dynamic of a group, we need to handle our negative experiences related to joining group. Remember that bias, prejudice, bully and discrimination are major problems to create effective dynamic of a group.

DR. MARK LABUNTOG

Mark E Labuntog, PhD, has been involved formally and informally in Jesuit tertiary level education for the last 34 years in Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan (Cagayan de Oro, Philippines), Campion Institute (Yangon, Myanmar), Jesuit Refugee Services Education Unit (Myitkyina, Upper Myanmar) and now in Myanmar Leadership Institute (Yangon, Myanmar).  His professional education, experience and research have been in English Language and Literature Teaching, Pedagogy, Curriculum Development, Textbook Evaluation and Leadership.

He studied and obtained academic education and related learning experiences from Xavier University (Philippines), University of Lancaster (England), Center for Teachers of English in Asia-Pacific at the University of Hawaii (Manoa, Hawaii, USA), University of South Australia (Adelaide, Australia), Saint John Mary Vianney Theologate (Cagayan de Oro, Philippines) and the Ignatian Institute of Religious Education Foundation in Holy Cross College (Davao, Philippines).

Among others, he has participated in conferences and seminars on the Intellectual Apostolate of the Society of Jesus in Fu Jen University (Taiwan), Ignatian Spirituality and Psycho-Spiritual Integration (Center for Ignatian Spirituality and Emmaus Center, Philippines), Assumption Way of Life (Religious of the Assumption, France and Italy), Japanese Art (Tokyo Art Museum and Soka Gakai University, Japan) and on Inclusivity (Assumption University, Bangkok, Thailand). Through the years, he has taught courses in English, Language, Literature, Pedagogy, Leadership, Theology and Religious Education in Myanmar and in the Philippines.

Sisca Setiati FCJ, MA

Sisca Setiati FCJ, MA completed her B.Ed (English) at Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia and she obtained her Graduate Diploma and Masters in Theology from the University of Divinity, Melbourne, Australia.
In the last twenty years, she has taught English as Second Language in different private language schools, at Sanata Dharma University in Indonesia and Campion Institute, Yangon-Myanmar. She has been teaching Education, Spirituality and Leadership related subjects at the Myanmar Institute of Religious Studies (MIRS) and Myanmar Leadership Institute (MLI).
Sisca’s areas of interest include holistic education, spirituality, language, arts, leadership and cross-cultural studies. In recent years, she attended various personal and professional development programs in Spain, France and the United Kingdom which deepened her knowledge, skills and experience in the area where she currently ministers.

MR. SAW MYO MUN THU

Saw Myo Min Thu, Executive Director of Thabyay Education Foundation, is an alumnus of OSF Network Scholarship Program, and came to Thabyay after serving in the US high education system for more than twelve years – five years as a University Evaluator at the University of San Francisco, six years as an Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions at the University of Maryland, College Park, and over a year as the Director of Admissions and Records at California State University, Bakersfield. Since his return to Myanmar, Saw Myo Min Thu has been actively advocating for a better education system in his native country. He is involved in the national efforts for education reform through the Salween Institute for Public Policy and a broad network of Myanmar educators. He also serves on the Board of Burmese Community Center for Education based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Saw Myo Min Thu holds a B.A. (1998) in International Relations from San Francisco State University and an M.A. (2000) in Development Economics from Williams College.

MS. EMILY

Emily De is national education programme officer at the UNESCO Yangon Office, Myanmar. Since Oct 2016, she has been engaged in the implementation of Peace Education and Education for sustainable Development (ESD) as a material developer and trainer. Emily oversees the Centre of Excellence for Business Skills Development, a joint program of UNESCO and Yangon University of Economics for two years. Her role is to support youths’ employability by implementation of new business skills development programmes, developing resource materials and facilitating training, seminars, and workshops.
Prior to UNESCO, Emily is a former teacher and coordinator for different youth programmes for several years including Myanmar Academies Community Program in Kachin state, Kayah state and Kayin state. She initiated experiential learning and community service programs in different youth programmes. She has a MA degree in International Education and Development from University of Sussex in UK and a MA degree in Educational Administration from Ramkhamhaeng university in Thailand.

GILLIAN DONOGHUE

Gillian Donoghue obtained a B.Ed in English and Religious Studies in Glasgow, Scotland, before teaching for over fifteen years in high schools in Scotland and the Cayman Islands, as well as teaching English as a Second Language in northern Italy and Sardinia.
After moving to Italy, Gillian spent a further 15 years working in business and administration roles with Jesuit Refugee Service and Caritas Internationalis in Rome. During this time, she developed a special interest in refugee education and education in emergencies, and through this work had the privilege of visiting and meeting students and teachers in schools in Central America and Africa.
Gillian is a fluent Italian speaker and enjoys studying new languages, listening and playing music and reading as much as possible.

THI THI THEIN

Thi Thi Thein is an Independent Researcher and Consultant with over 20 years of work experience in the non-profit and private sectors in Myanmar. She has researched on issues relating to business and human rights, migration, poverty reduction and rural development, rural and non-formal education in Myanmar. She has also worked, researched and travelled to all 14 states, regions and has supervised/conducted more than 900 individual and focus group discussions across the country. Thein is a Fulbright alumna with a Master’s in Social Work from the Fordham University (New York), a Master’s in Public Administration from the Yangon Institute of Economics and a Bachelor’s in English from the Dagon University (Yangon). She previously served as an external resource person at the Yangon University’s Post Graduate Diploma in Social Work Program (2016- 2018) and at the St. Aloysius Gonzaga Institute of Higher Studies (SAG-IHS) in Taunggyi, Shan State (2018 – 2019).

MARGARET MAUNG

Margaret is a skilled formator with a passionate interest in her spiritual development and the spiritual development of her sisters and their lay colleagues, and through them by a spiritual multiplier effect, the spiritual development of others. Margaret has worked in many leadership capacities both within her religious congregation and in other areas, including her leadership services in her being appointment as Provincial of the RNDM Sisters in Myanmar (2011-2017), as well as her election as President of the Catholic Religious Conference of Myanmar (CRCM). Margaret’s broad leadership experienceinstilled in her a deeper understanding of the religious life andher purpose and mission to bring her experience to the development of future leaders both in the religious life and in the secular world.On completion of her leadership ministry in 2017, Margaret undertook and was awarded a Masters’ degree in Applied Spirituality (2018) by the Waterford Institute of Technology, Ireland. Margaret is a qualified and accredited Spiritual Director and Cross-Professional Supervisor for people from all faiths and those who profess no belief. Her aprevious continuing professional studies in spirituality and theology were done in Pontifical Institute, Regina Mundi (Rome, Italy) and her Diploma in Formation Studies was done in Mater Dei Institute (Goa, India). Through the years, her ministering to God’s people of various beliefs, non-beliefs, and walks of life has continued to widen and deepen – all these and more because of the convincing, filling and caring grace of God.

FR. MAURUS IRSAN RIMAWAL

Maurus Irsan Rimawal, M.A., is a Jesuit priest and a faculty member of Myanmar Leadership Institute (MLI). He has joined MLI since 2018 giving sessions on self-awareness, dynamic of a group, and self-growth. He is currently a coordinator of child safeguarding team at MLI. His main area of interest is counseling and coaching. Aside from working at MLI, he is assistant and secretary to the Myanmar Jesuit superior. Prior joining to MLI, he was the director of Jesuit Novice Training and Formation. He worked in area of self-growth and psycho-spiritual integration of young Jesuits for eight years. He was born and raised in Indonesia. He obtained his Bachelor of Art in Philosophy from Driyarkara Institute of Philosophy, Jakarta, Indonesia in 1997 and his Bachelor’s in Theology in 2002 from Gregorian University Rome, Italy. He was graduated Master of Science in Pastoral Counseling in 2010 from Loyola University in Maryland, USA. And in 2018 he obtained NLP Master Practitioner – Life Coach in his Post-Master program in Global NLP Training.
Email: mariastradasj@gmail.com