Photo: A longtail boat travels through hydroponic tomato farms on Inle Lake, Shan State, Myanmar, November 2014 (Alex Bookbinder).

• Nationality: Canadian
• Research, communications, international development, project management
• Co-winner, 2014 Society of Publishers in Asia Award for Excellence in Human Rights Reporting
• Languages: Native English speaker; full professional proficiency in French and Spanish; conversational German, Burmese, Portuguese, Turkish

Journalism/Research Highlights

Migrant Report (2016)

• Migrant Report (now Xchange.org) is an information service affiliated with Migrant Offshore Aid Station, a search-and-rescue and medical aid NGO headquartered in Malta. I was responsible for managing a network of ground informants in Rakhine State (Myanmar) and Bangladesh who provided intelligence on maritime movements and irregular migration. These efforts informed a groundbreaking quantitative report on attitudes towards migration and other original reporting. I developed research tools and methodologies for collecting migration-related field data, variations of which have been subsequently been deployed by MOAS research teams in Bangladesh, the Sahel, and in the Central Mediterranean.

June 2015 – November 2015: Deputy Editor, Frontier Myanmar magazine

• I was the founding Deputy Editor at Frontier Myanmar magazine, which has subsequently become Myanmar’s publication of record for foreign audiences and policymakers. My duties included day-to-day management of the newsroom, including line management of a team of reporters, designers, translators and editors in conjunction with the Editor-in-Chief; feature/opinion writing; managing web presence/social media; editing copy; overseeing layout/production of a weekly print magazine, and commissioning freelance work.

March 2013 – June 2015: Myanmar Correspondent, The Edge Review

• I was the Myanmar correspondent for The Edge Review, a digital weekly magazine focused on business and politics in Southeast Asia, for more than two years. I primarily wrote short features, as well as occasional hard news pieces.
• In June 2014, my coverage of Buddhist nationalism and religious violence in Myanmar for The Edge Review was awarded the 2014 Society of Publishers in Asia Award for Excellence in Human Rights Reporting, as part of a package on similar trends throughout the region [PDF 17.6 MB].

November 2013 – June 2015: Correspondent, Democratic Voice of Burma

• I produced short news stories and longer features for the Democratic Voice of Burma’s English-language website.

December 2012 – July 2013: Editor, Acumen: Myanmar B2B Management Magazine, Yangon, Myanmar

• I was the principal editor of a business-focused, English-language monthly magazine. I was responsible for developing story ideas, writing feature articles, commissioning content from freelance writers/photographers, copy-editing and overseeing layout/design matters.

Other

2014/2015: EU Support for Reform of the Myanmar Police Force

• I conducted a number of media skills trainings for officers of the Myanmar Police Force in Yangon and Naypyidaw in 2014 and 2015, as part of a reform project backed by the Instrument Contributing to Stability and Peace of the European Union.
• Political risk analysis and commercial due diligence services on a freelance basis (client references available upon request).

Education

Master of Science, Strategic Studies – S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 2011-2012

• Awarded major entrance scholarship: Student Research Assistant study award, full scholarship and monthly stipend
• Dissertation: Landmines and Civilian Security in Eastern Burma: Implications for Humanitarian Engagement [PDF, 3.5MB]. Conducted fieldwork in Thailand and Karen State, Burma, December 2011-January 2012.

Bachelor of Arts, International Relations – University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, 2007-2011

Professional Certifications

PRINCE2 Agile® Foundation and Practitioner Certificates in Agile Project Management