by Linda Filardi | January 31, 2024
Linda is a senior vice president and associate general counsel of Flagstar Bank, a division of New York Community Bank, responsible for all lending activities of commercial and private banking. Linda spent over 20 years in executive in-house legal positions for Fortune 100 financial institutions, including GE Capital and Capital One Bank. She is a regent for the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers and the chair of the ABA Committee on Asset-Based Lending. She is active in political advocacy on behalf of financial lending activities as a board member of the Loan Syndicated Trading Association’s Political Action Committee and served as vice chair of the GE Political Action Committee. Linda has received numerous awards at GE and Capital One for her customer focus, innovation, and leadership in the legal department, as well as her mentoring and leadership in women’s initiatives.
Linda has been active in philanthropic ventures her entire life. She has served on the executive committees of the boards of several nonprofits and has been instrumental in the development and the endowment of transformational capital campaigns such as the new organ for Grace Church in NYC, the Kanas Center for Hospice Care in Westhampton, the 2022 Quogue Library Expansion, the Quogue Junior Theatre Troop, the Quogue Wildlife Refuge, several infant orphanage education centers in China for Half the Sky Foundation, and the building of an elementary school in Cambodia dedicated to her two children for the Cambodia School Project. She also serves on the board and advisor’s counsel of Eleanor’s Legacy, Asia Initiatives, Global Glow, and Columbia University’s Global Mental Health program.
She received her juris doctoral degree Magna Cum Laude from Seton Hall University School of Law, where she was editor of the Law Review, and completed a master’s degree at The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Linda also holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from SUNY Plattsburgh, including studies abroad in Paris, France, and at McGill University in Canada. She lives in NYC and Quogue with her husband, two children, and two dogs.
by Behnaz Raufi | January 26, 2024
Behnaz Raufi serves as the chief of staff to the president and assistant secretary to the Board of Trustees. In this capacity, Behnaz is responsible for overseeing and coordinating administrative and strategic functions, playing a crucial role in supporting the president and assisting with board-related responsibilities.
Before assuming her current role, Behnaz served as a program director at the Foundation. In this capacity, she offered vital support to the senior vice president of Programs for overseeing and managing the Foundation’s programmatic initiatives. Her responsibilities included managing the Foundation’s institutional partnership with Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, supporting the Foundation’s annual planning process, contributing to the development of country strategic plans, and assisting in institutional-level strategic planning and implementation.
Before joining the Foundation, Behnaz worked at the World Bank and the Institute for South Asia Studies at UC Berkeley.
Education: Behnaz Raufi earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in International Development Practice from Georgetown University.
by Miratori Kim | January 10, 2024
Miratori (Tori) is a senior program manager for The Asia Foundation in Cambodia. He provides senior-level oversight to the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade-supported local budgeting project which aims to make local governments more responsive to the needs of the public and enable increased public involvement in the local budgeting process. His role involves developing program strategy and oversight to ensure implementation, budget management, and streamlined communication with consultants and partners. He joined the Foundation as a senior consultant to provide technical input for the local governance program in 2022.
Tori has over 24 years of experience working with multiple international agencies in Cambodia, including GIZ, WorldFish in the Great Mekong Region, Concern Worldwide, and Church World Service, in many different sectors and levels. He has experience designing, leading, managing, and evaluating projects, conducting research, and developing strategic plans. He has also managed capacity development programs for various stakeholders including nongovernmental organizations, relevant national ministries, and subnational administrations to strengthen organizational management, environmental management, civic engagement, good governance, institutional development, implementation and monitoring, and financial management. During his career, Tori has authored several publications focusing on best practices in the subject areas of governance, environmental management, civic engagement, social accountability, and organizational development.
Education: Tori holds a master’s degree in Development Studies from the Royal University of Phnom Penh and a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture/Agronomy from the University of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
by Sopanha Rotha | January 5, 2024
Sopanha (Panha) Rotha is a program assistant in the Environment unit. She provides administrative and logistics support, and coordinates with program’s partners, including research institutes, grantees, donors, NGOs, and government counterparts.
Before joining the Foundation, she worked with Transparency International Cambodia as an intern and as a program assistant for the Citizen and Youth Empowerment Program to assist with project implementation and support national and regional events. Panha has also volunteered with Youth Resources Development Program and with AIESEC.
Education: Panha holds a bachelor’s degree in international studies from the Institute of International Studies and Public Policy, majoring in International Economics.
by Ratha Poth | January 5, 2024
Ratha Poth is a program officer for The Asia Foundation, Cambodia, primarily supporting the USAID Digital Workforce Development Program, which aims to enhance educational outcomes for Cambodia’s youth, addressing the demands of a technology-driven global economy by cultivating a skilled workforce.
Before joining The Asia Foundation, Ratha held various positions at several organizations, including WWF Cambodia, Swisscontact Cambodia, and Pact Cambodia. In these roles, he was responsible for partnership management, co-designing activities, and implementing impact assessment using the Most Significant Change tool for Pact’s WE Act project, also supported by USAID. He has experience reviewing proposals, drafting reports, and leading youth capacity development in research and entrepreneurship. His experience includes coordinating with relevant stakeholders and managing and engaging grantee partners. Prior to that, Ratha worked collaborating with local authorities and the private sector to boost small and medium enterprise capacity in tourism.
Education: Ratha holds a bachelor’s degree in Tourism Management from the Royal University of Phnom Penh.
by Batmunkh Batdelger | December 5, 2023
Batmunkh Batdelger is an accomplished financial professional and has been a valuable member of The Asia Foundation’s office in Mongolia since 2012. She oversees budget management, project finances, and donor reporting as the deputy finance manager. Batmunkh has a strong track record of ensuring budget compliance, conducting due diligence for contractors and grantees, and offering analytical insights for decision-making for projects such as governance, environment, anticorruption, anti-human trafficking, child protection, and more. Before joining The Asia Foundation, Batmunkh held various roles in finance and management in the private sector.
Education: Batmunkh’s educational background includes a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration specializing in accounting from the University of Finance and Economics in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
by Tricia Turbold | December 5, 2023
Tricia Turbold transitioned to director for People, Operations, and Fundraising in October of 2023. In this role, Tricia provides leadership support and ensures efficient and effective operations, managing security, administration, recruitment, staff well-being and development, and fundraising processes. She also oversees the office’s monitoring, evaluation, and learning unit and the Let’s Read program in Mongolia, which works to improve numeracy and literacy outcomes for Mongolian primary school children through reading.
Tricia Turbold joined The Asia Foundation Mongolia as the director for Economic Empowerment Programs in 2020, where she was responsible for developing, overseeing, and managing the Foundation’s portfolio of gender equality programming in Mongolia. This portfolio included projects funded by Global Affairs Canada, the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and various private donors on initiatives to promote women’s leadership, combat domestic violence, advance economic opportunities for women, and enhance gender equality in Mongolia.
Tricia has over a decade of experience leading NGOs in Mongolia’s nonprofit sector. Before joining the Foundation, Tricia worked as the Resident Director of the American Center for Mongolian Studies (ACMS), successfully leading the Mongolia office’s implementation of programs and activities to promote Mongolian studies and academic exchanges. Before joining ACMS, Tricia worked as the Executive Director for the American Chamber of Commerce in Mongolia, where she significantly expanded the organization’s membership, programming, fundraising, and outreach efforts. She began her career in healthcare administration at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.
Education: She holds a master’s degree in Corporate and Professional Communication and a bachelor’s degree in Communication, with a concentration in Public Relations, from Radford University in the United States.
by Tsolmon Gantuya | December 4, 2023
Tsolmon Gantuya joined The Asia Foundation in Mongolia in 2020. She is a former Fulbright Scholar experienced in trade, investment, women’s empowerment, and financial inclusion. She co-leads several projects, including the Women’s Economic Empowerment project funded by Global Affairs Canada. Her expertise includes enhancing women’s leadership and participation in the Mongolian economy and supporting women-owned businesses, including improving financial access and investment opportunities. She also manages the Women’s Business Center, the first dedicated center for women entrepreneurs in Mongolia.
She has positioned The Asia Foundation as the leading organization promoting gender mainstreaming in the Mongolian financial sector. She has also actively implemented activities to improve gender equality in financial organizations and increase financial access for women entrepreneurs, including piloting the first IT-based collateral-free loan for women. She has co-authored several reports, including Covid-19 Impact Assessment on Micro and Small-scale Women Business Enterprises in Mongolia and Gender Mainstreaming in the Mongolian Financial Sector, and the Guidelines to develop feminized financial products. She also actively advocates for the care economy in Mongolia.
Before joining the Foundation, she served in the Government of Mongolia for over a decade, working in the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and National Development Agency of Mongolia. Tsolmon also worked as a Summer Analyst for Promethos Capital, a Boston-based asset-management company, where she helped create a gender-focused investment fund.
Education: Tsolmon Gantuya holds a master’s degree in International Business from The Fletcher School at Tufts University and a master’s degree in Economics from the University of Pune in India.
by Mandakh Erdenebaatar | December 4, 2023
Mandakh Erdenebaatar has been a valuable member of The Asia Foundation in Mongolia since 2014. As the current director of finance for The Asia Foundation in Mongolia, she brings a wealth of expertise in financial management, complemented by a substantial background in international community development and poverty reduction projects. Throughout her tenure at the Foundation, Mandakh has consistently dedicated her skills and expertise to roles centered on finance and grant management. In these roles, she has been responsible for overseeing and optimizing the financial aspects of various projects and initiatives, ensuring that resources are effectively allocated and utilized to support the foundation’s goals.
Before joining The Asia Foundation, Mandakh contributed her skills and knowledge to the Millennium Challenge account-Mongolia (MCA-M), a compact invested by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) aimed at strengthening property rights, reducing non-communicable diseases and injuries, bolstering vocational education, reducing air pollution, and constructing an all-weather road to link markets. During her time at MCA-M, she served as a planning specialist, coordinator, and liaison, facilitating communication and collaboration among City Municipality Officials from various departments and agencies, District and Khoroo Governors, and other relevant officials. Additionally, she played a pivotal role in overseeing the development of the electronic Property Registration System of the General Authority for State Registration.
Education: Mandakh Erdenebaatar holds a master’s degree in Business Administration in International Finance from Virginia International University, along with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
by Delgermaa Lkhagvasuren | November 30, 2023
Delgermaa Lkhagvasuren works for the USAID-funded Media and Civil Society Strengthening in Mongolia project as deputy program manager and project coordinator, following her time as deputy program manager of the USAID-funded Strengthening Women and Youth Electoral and Political Processes in Mongolia project from 2020 through 2022.
She joined the Foundation in 2018 as a senior program officer for multiple projects in the Environment and Inclusive Governance portfolio. She led the Secondary Cities 2C project in Darkhan City, Mongolia, a field-based initiative of the Office of the Geographers at the U.S. Department of State that builds partnerships to enhance geospatial capacity, generate data, and share maps to support planning for sustainable and resilient cities.
She has also worked as the local focal point for projects such as the ADB-funded Strengthening Women’s Resilience to Climate Change and Disaster Risk in Asia and the Pacific project, the Merali Foundation Scholarship Program for women students in STEM, the Taylor Family Fund Endowed Chair in Ecology and Conservation Biology, and the initial phase of the UNESCAP Integrating the SDGs into local action in support of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Asia and the Pacific project. She has actively engaged with the Foundation’s youth empowerment activities, supporting the organization of the Youth Voices Summit in June 2019 and facilitating coordination with local partner organizations to organize regular mapathon and hackathon events for youth.
Prior to joining the Foundation, she worked with Habitat for Humanity Mongolia, a World Bank-funded Index-based Livestock Insurance project, Khan Bank, and Caritas Czech Republic Mongolia.
Education: Delgermaa Lkhagvasuren has a bachelor’s degree in Linguistics from Jawaharlal Nehru University in India, and master’s degree in Sustainable Territorial Development from the Erasmus Mundus Consortium of the University of Padova Italy, KU Leuven Belgium, University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne France, and Bom Bosco University Brazil.
