Our People
December 2020 - Ramon Abracosa is the newest member of the Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund (UCCRTF) team. He is the Urban Resilience Consultant responsible for its Philippine portfolio of about a dozen projects.
July 2020 - This urban development specialist has lived and worked from one city to another, helping her thrive in a multicultural workplace while having a clear view of the different facets of urban development.
May 2020 - Gene-no Dig is an ambivert leading a double life – an operations assistant aiming to bridge the rural-urban divide by day and a renegade fending off the infected undead at night. But differences aside, both stem from a singular instinct, that of altruism.
October 2019 - From the islands dotting the Pacific to the land mass that is Central and West Asia, Jude Kohlhase has traveled the distance to learn and here he shares his chief reasons why.
June 2019 - After nearly two decades in the resident mission, this urban development specialist takes her place in headquarters, ready for new challenges and the same old purpose—helping people.
November 2018 - Not everyone can say they have known ADB since they were a kid, but Kyaw Thu of the ADB Myanmar Resident Mission has – and its mission to help the poor unwittingly became his own.
October 2018 - A lawyer by background and (early on) a financial adviser by profession, Jung Ho Kim has carved out a career dedicated to the public sector, putting a premium on multiple skills and along the way, demonstrating that being just can be done in various forms.
August 2018 - This ADB young professional likes to take on the world, from cycling around South America to addressing hazardous waste in Ghana and integrating education in infrastructure investments across the region
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August 2018 - A pescatarian, pranic healer, and a proponent of all things natural, Dindy now has a defined way of living. But it wasn’t always the case, she said, sharing how opportunities open up in the unlikeliest of places.
July 2018 - This former senior research specialist wasted no time in working for development, and if there was ever any question about her propensity to help others, then her decision to become a full-time ADB staff is the answer—she did it for her family.
June 2018 - Rising out of poverty is not an easy feat, and yet this provincial lass and former psychology teacher has become a pioneer, showing it can be done and how—by educating and empowering women.
June 2018 - This Laotian lady originally wanted to become a doctor, but public health issues brought her to a life of development work that includes identifying the ills that hamper people’s quality of life and providing a cure through investments that inject benefits for all.
May 2018 - An urban development specialist, Shinjini has always been taken by cities and their changing nature, but it was when she saw a clariflocculator for the first time that sealed the deal.
May 2018 - Director of Urban, Social Development, and Public Management for the Pacific Department Emma Veve unpacks the misconceptions of working for the 14 island countries of the Pacific and shares the exciting urban projects ahead.
April 2018 - The former secondee shares the serendipitous turn of events that brought her to Asia, how starting the Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund made her stay, and why she is drawn to the low-key.
April 2018 - Miss Georgia, mother hen, marriage counselor of sorts, and mentor. These are some of the many facets of Carina or Apple Soliman, who attributes it all to the way she communicates and relates to people.
March 2018 - Ramola reveals how the process of unearthing her intentions in life – from doodling to design to development – ended up paving a way for empowering people to own their future through participatory planning.
March 2018 - Labeled as an economist, Akira Matsunaga is anything but. He is a service provider first and foremost, steadfast in supporting governments, and lo and behold, an erstwhile dancer.
February 2018 - After years of studying law, Tere Cervantes threw in the towel and turned her back on the field. Or so she thought, not quite realizing that development work is also defending people’s basic rights.
January 2018 - Just as water gave life to his career, so will it cure the suffering of Sri Lanka’s poor and needy.
January 2018 - India is not lacking for smarts, says Ashok, but more than technical know-how, respect and building a relationship with people are tops in his book.
November 2017 - After packing up her bags and bidding Spain adios, Maria headed right into a disaster – she was thrown into a world of emergency response that suddenly has her dedicated to urban resilience.
November 2017 - Chinese-American Lu ended up falling for the water sector despite her background in finance, and so much so that she supposedly holds the moniker, sanitation queen.
October 2017 - Supporting the development of cities, Ed debunks the notion that forestry contradicts urban planning and that procurement and contract management are simply clerical.
October 2017 - As an engineer specializing in water sanitation and urban development, Neeta is well aware of the long arduous process it takes to change a city. But she’d rather persevere than lose herself to pure profitmaking.
October 2017 - Just as Ninette's parents left an indelible imprint on her, she too shares the positive impact of protecting the environment and the marginalized.
September 2017 - There is a greater classroom beyond the halls of Oxford, according to Jingmin, and it is developing Asia.
August 2017 - After years in corporate banking, Fatima made the shift to development. It has been a decade since, yet every day is still as fulfilling as the first.
August 2017 - Joris tried his hand at being a chef, but a calling for cities was way too embedded. Read on how early his dedication for urban development began.
September 2017 - Practicality underlies many of Maricar’s life choices, but it has also led her to a path she truly enjoys, from helping draft a state of the nation address to processing and administering projects in India.