PUBLICLY ENGAGED PROJECTS
With the rise of human-rights violations and atrocities around the world, I started Mudra, handcraft for social cause to contribute to donating different mutual aids and fundraising efforts by selling some of my craftworks. Currently, the May Collection with the handmade earrings on sale. 100% of the collection sale will be donated to Advance Myanmar, a vetted charity organization supporting the families of political detainees in Myanmar. Check out the available earrings in the collection here.
I am the co-founder of the US-based grassroots Myanmar diaspora collective bringing awareness to to political movements taking place in Burma/Myanmar, as well as issues facing its diaspora in the U.S. As part of the collective, we work to create community building efforts such as organizing reading series, virtual art circle, and more. Get in touch with us via baydarcollective@protonmail.com
I am the founder of Aruna Global South, a non-profit dedicated to supporting experimental scholarship, and highlighting the voices of junior scholars and thinkers with underrepresented backgrounds working on, in, and from Asia and those with South-South parallel interest on Asia. As current director, I organize virtual events and edit multi-modal publications on the topics of non traditional knowledge production about Asia working collaboratively with community organizations in the regions of Asian Global South, as well as with emerging thinkers across Asia and Asian diasporas. Publish with us or get in touch with us via arunaglobalsouth@gmail.com
I am the co-host of the Burmese-language podcast named Chu Toe Toe, together with my Burmese colleague Than Toe Aung. In this podcast, we discuss and challenge the social "taboo" topics in Burmese society like Burmese chauvinism, burmanization, feminism, politics, and more. We are currently in hiatus due to the military coup in Myanmar.
I volunteer as a translator and a cultural advisor for several local non-profits working with Burmese diaspora communities across the US, such as EMBARC (Ethnic Minorities from Burma Advocay and Resource Center) in Des Moines, IA; Mango House Refugee Resource Center in Aurora, CO; SEAD (Southeast Asian Diaspora Project) Minnepolis, MN; Refugee Language Project in Amarillo, TX; and Winnebago Literacy Council in Oshkosh, WI. In addition to offering Burmese language and culture resources, I also occasionally offer ESL courses for free to the newcomer immigrants.
As Director at CU Boulder Literacy Practicum Program from 2017 to 2019, I worked closely with the community literacy organizations such as The Family Learning Center in Boulder, CO; The Boulder Public Library; CU Boulder Linguistics Department; University Hill Elementary School; and CU Boulder Student-Worker Alliance Program to foster a volunteering partnership between the university students and those organizations.
I am one of the 2020-21 cohort members for the CU Boulder Engaged Arts & Humanities Fellowship. I am currently developing a community engaged project based in the Front Range area, Colorado. I am interested in exploring community partnership for a storytelling and documentary project with the local immigrant communities in Aurora, CO. Please contact me if you are a community organization based in the US and interested in collaborating.
I am available for donation-based mentoring support for people of color who are interested in learning more about surviving and thriving in higher education in Social Sciences. For the past two years, I have been the CU Boulder Graduate School Peer Mentor and the Institute of Behavioral Science NSF GRFP grant application mentor. Contact me with your questions!
I am a scholar committed to public learning and scholarship.Under my Burmese pen name Ma Chinthe, I regularly translate writings by leading scholars and intellectuals of color into Burmese. Those translations can be read on www.machinthe.com. I am available for facilitating workshops and conversations on anthropology of race, white privilege and white supremacy in academia. I have also published various blogs and Op-Ed articles on these issues. I have also organized public reading groups.
