Welcome to Bridges Across Borders Southeast Asia!

lINKS

BABSEA Board of Directors
Bruce A. Lasky Bruce A. Lasky is a founder and director of BABSEA and the Director of Bridges Across Borders Southeast Asia Community Legal Education Initiative (BABSEA CLE), which aims to empower vulnerable and under- served individuals and communities by creating and strengthening sustainable, legal and human rights education and access to justice programs world-wide. From 2003-2006 Bruce assisted in the planning, development and implementation of the Pannasastra University of Cambodia Clinical Legal Education Program in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Bruce also initiated the program that evolved into the BABC Community Empowerment Legal Awareness program by authoring and facilitating the development of grassroots legal education training materials, conducting numerous CLE workshops, and training trainers and managers for the program. At the beginning of 2007 Bruce relocated to Chiang Mai, Thailand where he is working as an Adjunct Professor of Law with Chiang Mai University to assist in the further development of their Clinical Legal Education program. Bruce was also appointed as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Universiti Teknologi MARA in Malaysia, and a Visiting Senior Lecturer at the University of Malaya to aid in the initiation of their Juvenile Justice Clinical Legal Education program. He further works as a consultant with similar initiatives in Vietnam and Laos where he assists as a visiting professor/trainer. While working in a variety of CLE fields, Bruce has been focused significantly on programs assisting marginalized, incarcerated adults and juveniles as well as providing adequate access to health care for prisoners and detainees. In addition to his legal thematic work, Bruce assists in directing various community development and child education programs in Southeast Asia, including founding and serving on the Board of Directors of the international organization Sustainable Cambodia. He is a graduate, of the Central European University Human Rights LLM program (Honors/Most Outstanding Student Award) and the University of Florida J.D. and BA Programs (Honors). He is a licensed member of the Florida Bar Association and a member of the Northern, Middle and Southern District of Florida Federal Bar Association. He was a criminal legal aid practitioner for the 8th Judicial Circuit Public Defenders Office, Gainesville/Starke/McClenney, Florida, from 1991-1999, where he represented indigent accused persons, as well as supervising students from the University of Florida College of Law CLE Program. David Pred David Pred is a founder and director of BABSEA, and the Executive Director of Bridges Across Borders Cambodia (BABC). Since 2005, David has developed and directed BABC’s community development, empowerment and advocacy programs. David has been a vocal advocate - nationally and internationally - for land, housing and natural resource rights in Cambodia. He co-founded the Housing Rights Task Force (HRTF), a coalition of more than twenty local and international organizations working to end forced evictions and promote the right to adequate housing in Cambodia, and he served on its Core Committee from 2007-2009. David is an author and general editor of the Cambodian Guide to Defending Land and Housing Rights (2009) and The Khmer Rouge on Trial (2008). He has delivered training of trainer workshops on various human rights topics in the United States, Cambodia, Timor Leste and the Philippines. Prior to co-founding Bridges Across Borders Southeast Asia, David held the positions of Development Manager at the Cambodian Defenders Project (2002-2003) and Assistant Coordinator of the Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice (2001-2002), where he led statewide campaigns on various social justice, human rights and environmental issues. David also co-founded the international organization Sustainable Cambodia and served on its Board of Directors from 2005-2007. He has a Masters Degree (with distinction) in the Theory and Practice of Human Rights from the University of Essex, UK (2003-2005), where he was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar and recipient of an Honorable Mention for the Daniel Fitzmaurice Human Rights Award. He also has a Bachelors Degree (with honors) in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Florida, US (1997-2001). Joanna Levitt Joanna Levitt is the Co-Director of International Accountability Project (IAP), where she has worked since 2006. Based in San Francisco, California, the International Accountability Project (IAP) challenges destructive development projects that uproot and impoverish millions of people across the Global South. Working with grassroots and international partners, IAP advocates for international policies that respect the rights and livelihoods of people threatened by unjust development and supports communities to hold their ground and defend their homes, environment and human rights. Much of Joanna's work with IAP has focused on Asia, working closely with partners in South Asia, the Mekong region and Southeast Asia on both advocacy and popular education initiatives. Before joining IAP, Joanna worked with the Centro de Derechos Económicos y Sociales (CDES) in Ecuador, where she conducted research on implementing the right to free, prior informed consent (FPIC) through a Fulbright grant. She also worked closely with the community of Sarayaku to support their Inter-American Commission case against the Ecuadorian state for oil-related human rights abuses. At CDES Joanna was also actively involved in diverse educational initiatives, through which she developed skills and a strong passion for human rights education for empowerment. Prior to her work in Ecuador, Joanna was a Gardner Fellow at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) in Washington, DC. At CIEL she co-coordinated the organization’s participation in the global campaign around the World Bank Extractive Industries Review, and co-developed recommendations for the inclusion of the right to free, prior informed consent in the World Bank’s policies and practice. Joanna graduated from Stanford University in 2003 with a BA in Human Biology with a concentration in International Conservation and Development. Wendy Morrish Originally from Australia, Wendy Morrish is the Southeast Asia Regional Community Legal Education Coordinator, working extensively in the preparation of lesson plans and development of workshop curriculum. Wendy joined the CLE Initiatives program with BABSEA in March 2006 after successfully working in the field of business development in the private sector of corporate Australia, where she also worked as an active Justice of the Peace for over 18 years. Wendy’s primary role since joining the BABSEA CLE team has focused on advocating, constructing, implementing and sustaining Community Legal Education (CLE) programs in universities and grass-roots communities throughout the South East Asia region. By identifying patterns and foreseeing problems in organizational and individual growth, Wendy has been able to draw on her corporate knowledge and skills from over 10 years experience to guide and focus the individuals to help the CLE initiatives program both develop and strengthen. In addition to her business development skills, Wendy is responsible for BABSEA CLE's facilitation and training of workshop participants in CLE methodology and interactive teaching techniques. Since Mar 2006, she has facilitated and/or co-trained in numerous workshops and trainings held in Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos while continuing to provide support, guidance and mentoring for the law students at the universities with their community teachings, their personal reflections and their personal growth. Kevin Morley Kevin Morley joined the Board of Directors in October 2008. Currently he is Head of Gap Year Projects at United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA), Singapore, where he has worked since 1992. In this capacity he has developed Gap Year programs in Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines developing partnerships with a group of NGOs, including BABSEA, who share the humanitarian values of the UWCSEA movement. This has allowed him to place young International Baccalaureate (IB) graduates in a wide variety of settings: children's homes, community centers, supplementary and government schools, NGO offices and ecology projects. In order to ensure that volunteers have appropriate skills for working in SE Asia, Kevin has collaborated with The British Council to develop an English Language Teaching (ELT) course to give young adults appropriate basic skills to participate effectively on a gap year program and, with supervision, learn how to build lasting ties with local communities and make tangible improvements to other people's lives. At UWCSEA Kevin has been teaching International Baccalaureate English B and A2. In addition he teaches literary analysis to IB students preparing literature examinations in their mother tongue. In 2004 he was appointed workshop leader (Language A2 and B) for the International Baccalaureate Organization (Asia Pacific Region) and has run numerous regional and school-specific workshops on language teaching methodology and assessment. He is co- editor of Implementing the IB Diploma Programme (Cambridge University Press 2004). Kevin has worked as an educational consultant to a number of non-profit organizations and institutions in SE Asia and has run workshops in Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines on aspects of education for vulnerable and marginalized young people. These have included English language teaching in informal learning settings; child-centered learning approaches to education and longitudinal pastoral support systems for children in care. Kevin holds a Masters of Education degree from Manchester University (1992). From 1981 to 1992 he worked in multi-ethnic schools in UK where, as head of department, he was responsible for developing teaching collaborative teaching strategies aimed at giving equal access to the curriculum to speakers of English as an Additional Language.

BABSEA Board of Directors

Bruce A. Lasky

Bruce A. Lasky is a founder and director of BABSEA and the Director of Bridges Across Borders Southeast Asia Community Legal Education Initiative (BABSEA CLE), which aims to empower vulnerable and under- served individuals and communities by creating and strengthening sustainable, legal and human rights education and access to justice programs world-wide.

From 2003-2006 Bruce assisted in the planning, development and implementation of the Pannasastra University of Cambodia Clinical Legal Education Program in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Bruce also initiated the program that evolved into the BABC Community Empowerment Legal Awareness program by authoring and facilitating the development of grassroots legal education training materials, conducting numerous CLE workshops, and training trainers and managers for the program.

At the beginning of 2007 Bruce relocated to Chiang Mai, Thailand where he is working as an Adjunct Professor of Law with Chiang Mai University to assist in the further development of their Clinical Legal Education program. Bruce was also appointed as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Universiti Teknologi MARA in Malaysia, and a Visiting Senior Lecturer at the University of Malaya to aid in the initiation of their Juvenile Justice Clinical Legal Education program. He further works as a consultant with similar initiatives in Vietnam and Laos where he assists as a visiting professor/trainer.

While working in a variety of CLE fields, Bruce has been focused significantly on programs assisting marginalized, incarcerated adults and juveniles as well as providing adequate access to health care for prisoners and detainees. In addition to his legal thematic work, Bruce assists in directing various community development and child education programs in Southeast Asia, including founding and serving on the Board of Directors of the international organization Sustainable Cambodia.

He is a graduate, of the Central European University Human Rights LLM program (Honors/Most Outstanding Student Award) and the University of Florida J.D. and BA Programs (Honors). He is a licensed member of the Florida Bar Association and a member of the Northern, Middle and Southern District of Florida Federal Bar Association. He was a criminal legal aid practitioner for the 8th Judicial Circuit Public Defenders Office, Gainesville/Starke/McClenney, Florida, from 1991-1999, where he represented indigent accused persons, as well as supervising students from the University of Florida College of Law CLE Program.

David Pred

David Pred is a founder and director of BABSEA, and the Executive Director of Bridges Across Borders Cambodia (BABC). Since 2005, David has developed and directed BABC’s community development, empowerment and advocacy programs.

David has been a vocal advocate - nationally and internationally - for land, housing and natural resource rights in Cambodia. He co-founded the Housing Rights Task Force (HRTF), a coalition of more than twenty local and international organizations working to end forced evictions and promote the right to adequate housing in Cambodia, and he served on its Core Committee from 2007-2009.

David is an author and general editor of the Cambodian Guide to Defending Land and Housing Rights (2009) and The Khmer Rouge on Trial (2008). He has delivered training of trainer workshops on various human rights topics in the United States, Cambodia, Timor Leste and the Philippines.

Prior to co-founding Bridges Across Borders Southeast Asia, David held the positions of Development Manager at the Cambodian Defenders Project (2002-2003) and Assistant Coordinator of the Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice (2001-2002), where he led statewide campaigns on various social justice, human rights and environmental issues. David also co-founded the international organization Sustainable Cambodia and served on its Board of Directors from 2005-2007.

He has a Masters Degree (with distinction) in the Theory and Practice of Human Rights from the University of Essex, UK (2003-2005), where he was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar and recipient of an Honorable Mention for the Daniel Fitzmaurice Human Rights Award. He also has a Bachelors Degree (with honors) in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Florida, US (1997-2001).

Joanna Levitt

Joanna Levitt is the Co-Director of International Accountability Project (IAP), where she has worked since 2006. Based in San Francisco, California, the International Accountability Project (IAP) challenges destructive development projects that uproot and impoverish millions of people across the Global South. Working with grassroots and international partners, IAP advocates for international policies that respect the rights and livelihoods of people threatened by unjust development and supports communities to hold their ground and defend their homes, environment and human rights. Much of Joanna's work with IAP has focused on Asia, working closely with partners in South Asia, the Mekong region and Southeast Asia on both advocacy and popular education initiatives.

Before joining IAP, Joanna worked with the Centro de Derechos Económicos y Sociales (CDES) in Ecuador, where she conducted research on implementing the right to free, prior informed consent (FPIC) through a Fulbright grant. She also worked closely with the community of Sarayaku to support their Inter-American Commission case against the Ecuadorian state for oil-related human rights abuses. At CDES Joanna was also actively involved in diverse educational initiatives, through which she developed skills and a strong passion for human rights education for empowerment. Prior to her work in Ecuador, Joanna was a Gardner Fellow at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) in Washington, DC. At CIEL she co-coordinated the organization’s participation in the global campaign around the World Bank Extractive Industries Review, and co-developed recommendations for the inclusion of the right to free, prior informed consent in the World Bank’s policies and practice. Joanna graduated from Stanford University in 2003 with a BA in Human Biology with a concentration in International Conservation and Development.

Wendy Morrish

Originally from Australia, Wendy Morrish is the Southeast Asia Regional Community Legal Education Coordinator, working extensively in the preparation of lesson plans and development of workshop curriculum. Wendy joined the CLE Initiatives program with BABSEA in March 2006 after successfully working in the field of business development in the private sector of corporate Australia, where she also worked as an active Justice of the Peace for over 18 years.

Wendy’s primary role since joining the BABSEA CLE team has focused on advocating, constructing, implementing and sustaining Community Legal Education (CLE) programs in universities and grass-roots communities throughout the South East Asia region. By identifying patterns and foreseeing problems in organizational and individual growth, Wendy has been able to draw on her corporate knowledge and skills from over 10 years experience to guide and focus the individuals to help the CLE initiatives program both develop and strengthen. In addition to her business development skills, Wendy is responsible for BABSEA CLE's facilitation and training of workshop participants in CLE methodology and interactive teaching techniques. Since Mar 2006, she has facilitated and/or co-trained in numerous workshops and trainings held in Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos while continuing to provide support, guidance and mentoring for the law students at the universities with their community teachings, their personal reflections and their personal growth.

Kevin Morley

Kevin Morley joined the Board of Directors in October 2008. Currently he is Head of Gap Year Projects at United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA), Singapore, where he has worked since 1992. In this capacity he has developed Gap Year programs in Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines developing partnerships with a group of NGOs, including BABSEA, who share the humanitarian values of the UWCSEA movement. This has allowed him to place young International Baccalaureate (IB) graduates in a wide variety of settings: children's homes, community centers, supplementary and government schools, NGO offices and ecology projects. In order to ensure that volunteers have appropriate skills for working in SE Asia, Kevin has collaborated with The British Council to develop an English Language Teaching (ELT) course to give young adults appropriate basic skills to participate effectively on a gap year program and, with supervision, learn how to build lasting ties with local communities and make tangible improvements to other people's lives.

At UWCSEA Kevin has been teaching International Baccalaureate English B and A2. In addition he teaches literary analysis to IB students preparing literature examinations in their mother tongue. In 2004 he was appointed workshop leader (Language A2 and B) for the International Baccalaureate Organization (Asia Pacific Region) and has run numerous regional and school-specific workshops on language teaching methodology and assessment. He is co- editor of Implementing the IB Diploma Programme (Cambridge University Press 2004). Kevin has worked as an educational consultant to a number of non-profit organizations and institutions in SE Asia and has run workshops in Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines on aspects of education for vulnerable and marginalized young people. These have included English language teaching in informal learning settings; child-centered learning approaches to education and longitudinal pastoral support systems for children in care.

Kevin holds a Masters of Education degree from Manchester University (1992). From 1981 to 1992 he worked in multi-ethnic schools in UK where, as head of department, he was responsible for developing teaching collaborative teaching strategies aimed at giving equal access to the curriculum to speakers of English as an Additional Language.