SCHOOL BOARD
The School Board for 2024-25!
We are pleased to announced that the School Board was voted in at the PGM on May 2024. This is the team that provides governance and strategic directions for Santisouk.
Congratulations and thank you to Tina, Emilie, Pom, Santi, Valanty, Nini and Jeanne!
School Board Members
Christina Soukdala - Chair
I am a local entrepreneur in the food and beverage sector. I am the founder of Dough & Co, a local cafe and bakery in Vientiane and a cofounder of a craft beer pub - Corebeer.
I am half Ukrainian and Lao, born in Ukraine and moved to Laos with my parents when I was three and have been living in Laos since. I started working in the auditing and public diplomacy sector before pursuing my education in the UK. I started being interested in Montessori teaching methods when I was expecting a baby and I was very keen on sending my child to a Montessori school, which focuses on the development of self-expression, self-reliance, and agility in interpersonal relationships. Our son Yogi is in Casa Rainbow and he loves it. We are happy how the teachers support the kids and the parents, especially those going to school for the first time. As a board member, I am looking forward to supporting the board and the school towards a sustainable future.
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Emilie Saves - Vice Chair and Treasurer
My name is Emilie, I’ve been living in Vientiane since 2018. We are now a family of four and my older son Charles is a student at Santisouk.
I have been working in the banking industry for over 10 years and over 12 years in Southeast Asia as I was living in Bangkok before moving to Laos.
I have a Business Management and IT background, but now I’m in charge of Risk and Compliance for a French bank subsidiary established in Laos.
I’m proud and happy to be able to contribute actively to Santisouk growth, sustainability, and promotion as a Board Member. Our main target is to support Santisouk students’ development in a friendly and inclusive environment.
Santi Sayakoumane
My name is Santi Sayakoummane and I am 39 years of age. I was born and raised in Australia and moved to Laos in 2012 after completing my bachelor’s degree. My plan was to gain some work experience before going back to work in Australia. However, there was plenty of work in Laos during that time, so I have been here ever since. I’m now married with a 3 year old daughter, named Delilah, she has been at Santisouk for almost a year and is loving her time in Casa Rainbow.
Manisone Philathivong (Nini)
I have all my three boys attended Santtisouk for almost five years. All my life I have been lucky enough to study and work in communication fields, public relations, and donor relations which allowed me to meet many great people from different cultural backgrounds. That’s the key reason I wanted my children to also experience in Santisouk community. My latest working years was to support the reading habit cultivation and early grade education development projects at the public schools in provinces. The experience was truly a treasure for me and I hope my engagement to the board will bring more gain and contribute to the stainable growth for Santisouk.
Wipusa Sriyapai O'Hara (Pom)
I’m Thai and I have 2 Thai-American daughters.
I used to work in the airline industry for 9 years. Aviation is my passion. I love to fly. I like to meet new people and explore new places and what I like the most is to make someone happy so 8 years out of 9 I work as a flight attendant.
After the birth of my 1st child, I quit the airline and have been working part-time as a Vice President of an Au Pair company. We recruit candidates from Thailand to join our exchange program in the U.S. to expand their horizons and learn about new cultures. Now I’m a full-time mom and a member of the Santisouk Events Team which is the best team ever! I’m so glad to be a part of Santisouk family and the School Board. I hope to be able to help the school and our community as best as I can.
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Jeanne Bottello
I have strong motivation as a Board Member for Santisouk, especially given the interesting challenges and developments ahead. I believe I can contribute to support and accompany the pedagogical and management team’s journey and be an ambassador for the school while also making myself available to other parents.
I would be proud to be part of a team working towards the wellbeing and the growth of our children through Montessori’s respectful, empowering and caring approach.
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I have been working for rights-related development projects for over 10 years growing a diverse set of skills helpful for any project (planning, budgeting, monitoring, etc.) and always using rights-based approach to beneficiaries.
I spent almost half of my career working on disability inclusive development advocacy, including for inclusive education, and on promoting diversity.
Vanlaty Siphom (Bae)
I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Finance. I’ve currently been working as a procurement consultant in the World Bank Lao office for 4 years.
I have 2 kids; one girl is almost 4 years old and she is at Santisouk, another is a boy almost 8 months.
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I don’t have any specific hobby because I am not an active person. Just try to make my routine efficient by working 8 hours a day, eating tasty foods, working out 30 minutes, drinking wine, and most importantly, spending time with my family.
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