Prospect Burma appoints new Executive Director
Prospect Burma is delighted to appoint Dr Joanna Barnard as its new Executive Director, effective from 1 January 2023.
Joanna will be responsible for Prospect Burma’s strategy, staff and delivery of programmes to help young people from Myanmar access higher education, amidst the backdrop of the country’s post-coup crisis.
Joanna brings over a decade’s experience in the development sector to the role, including several years living and working in Myanmar. She succeeds Prospect Burma’s former Executive Director of seven years, Hannah Marcazzo.
Prospect Burma Chair of Trustees, Dr Michael Marett-Crosby said:
“Joanna has extensive firsthand knowledge on the ground in Myanmar and working with local and international actors in the development field. We know her well, she has already proved invaluable as a consultant and Development Lead for Prospect Burma. We are delighted to entrust the management of this longstanding and trusted charity to her leadership.”
Prospect Burma Chief Executive, Dr Joanna Barnard said:
“Young people in Myanmar have amazing energy and ideas to create a better future. I feel privileged to be given this opportunity to work alongside them to help them achieve their ambitions.
“Around the world, there is great love and respect for people in Myanmar. Prospect Burma has a long history of connecting this goodwill with inspiring young people and organisations who are dedicated to creating positive change in their communities. I look forward to helping these relationships continue and grow.”
Following a coup in 2021, basic services in Myanmar such as education have collapsed and a humanitarian crisis is growing. Young people have no future and are at risk of inheriting a stricken country without the skills to repair it. Prospect Burma has over 30 years’ experience of helping marginalised young people in difficult and dangerous circumstances to access higher education and professional skills. It is looking to expand its programmes in 2023 to meet the country’s growing challenges.
Joanna’s biography:
Dr Joanna Barnard previously worked as Development Lead and consultant to Prospect Burma. She built several successful partnerships in the international development sector and led the design of projects which helped over 200 young people to access post-high school education. She spent a number of years working in Yangon, firstly for the Political Section of the EU Delegation to Myanmar, then as Research Director for a locally based analytics company. She has travelled extensively in the country. Joanna graduated from the University of Cambridge with first class honours in Geography. She studied MA and PhD at University of Nottingham, both focusing on Myanmar’s healthcare and economy. She now lives back in her home city of London, UK.
About Prospect Burma:
Prospect Burma was established following the 1988 democracy protests in Burma, to help fill the gap created by the military’s closure of higher education. Its long experience of working in a conflict zone is proving invaluable as violence and conflict escalate once again following a coup in 2021. Prospect Burma works with local partners to provide marginalised young people with access to critical thinking skills and formal education from post-high school level upwards. It offers scholarships to quality higher education abroad which isn’t available in Myanmar. It helps alumni combine the skills and knowledge they have gained, to maximise the positive difference they can make for their communities and country.
