Meet The Team
Executive
Chief Executive Officer
Paul Sigar
Paul is a lawyer specialising in technology, privacy and intellectual property law. He graduated with the Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) from the University of Adelaide in 2020 and had served on the Legal Technology Committee and Space Law Committee with the Law Society of South Australia before moving to Brisbane in 2023.
With his Bornean-Malaysian heritage, Paul is passionate about strengthening ASEAN-Australian ties through capacity building and fostering people-to-people link in the region. He previously participated in AP4D’s DFAT-funded Blue Security Program working group on a joint maritime security agenda for Australia and ASEAN.
Prior to joining AASYP, he was also involved in various grassroots civil rights campaigns focused on strengthening Malaysian democracy amongst the youth, including volunteering as a researcher with UNDI18.
Chief Executive Officer
Racheline Tantular
Racheline runs a public policy consultancy on Asia-Pacific international affairs. She has managed projects on critical technologies and transnational crime in Southeast Asia, Japan-Southeast Asia business relations, and stakeholder mapping of economic policy decision-makers. She was previously a Policy Advisor at the Australian Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and Reset.Tech Australia on multicultural policy and technology policy respectively.
Racheline is a University of Western Australia valedictorian, holding a Bachelor of Philosophy and First Class Honours in Asian Studies and Music. Supported by the Fogarty and New Colombo Plan Scholarships, her thesis analysed state approaches to multiculturalism through the lens of shared religious spaces and incorporated primary research at the National University of Singapore.
Racheline is a 2023 Young Woman to Watch in International Affairs and Melbourne Asia Game Changer.
Racheline speaks Indonesian, Mandarin, and Japanese, and has lived in Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Japan.
Chief Operations Officer
Adelaide Pope
Adelaide is an economist with a passion for sustainable, ethical, and inclusive development. She has just graduated from a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Melbourne, having completed an Australian Consortium for In-Country Indonesian Studies (ACICIS) program (2021), and the New Colombo Plan Scholarship (2022-2023) which saw her work with various think tanks, NGOs and universities in Malaysia, India, and Nepal.
She is currently serving as the ASEAN-Australia Strategic Youth Partnership’s (AASYP) Chief Operating Officer, and in her day-job works for Australia’s Commonwealth Treasury in the Multilateral Development Banks Unit.
Chief Operations Officer
Shari Towns
Shari graduated from the Australian National University in 2023, where she studied a Bachelor of Asian Studies. Her degree was focused in Asia-Pacific international relations, and included the study of Bahasa Indonesia and Japanese language.
Her career has included a diverse range roles, including coordinating the Australia-Indonesia Youth Exchange Program with Value Learning Intercultural Specialist in 2023, and currently is working with Australia’s leading telecommunications and technology company, Telstra.
She joined AASYP in 2021 as a People and Culture Officer to gain experience, following the completion of her Certificate IV in Human Resource Management at TAFE NSW. Since then she has volunteered as People and Culture Director, and joined AASYP’s Debate 2 Regulate Program as a delegate.
Since 2024, Shari co-leads AASYP’s dynamic operations teams as Chief Operations Officer, where she aspires to further her understanding of the region and facilitate exciting opportunities for engagement between Australia and ASEAN youth.
Chief Community Officer
Minh Trang Nguyen
Trang holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics & Data Science from Foreign Trade University Vietnam.
Having worked in different sectors of the Start-up ecosystem – ranging from a governmental initiative agency, early-stage startups, a social business incubator to tech unicorns – and gained diverse cross-cultural working experience, Trang is passionate about technology and the use of data to create value for the enterprise, organization, and especially the community.
Trang is specifically interested in ASEAN – Australia cross-regional partnership, having the opportunity to join AASYP in 2022 as a People and Culture Director.
Chief Community Officer
Karleigh Ha
Karleigh is fascinated by the power of language and its impact on individuals and communities. Her academic journey, from Criminology and Criminal Justice to Applied Linguistics at the University of New South Wales, reflects her unwavering commitment to understanding the complexities of human interaction. Equipped with this unique blend of knowledge and growing expertise, she seeks opportunities to contribute to research, projects, or initiatives promoting social justice and cross-cultural understanding.
Chief Partnerships Officer
Sella Ramadhani
Sella is a young professional in the non-profit sector, specialising in public policy, legal research, and project management. She has extensive experience working in public and private institutions across the Asia Pacific. She is deeply committed to reconciling human rights and business, and has contributed to national progress and justice through numerous legal publications, community projects, leadership scholarships, and by advocating for the eradication of modern slavery.
Sella is currently working at The Centre for Child Rights and Business, where she has the opportunity to contribute to the protection of children’s rights within the realm of business. As part of her role, Sella is responsible for assisting in the implementation of projects in Indonesia and other Southeast Asia countries.
Chief Partnerships Officer
Tan Rui Min Tavis Hartanto
Tavis is in the International Relations Division and covers the Africa and Middle East Desk at the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore. He also has background in Air Transport, and completed an attachment to Singapore’s Mission to the International Civil Aviation Organisation in Montréal, Canada.
He also has a background in international trade and public policy, and completed stints at Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry, and at the Hinrich Foundation.
A firm believer in collaboration and in empowering the next generation of leaders, Tavis is a Leader of Tomorrow at the St. Gallen Symposium, and has served in AASYP since 2022. He also Co-Founded The ASEAN Network, and is part of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust Network.
Tavis holds a BA (Hons) in Global Affairs and Literature from Yale-NUS College, and a Master in Public Policy (Economics and Development) from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.
Chief Financial Officer
Thien Bui
Thien is a first-generation Australian with Vietnamese heritage and a passion for sustainability. By night, as CFO she manages the financials of AASYP to enable connection-building for other young leaders (under 30 years old) and students across ASEAN and Australia to discuss and address the world’s most pressing issues. By day, Thien is a Strategy Manager at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia working on projects to help inform government policy making and the future of Australia’s financial system.
Thien previously consulted ASX clients within financial services, telco, retail and federal government as a Consultant at Strategy. In her spare time, she sits on the University of Technology Sydney Young Alumni Committee and is a grass-roots sustainability activist.
Chief Marketing Officer
Icely Nicole Dy
Icely Nicole Dy is an experienced project manager with an extensive background in social innovation in business, sustainability, and youth empowerment. She currently volunteers as the Chief Marketing Officer at the ASEAN-Australia Strategic Youth Partnership (AASYP) where she creates marketing strategies across digital and printed platforms of AASYP and its programs and events. She has held advocacy roles with as an Academic Fellow Alumna of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) and Kits for Bulilit, where she has been instrumental in driving impactful initiatives.
Previously, Icely served as a project manager for an incubator firm, leveraging her skills to nurture and guide startups towards success. She currently works as a process specialist at IDC, a global tech market research firm, where she applies her expertise in streamlining operations and enhancing efficiency. Apart from this, she has Icely has extensive experience in Digital Marketing and holds a certification in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices.
Moreover, Icely has a rich experience in cross-regional collaboration, having worked extensively with teams and organizations in the United States, Australia, and across the ASEAN region. Her international experience has enriched her perspective and ability to manage diverse teams and projects effectively.