Sirilada Sukhumvada

Sirilada Sukhumvada, known informally as 'Panna', has spent several years working with international organisations dedicated to advancing children’s and women’s rights

Sirilada's story

Since graduation, Sirilada served as an International Project Coordinator at the Ministry of Public Health of Thailand before transitioning to the non-profit sector. Over the past five years, she has worked with international organisations dedicated to advancing children’s and women’s rights. Her professional experience extends across Southeast Asia, particularly in Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia, with a focus on border areas affected by conflict, such as the Myanmar-Thailand border.

In her most recent role as a Grants Coordinator at Plan International Thailand, Sirilada was responsible for developing and reviewing project proposals to ensure effective project planning and implementation, and was in a resource mobilisation department to secure project funding.

Before joining Plan International, Sirilada worked as a Program Coordinator for Kindernothilfe (Helping Children in Need) Thailand, focused on enhancing the rights and well-being of ethnic children and women in the highland areas of Thailand.

She is a member of the Women, Unions & Power Initiative, which supports the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to decent work and reducing inequality for women workers. Through this, Sirilada led sessions on violence against women and advocated for the ratification of ILO Convention 190: Eliminating Violence and Harassment in the World of Work.

Sirilada was also honoured to receive a scholarship to represent Thailand at the 4th ASEAN-Korea Frontier Forum in South Korea. At this forum, she represented the Political-Economic Community, contributing to discussions on future leadership and regional collaboration for the next generation of ASEAN leaders.