Who is here
The Institute is small by design. Most of what we do is made with fellows, collaborators, students, and neighbours who are not on this page.
Founder and Director
Publisher, editor, and organizer. Founder of Sam Yan Press, where he has worked for years to make important books and ideas more accessible in Thai. A former fellow at Harvard Divinity School, where conversations across the university — including with students at the Graduate School of Design — shaped the idea for this Institute.
Program Director
Responsible for the Residency Fellowship, the lecture series, and the yearly program calendar.
Program, studio, and operations.
Programs & Fellowships Coordinator
Hosting fellows, scheduling public programs, and looking after the Commons calendar.
Studio Lead, Sam Yan Studio
Documentary production, oral history, and the recording and publication of lectures.
Civic Design Lab Lead
Running the Lab's studios, prototypes, and community collaborations.
Communications & Publications
Editing, translation, the website, and the Institute's published work.
Sam Yan Asia Residency Fellows. Fellows keep their own affiliations; the Institute does not speak for them.
Residency Fellow, 2026 · China
Doctoral candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. During her residency she co-created an exhibition at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre and ran a two-day summer school using Sam Yan as a living case study. “Sam Yan Press's civic spirit made me feel very concretely how design and research can matter when they engage public life.”
Residency Fellow, 2026 · South Korea
Architect. He arrived assuming a project meant drawings, models, or buildings, and left with a walking tour, a set of oral histories, and workshops. “These projects may be ephemeral and intangible. Yet the fellowship allowed me to witness how they are born within a community of collaborators.”
Scholars, practitioners, and community figures who advise on program direction. Advisory roles are unpaid and carry no editorial control.
The Institute's advisory board is being formed. Names and affiliations will be listed here once confirmed.
Join in
We are a young institution and most of our roles are still taking shape. If your work belongs somewhere in this ecosystem — as a fellow, a collaborator, an advisor, or a volunteer at the Commons — we would rather hear from you early than late.