Shanzhai City is a boutique impact strategy and solutions consultancy that specializes in leveraging data-driven innovation to unlock international development and development finance in emerging economies.Vision: to bring 2.6 billion people out of poverty through more accessible and easy-to-use financial data infrastructure. Mission: to empower local communities to build more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable economies on their own terms by co-creating tools that increase financial literacy, economic stability, and upward mobility. We seek opportunities to pilot projects that advance the decentralization of development finance, social welfare, and program governance contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We do this by working with community stakeholders, industry leaders, purpose-driven organizations, institutions, and government agencies to build stronger coalitions for collectively identifying problems and testing solutions through integrated program innovation and digital automation.Our products and services have built alternative development finance automations for philanthropy, CVA, direct cash transfer, impact bonds, bartering, exchange, microcredit, lending, equity, and identity – augmented by AI, IoT, blockchain, & mobile computing. Bespoke engagements include:GOVERNMENT: Brazil Ministry of Social Development, Brazil Ministry of Education, Brazil Ministry of Identity, Office of the President of Malta, Iraq Ministry of Energy, China Green Foundation, China Development Research Foundation, HK Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fund, HK Council of Social ServicesINSTITUTIONS: World Bank, AfDB, UNF, UNEP, UNSD, UNICEF, UNDP, UNWFP, UN Habitat, Columbia University, TU Delft, CUHKPRIVATE SECTOR: United Overseas Bank, Credit Suisse, HKEX, BMW Foundation, Binance Charity Foundation, Grameen Foundation, Interchain Foundation, Impact Hub, IDCC.HK, Ubiquity Foundation, DVF, GIIN, SOCAP, AVPN, SXSW, and KICL

DVF Impact Holdings, based in Singapore, is a purpose-driven investment company committed to making commercially & economically viable high-impact investments. DVF supports transformational social impact projects that build inclusive sustainability and wealth-creation for developing markets and communities through angel and seed investments into technology-enhanced ecosystems that contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and regional Environmental/ Social/ Governance (ESG) mandates. As Venture Partner for Impact Technology Innovation my role is to source, evaluate, and integrate sustainability-related technology projects into our ecosystem and direction for how we seek to make coordinated and holistic change for the planet. We are looking for novel, regenerative, and inclusive innovations at the intersection of technology, finance, and sustainable development - to empower emerging economies to flourish, build peace and stability, and be good to the Earth.

Circus Labs is a digital media intellectual property management platform built on blockchain to help creators to license short form audio and video to media producers, digital publishers, and social platforms.My role is to provide thought leadership to their sustainability, social inclusion, and public private partnership and civic engagement initiative following the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) #1 - No Poverty, 5 - Gender Equality, 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth, 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, 10 - Reduced Inequalities, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, and 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production. The main thrust of this initiative is to work at both state and municipal level governments to build public private partnerships that help cities and local governments to achieve their SDG and economic development goals within the creative industry, while at the same time helping marginalized and vulnerable communities to gain access, agency, and autonomy to more economic pathways and means of expression.

Unplastify is a social enterprise that is dedicated towards the removal of single-use plastics from corporate supply chains. It achieves this through in-depth consultancy with major corporations in South America to identify and replace the use of single-use plastics to transform their respective supply chains to reduce such plastics from entering into the environment as waste. They provide planning, training, and certification of plastics removal and reduction. My role is to help their organization explore and navigate the digital transformation process of their core IP in ways that use both cloud-based and blockchain-based technologies for the identification, verification, certification of corporate plastic reduction, and creation of or integration with markets similar to carbon credits. Our goal is to participate in the formation of plastics reduction standards for the 2024 United Nations summit on plastic pollution, and to provide a digital framework aligned with its forthcoming ratified treaty.

Ubiquity is a non profit organization dedicated to building the path towards Universal Basic Income (UBI) by conducting the long-term deployment of and research on Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) programs in developing regions for vulnerable and marginalized populations. Launching its first pilot Myanmar in late 2021, Ubiquity provides cash transfer programs to families living in impoverished communities and conflict zones with children of school age to help increase student reentry, attendance, and retention. This program not only aims to assist with local education needs, but it also fills gaps for family needs during this critical time of human development for the betterment of intergenerational change. Integrated CVA studies are designed to explore better ways of using and innovating simple and accessible digital and data-driven technologies for program deployment and data collection as a means to understand, prove, and advocate for the transition towards Universal Basic Income programs and worldwide adoption.

Teaching graduate-level studios and seminars for the CUHK Department of Architecture, Planning, and Urban Design in conjunction with the School of Business, with a focus on systems design for decentralized and informal economies towards regional development in the "Global South" with special attention to North Africa, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. Topics include smart city design for developing regions, technology-use case innovation, rural-to-urban economic development, technology for social development, and ethnographic video-journalism research methodologies for the investigation of vulnerable communities and informal economies. Curricula introduce students to the integration of development finance innovation (ESG/SDG finance, impact bonds, green bonds, P4S, micro finance, blended finance, time banking, community currencies, etc...) with next-generation technologies (blockchain/crypto-currencies/CDBC, AI, IoT, AR/VR/XR, digital twins, metaverse, drones, adaptive-responsive architecture, etc...) and applies them to real-world case studies, communities, and scenarios.

ixo protocol is the “Internet of Impact” designed for identifying, verifying, and valuing impact which has launched the "Earth Program" as a global open-source platform to help build and test Decentralized Development Finance and Regenerative Finance (ReFi) solutions that actually work for users in marginalized, vulnerable, and developing communities and regions across the Global South. This project is an alliance of several of the world's leading blockchain-for-good organizations seeking to help redistribute resources and power to help those that need it most and to close the SDG funding gap by 2030 through decentralized technologies for coordination.

FarmThink was a rural innovation incubator and consultancy helping social enterprises and impact investors to build sustainable projects that enable social and economic development in China and Southeast Asia. The company hosted summer innovation fellowships where entrepreneurs, investors, academics, and innovators were brought together to inhabit impoverished villages in Fujian, Guizhou, and Sichuan in order to create business concepts with local stakeholders to solve specific poverty-driven issues for each community, ranging from early childhood development (ECD), rural-to-urban labor stress on left-behind families, and cultural heritage degradation. Fellowships ended with pitch sessions to investors; two-thirds of projects received seed funding. Research projects include: tree planting for economic and environmental resilience for CGF – China Department of Forestry, artificial intelligence for identifying poverty in ECD programs for CDRF, and transitioning manufacturers for ECD nutrition supplement to become China’s Public Private Partnership service providers for UOB’s impact investment portfolio.

A half-year international cross-border exhibition spanning between Hong Kong (SAR) and Shenzhen, China, engaging the urban fabric with temporary architectural and urban-scale interventions that reveal struggles and reinforce successes at the fringe or in the wake of mega city development. Exhibitors ranged from architects, urban planners, designers, artists, musicians, curators, journalists, activists, and civil servants that focused on topics such as public housing, informal settlements, geopolitics, rural-to-urban migration, climate crisis, social finance, and civil rights. Primary role as Creative Director was to manage all creative aspects of curatorial direction, exhibition design, exhibitor relationships, marketing, events planning, and liaising with government agencies, investors, donors, and industry partners on the successful operations and execution of the program.

Conducted urban and architectural-scale research on informal settlements for an urban research and design think tank, investigating socio-economic and geo-political issues by employing anthropological ethnography and documentary filmmaking methodologies to inform design strategies for urban village redevelopments for cities across southern China. Hosted international design workshops and research projects to produce schemes for slum-renewal, city rebranding, and high-density mixed-use urban design for historically low-income areas. Responsible for assembling communications, marketing, and advocacy campaigns.

Architectural design firm co-founded with David Kwon (of kwonbae.com) as an experimental atelier for the transformation of everyday spaces

Directed and coordinated the AIASF’s annual architectural film festival “Arch + City” 2011 - 2013. Primary responsibilities include curating a conceptual festival theme, selecting recent films, coordinating media and rights management, and presenting the films at each screening.

Working with Director Jeffery Johnson, & Li Hu, Director of Studio-X Beijing, to assist in research preparation for summer fellowship programs in architecture & urban planning in Beijing, China for students from Columbia University, University of Southern California, CAFA, & Tsinghua University. Research focus: mapping networks of informal economy and its relationship to grassroots communities and the built/dissolving environment.

Architectural Design, Urban Research, & Documentary Filmmaking

Created curriculum protocol, learning environments, and support services across the Oakland and San Francisco campuses. Provided direct service and support for over 11,000 users including students, faculty, and staff. Also responsible for teaching video production, lighting, sound, video editing, and motion graphics (Adobe After Effects) to the graduate departments of design, architecture, and fine arts.

Responsible for the successful operation of the education program for a media-arts nonprofit organization, with over 1000 classes per year, 300 instructors, and thousands of students. Created curriculum during the dot-com era of early web design, web video, and digital video production pre-high definition. Developed custom training partnerships, donation agreements, community workforce development programs for youth and marginalized populations, and helped to negotiate career placement opportunities with local businesses and nonprofits. Implemented marketing plan including publishing collateral, website redesign, and E-news distribution.