Board Members – BASAibu
Dr. Mary Zurbuchen
CHAIR OF THE BOARD Dr. Mary Zurbuchen is an independent researcher and consultant with interests in Southeast Asian studies, Indonesian language and literature, and international education and now, she is a Senior Adviser to the Henry Luce Foundation’s Asia Program.
Ketut Ika Inggas
SECRETARY OF THE BOARD Ika Inggas is an international development and strategic communications professional with more than 15 years of experience in democracy, governance, and media. Her career spans international development institutions such as USAID and the European Commission, as well as journalism with Radio Free Asia and Voice of America. Based in Washington, D.C., she also serves as Chairperson of Banjar Bali USA, a Balinese diaspora community in the DC–Maryland–Virginia area. As Secretary of the BASAibu Board, she is passionate about supporting initiatives that preserve local languages, celebrate culture, and encourage young Indonesians to engage in civic dialogue.
Nick Ballas
TREASURER OF THE BOARD
Nick possesses over 25 years of experience working in the Asia Pacific region. Nick is currently President, Polymer Solutions (Vestolit) at Orbia, a global leader in polymer solutions and advanced materials. Nick serves on the Board of Indonesia's Samudera Shipping Lines and was Director of Nexans Foundation which brings electricity to disadvantaged communities.
Anak Agung Gde Rai
Anak Agung Gde Rai is mostly known as Gung Rai, the owner of Agung Raing Museum of Arts (ARMA). His dedication and love for his homeland resembled in the way he talked about it. He never painted, yet e will tell you, but it is nevertheless through painting that he found the language and means of Balinese Harmony
Catharina Widjaja
Ms. Catharina Widjaja is Executive Vice President at Gajah Tunggal Group. She is also the Director of Alun Alun Indonesia, an Indonesian retail concept which promotes Indonesian products and artisans.
J. Satrijo Tanudjojo
Pak Satrijo brings extensive global leadership experience from multinational corporations. After a long corporate career, he shifted his focus to education and philanthropy, including serving as CEO of a global foundation dedicated to education and medical research. He currently serves as Senior Advisor to President University in Indonesia, is a member of the Advisory Board of the Cambridge Partnership for Education at the University of Cambridge.
Jonathan Olier
Jonathan Olier heads the Corporate M&A and Private Equity practice for Southeast Asia at White & Case where he leads the firm's pro bono program for Asia. He has been recognized as one of the 15 best M&A dealmakers in Asia by Asian Legal Business’ Asia Top 15 M&A Lawyers 2023. He was also named ‘Dealmaker of the Year’ at the Asian Legal Business SE Asia Law Awards 2023. Jonathan has advised BASAibu since we started, including helping to translate Google's home page into Balinese. Jonathan is married to a Balinese woman and they have three wonderful boys.
Kristin Gerlach
Kristin Gerlach is a real estate broker and community leader with decades of experience in both the United States and Indonesia. She has served on the boards of several large nonprofit organizations, and is dedicated to empowering communities through education, disaster relief, and social service initiatives.
Ni Made Ayu Marthini, M.Sc.
Ni Made Ayu Marthini is currently the Deputy for Tourism at Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesian Republic. She also has been highlighted as 1 of 16 Indonesian professionals with International Careers in the Book, Going Global.
Nia Dinata
Nia Dinata is an acclaimed Indonesian film director, celebrated for her groundbreaking films addressing societal issues, including interracial marriage and polygamy. Her films have graced prestigious festivals globally, and in 2021, she was named one of Asia's Most Influential by Tatler Asia.
Polly Purser
Polly Purser is the Senior Director of Heritage at John Hardy. Growing up in Bali she is passionate about community, artisanship, and sustainability. With a background in fine arts and community development from Sydney University she has worked in women’s health and empowerment programs in Southeast Asia and Australia.
Rucina Ballinger
Rucina Ballinger has lived in Bali since 1974 (on and off, mostly on) when she came to conduct research on dance and religion. She has worked in Bali as academic Director of World Learning’s Academic Semester Abroad, as a cultural tour guide, and for the last 15 years has been in the non profit sector
Sade Bimantara
Ida Bagus Made Bimantara or Sade, born in the island of Bali is a career diplomat. He was formerly the deputy chief of mission of the Embassy of Indonesia in Washington, D.C. Currently, he is the director for external ASEAN relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His portfolio includes advancing Indonesia’s relationship with 22 West, Central and South European countries.
Sri H. Rahayu, S.H., L.L.M.
Ayu is dean of the School of Law and International Studies at Prasetiya Mulya University. Driven by her passion for equality and her commitment to helping others succeed, Ayu uses her deep experience to promote improvements in finance law and women’s career development. Ayu holds a law degree from Padjadjaran University, a legal master's degree from LSE and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. In 2018, 2019 and 2020, she was named as Indonesia's Top 100 Lawyers in Asia Business Journal.
Alissa J. Stern
Alissa Stern is the Co-Founder of BASAibu (formerly BASAbali). Alissa’s work has been highlighted in The Financial Times and The Economist, and she has published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Alliance Magazine, Harvard Business Review, and the Washington Post. Her book entitled “The Process of Business/Environmental Collaborations” provides case studies of environmental organizations and companies using public dialogues to reach mutually advantageous solutions.
Former Board Members
We thank the following people for serving on prior BASAibu boards:
Aldwin Yusgiantoro
Aldwin Yusgiantoro has been driving the Voice of Millennials bookshelves encouraging Indonesian young community across the United States and Indonesia to share their voice related to current affairs that include social/cultural issues, politics and various other subjects.
Amrih Widodo
Lecturer, School of Culture, History & Language, Australian National University
Gouri Mirpuri
The co-founder of the award-winning The Learning Farm (www.thelearningfarm.com)
Kadek Sonia Piscayanti
Kadek Sonia Piscayani has established an independent publisher, Mahima Institute Indonesia
Mimi Sie
Mimi Sie lives in Jakarta where she enjoys design, friends and food.
Professor John U. Wolff
Professor Emeritus, Dept of Linguistics/Asian Studies, Cornell University
Putu Suasta
Putu Suasta is one of the founders of an community for educating Balinese about their natural environment
Rio Helmi
A world-wide known photographer and writer
Sarah Maxim
The Vice Chair of the Center for Southeast Asia Studies at UC Berkeley since 2003
Suzy Hutomo
Suzy is the co-owner and chairperson of the Body Shop Indonesia. She is also the founder of Sustainable Suzy, a sustainable lifestyle network.
Sofia Blake
Sofia Blake is an educational coach with experience working in Indonesia and the United States. She works with students and programs focusing on long-term success and education equity and access.
Dr. Douglas Kammen
Dr. Kammen is Associate Professor in Southeast Asian Studies Programme, National University Of Singapore. His research interests include labour and social movements, military politics, and popular political thinking.