Global Leader Highlight:

Therese Caouette: Executive Director of Partners Asia 

Therese Caouette is the Executive Director of Partners Asia which works on community development with local communities in Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia. As a leader, Caouette learned at an early age that the most important way to help others is by showing respect in order to help them be more empowered. In the last three decades, Caouette has worked on emphasizing community engagement as a means to building leadership and skills to bring resources to the local levels where they are most needed. She believes in using her privilege to listen to the people in need and to personally work with them to find the best solutions that work for each community. 
This is the method Caouette values because she understands every community works differently and in order to bring change to the world, organizations must find ways to help others in personalized ways. Through participatory action research and creating dialogue with local citizens, Caouetteand Partners Asia have helped sex workers, refugees, and migrant workers find their voice, stand up for their rights, and become leaders and advocates for themselves. 
Caouette was honored for her work and received the second annual Global Hero Award in Seattle in 2012. This award recognizes Washington based change agents who have made significant contributions to global issues. Caouette will continue to work with people in SE Asia and help empower future leaders in developing countries. For her compassionate and brave approach to changing the world, I believe that Caouette is a true global leader and hero.

More about Partners Asia:
Mission:
Partners Asia supports community initiatives to improve the lives of the most vulnerable among the people of Myanmar. Many of these people live in unstable areas within Myanmar and along its borders, where they are at risk of displacement and exploitation. At Partners Asia, we build relationships with innovative organizers in these communities and with international donors, bridging the gap between local leaders and global resources.

Approach: 
We believe that local initiatives led by local leaders stand the strongest chance of weathering unpredictable challenges and creating positive, lasting change.
 More here

Values: 

“Learn from the people

Plan with the people

Begin with what they know

Build on what they know

Of the best leaders

When the task is accomplished

The people will say

We have done it ourselves”

-Lao Tzu

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