Leadership
Founders & Directors
The people who set the direction and keep us accountable to the communities we serve.
Ho Nhean
Co-Founder & Executive Director
Ho Nhean co-founded Global Student Outreach in 2009 after years of working in health and human services with Care International and serving as Country Manager of Cambodia for Rustic Pathways. Born and raised in rural Battambang in a large family, he studied English early through temple classes and free community programs before finding his calling in tourism as a motorbike tour guide. That path led him to Rustic Pathways, where he spent five years leading community service trips — managing volunteer teams performing school renovations, family sponsorships, and education development projects across rural Cambodia. With over a decade of experience running his own family enterprise, which has grown into an incredibly successful presence in the local snack food market, Nhean brings deep knowledge of what it takes to build and sustain small enterprises. He has been recognized by the Royal Government of Cambodia for his accomplishments and contributions to civil society.
Dustin Javorsky
Co-Founder & Lead Technical Officer
Dustin Javorsky co-founded Global Student Outreach alongside Ho Nhean, bringing with him nearly two decades of on-the-ground experience in Cambodia. Born and raised in the United States, he spent several years traveling and living with local communities across the globe, immersing himself in diverse cultures before joining Rustic Pathways — first as a Program Leader, and later as Cambodia Country Director, where he oversaw day-to-day operations of student travel programs for thousands of volunteers, gap year students, and private groups committed to making a positive impact. His technical career includes tenures at Boeing in Seattle, Airbus in Toulouse, and project work with Bombardier in Montreal — a track record that gives GSO its engineering backbone. A genuine jack of all trades, Dustin leads the organization's technical development with deep expertise in infrastructure, problem-solving, and a relentless passion for conservation and environmental protection in Cambodia.
Sok Hol
Village Chief • Tampor Village
Sok Hol is one of the very few female village chiefs in Cambodia — a country where women hold just 8% of commune chief positions and only 14% of commune council seats. A survivor of the Khmer Rouge era, she raised four children on her own in the aftermath of one of the 20th century's worst genocides. She was among the first residents of what is now the Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary — before it even held that title — and has spent decades living at the intersection of conservation and survival.
As Village Chief of Tampor, Sok Hol serves as the vital bridge between Global Student Outreach and the local community. Her role is critical: many villagers fear that NGO involvement will prevent them from earning an income from forest crimes — activities that provide immediate but unsustainable cash. Sok Hol navigates this tension daily, building trust where suspicion runs deep, and helping families see that sustainable enterprises can replace the income they depend on from illegal activities.
Program Team
People in the Field
The team members who work directly with communities — delivering projects, collecting data, and building relationships.
Sagath Keu
Small-Scale Farming Specialist & Chankiek Village Project Officer
Born and raised in the Cham Minority community of Chankiek, Sagath is GSO's resident small-scale farming expert. Her passion and skill with all living things — from goats to cabbage — have proven she can grow anything, anywhere. Since joining Global Student Outreach in 2010, her invaluable agricultural insights have supported local families across the region. As a permanent project officer in the Cham community, Sagath has led countless volunteer programs and assisted with the planning, management, and support for the Chankiek school project — an elementary school built on community mosque property that serves as a cultural education center while enabling early education for local children. She continues to experiment with and pilot new agricultural techniques alongside raising goats as one of the earliest recipients of GSO's first pilot goat program. Sagath also hosted an initial beekeeping pilot in her village and remains a vital link between GSO and the wider farming community.
Roern Youri
Finance & Administrative Director
Born and raised on the outskirts of Battambang, Youri was making a name for herself long before joining Global Student Outreach. As an exceptional student, she attended private school entirely on scholarships — earned through a passion for education and an aptitude that made studying come naturally. Raised in a family that couldn't easily afford private schooling, her ability to maintain the top spot throughout her school career gave her opportunities she otherwise wouldn't have had. When she graduated high school, her parents couldn't support her desire for higher education. Youri didn't let that stop her. She moved to Phnom Penh alone, found meaningful employment, and continued her studies on her own — eventually graduating from Norton University with a degree in Business Administration and Finance. Youri is a living example of the determination and passion for education that youth across Cambodia possess. She serves as GSO's Finance Director and Administrator — a key asset to the Global Student Outreach team.
Sopha Phan
Field Veterinary Support Technician & O'Saom Project Officer
A graduate of the Royal University of Agriculture, Sopha Phan is carving out a career in a field dominated by men — and she's doing it with the kind of dedication that keeps livestock alive and families whole. Born and raised in rural Pursat Province, Sopha understands the devastating financial blow that comes when a family's animal gets sick or has complications during pregnancy. Traditionally, the solution is to cull injured livestock rather than risk total loss. GSO's veterinary support technician ensures rapid intervention, reducing losses across all project communities. Sopha is on call 24/7, bringing expert animal welfare to villages where only 7.8% of village animal health workers are women and just 35% of veterinary students are female. Her passion for animals and her communities makes her an indispensable part of the Global Student Outreach team.
Chum Sophorn
Project Officer — Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary
Born and raised inside the Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary, Sophorn has witnessed nearly three decades of change — the steady reduction of wildlife, the spread of slash-and-burn farming, and the annual fires that reshape the landscape each dry season. A graduate of the Royal University of Phnom Penh with a degree in Finance, she brings both local knowledge and professional rigor to her role as Project Officer for the Tampor Village project area. Sophorn tracks project families, delivers status updates, and serves as the primary point of contact between communities and Global Student Outreach. She works closely with the female village chief and local leadership to relay concerns and issues as they arise — ensuring the people inside the sanctuary are heard and supported.
Khoem Neun
Eco-Tourism Guide — Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary
Originally from Steung Treng, this guide moved to the Veal Veng district and became one of the sanctuary's most knowledgeable eco-tourism guides. For years, he supplemented his farming income with illegal timber harvesting — working for fractions of the sale price of luxury furniture sold in the city, using the money to support his family. Like many villagers, he was an unwitting victim of exploitation: organized timber traffickers recruit rural families to collect wood, which is then hidden in the forest until collection trucks can bulk carry it to Phnom Penh or luxury furniture factories. Today, eco-tourism has changed him from logger to farmer. You can find him and his team of porters plowing their fields with a tractor instead of sawing in the forest all night. A dog lover and father, his extensive wilderness knowledge and personal transformation are a testament to how sustainable livelihoods can redirect lives away from exploitation and toward conservation.
Singheng Seng
Legal Counsel
Singheng Seng grew up in a poor family in Phnom Penh — a background that gave him an early understanding of the inequality and exploitation he would later fight against in court. A graduate of the Royal University of Phnom Penh, he built a legal career driven by a passion for fairness and justice. Today, he serves as Global Student Outreach's legal counsel, ensuring the organization operates in full compliance with the laws of the Royal Government of Cambodia while representing villagers exploited by organized poaching and logging networks and families affected by land and exploitation issues. Outside the courtroom, Singheng is a farmer himself — raising cashew and cattle — bringing practical agricultural experience to the team alongside his legal expertise.
Reach Sopheap
Agriculture Consultant & Sustainable Farming Coordinator
With over 25 years of hands-on experience in Cambodian agriculture, Reach Sopheap brings a depth of knowledge that few can match. His career spans the full spectrum of sustainable food production — from permaculture design and aquaponics systems to animal husbandry and soil regeneration. A graduate and current instructor at the Royal University of Agriculture, Sopheap bridges the gap between academic research and practical field application, teaching the next generation of Cambodian agriculturalists while continuing to work directly with rural communities. His expertise in permaculture — designing self-sustaining agricultural ecosystems that mimic natural patterns — has been instrumental in helping GSO evaluate and select locally sourced materials for project construction. Sopheap consults with Global Student Outreach on available local components, system design, and testing — ensuring every agricultural system GSO builds is rooted in what the land and community can actually support. His background in aquaponics — the integration of fish farming with soilless plant cultivation — directly informs GSO's solar-powered catfish programs, while his understanding of livestock management supports the design and scaling of cow, goat, and sheep enterprises across project villages. Beyond technical advisory, Sopheap brings a practical farmer's mindset: he understands that sustainable systems must be simple enough for families to maintain independently, affordable enough to scale, and resilient enough to withstand Cambodia's increasingly unpredictable climate.
Sok Sophea
Volunteer Coordinator Intern & Community Liaison
A driven student at the University of Battambang, Sok Sophea is pursuing her dream of becoming a teacher while breaking barriers in Cambodia's education sector. Born and raised in a rural village in Kampong Cham Province, Sophea knows firsthand how limited access to quality schooling can hold children back. In her role as Volunteer Coordinator Intern with Global Student Outreach, she works side-by-side with foreign volunteers stationed in remote villages near the Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary, bridging cultural and linguistic gaps to ensure programs run smoothly. Sophea coordinates daily logistics for international volunteers, from housing arrangements to classroom scheduling, while also serving as the primary Khmer-English translator during community meetings and teaching sessions. Her ability to navigate both local customs and international expectations makes her indispensable to GSO's mission of expanding educational access in Cambodia, where teacher shortages and language barriers remain significant challenges. As one of the few female university students from her province pursuing a career in education, she serves as both coordinator and role model — showing young girls that leadership in education is a viable and respected path.
Husen Kly
Host & Volunteer Coordinator • Teacher • Cham Community Educator
Husen Kly is a Cham (Cambodian Muslim) educator and community leader from a minority Cham village in Kampong Chhnang province. For more than a decade, he has worked at the intersection of education, cultural preservation, and grassroots development in rural Cambodia.
Husen began his career as a high-school teacher before leaving the profession to support his family through rice farming. When the Cambodian Village Scholars Fund recruited him to teach English and Cham language to children in Sre Prey village, he returned to the classroom while simultaneously earning a bachelor's degree in English through program sponsorship. Today, he teaches up to 15 one-hour classes per week, adapting schedules around public-school timetables so that nearly 40 children attend each session.
As GSO's host and volunteer coordinator in Kampong Chhnang, Husen welcomes international volunteers into the Cham community, coordinates their placements in local schools and mosques, and ensures that their work aligns with community priorities. His role bridges cultural exchange and practical support: he helps volunteers understand Cham traditions, facilitates language learning, and connects teaching activities to broader goals of literacy, opportunity, and resilience in minority communities.
Husen's work reflects GSO's community-rooted approach: he is a locally based leader who stays in the community long after short-term projects end, helping to sustain education initiatives and strengthen ties between Cham families, volunteers, and partner organizations.
Community Network
The People Who Make It Work
Our most important team members aren't on payroll — they're the communities we serve. Villagers who participate in enterprises, refer environmental concerns through approved channels, and support conservation because it's in their interest to do so. GSO doesn't carry rangers or official enforcement — we support the link between communities and the authorities meant to protect them.
200+
Families Participating
3,600
Hectares Under Community Stewardship
3
Provinces Connected
Want to Join Us?
We're always looking for dedicated people who care about communities and conservation. Whether you're a field worker, researcher, or supporter — there's a place for you.