GUI x ENR Fellows Alumni Directory

2021

Carsten Schoer

Hometown: Arlington, Virginia

Graduation Year: 2024

Degree(s): International Business and Finance

Contact Information: LinkedIn

Fellowship Project(s):

• Expanded Media Feature of the Ten Knots Fishing Community Partners
• Designed Case Study File of the El Nido Resorts + Lio Beach (Ten Knots Group) Waste Management System
• Sewing Machines Fundraising Campaign for KimiNANAY, a coastal women’s collective

Why were you interested in GUI x ENR?

What was your biggest takeaway or lesson from your fellowship experience? 

What is your favorite memory from your fellowship?  

Izzy George

Fellowship Project(s):

• Expanded Media Feature of the Ten Knots Fishing Community Partners
• Designed Case Study File of the El Nido Resorts + Lio Beach (Ten Knots Group) Waste Management System
• Sewing Machines Fundraising Campaign for KimiNANAY, a coastal women’s collective

Why were you interested in GUI x ENR?

Having studied corporate social responsibility and ecotourism in theory, I was interested in witnessing first-hand how ecotourism resorts balance sustainability with their financial considerations and develop community partnerships with private and public actors. Given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, I also wanted to gain insight into how companies are reimagining sustainable tourism due to the challenges the pandemic has posed. 

What was your biggest takeaway or lesson from your fellowship experience? 

By cultivating dynamic and dedicated community partnerships, ENR is able to unlock countless opportunities for sustainable tourism that benefit the resort, the community, and the environment. These relationships cannot easily fit into any time table but rather take concentrated effort and time to build and grow, which is why it is crucial to experiment and tailor programs accordingly.

What is your favorite memory from your fellowship?  

Any and all of our video calls with the El Nido community, whether they were with the resilient fishing community of the nearby barangays, the president of the strong-willed KimiNANAY women, the jovial resort staff on virtual island tours, or our fantastic supervisor Han. These interactions were instrumental in bridging the gap between my entirely virtual fellowship experience and the in-person experience in years prior.

2019

2018

Austin Hong

Fellowship Project(s): El Nido Sustainability Summit (Usapang Turismo) and ENR sustainability practices report and recommendations 

Why were you interested in GUI x ENR?

I am an ecologist at heart, and ENR sits on an amazing and diverse ecosystem. My professional career now aims to find ways to preserve these ecosystems by creating a carbon future that allows for them to continue. I was interested in working at ENR to see places where business solutions include sustainability as a key tenet.

What was your biggest takeaway or lesson from your fellowship experience? 

Business, environmental, and local stakeholder interests are diverse and often conflicting. It’s imperative to find the ways that benefit everybody – it’s the only way a solution can continue into the future. It’s important to find the pathways and compromises that lie at the intersection of these interests, but it’s even more important to do it fast. We need to have solved many of our current problems yesterday. 

What is your favorite memory from your fellowship?  

I loved seeing the wildlife and nature. I remember Elaine telling us the story of “Potol” – I think I have the name right – the alpha monkey who had lost part of his tail to trappers. Or snorkeling and seeing sea turtles graze. Or scuba diving with Elaine and Ms. Marigs and seeing the reef ecosystems. These experiences remind me of why I do the work I do – ecosystems can’t protect themselves, and there is much to do if we want to keep them healthy.

 

Lin Yuan

Fellowship Project(s): Working with municipal, civil and business stakeholders to implement a communication platform to promote El Nido’s ordinance on banning of single-use plastic. 

Why were you interested in GUI x ENR?

Having grown up during China’s rapid economic development at the cost of environmental protection, I was interested in understanding how business actors can work with government to sustainably and equitably develop emerging market economies. 

What was your biggest takeaway or lesson from your fellowship experience? 

My El Nido experience showed me that the sustainable development process is long and complicated. It often does not afford flashy press and media opportunities but requires undying commitment from multitude of stakeholders to make it work. The work can be thankless. However, the sum is greater than its parts, and that’s what the world needs to move the needle on the dire climate issue.  

What is your favorite memory from your fellowship?  

Absolutely missing the people of El Nido. Missing all the moments, especially the familial meals, shared with the fellows, colleagues, and friends. 

Samuel Oswald

Fellowship Project(s): multi-stakeholder digital communications platform

Why were you interested in GUI x ENR? 

I have long believed that widespread adoption of corporate environmental responsibility is the most efficient means by which to conserve and remediate our world’s natural spaces. To see Ten Knots and El Nido Resorts put such philosophy into practice was the draw.   

What was your biggest takeaway or lesson from your fellowship experience? 

The importance of community for accomplishing impact at scale. I saw how ENR was able to affect the most positive change in protecting the environment as an El Nido community stakeholder. A top-down, directive approach to environmental protections can well be replaced by local coalition building and shared community commitments (i.e. to ban plastic straws).  

What is your favorite memory from your fellowship?  
My favorite memory – boating around Bacuit Bay or exploring the mountains of Palawan. The natural beauty is really unparalleled, but is also soured when you come across examples of environmental degradation (i.e. bleached corals). Least favorite memory – when in the first weeks my phone and other belongings were stolen by a pack of monkeys while I was swimming on an isolated beach: paradise rejected my presence… 

2017

Showroop Pokhrel

Fellowship Project(s):

• Assessment of sustainable practices in ENR’s operations and facilities.
• Design and implementation of Usapang Turismo El Nido, a summit on sustainable tourism that brought together local stakeholders and policymakers to facilitate discussion of issues facing sustainable tourism in El Nido and potential solutions. 

Why were you interested in GUI x ENR? 

I was interested in GUI x ENR for three main reasons. First, I wanted to experience first-hand how one of the most acclaimed resort chains in Asia implements sustainable practices in its operations and how that affects its profitability. Second, I wanted to see the creative ways in which ENR engages in public-private partnerships with the government of El Nido. And third, I wanted to learn how tourism policies affect business environment and what a pro-business sustainable tourism policy would look like. 

What was your biggest takeaway or lesson from your fellowship experience? 

My biggest takeaway was the fact that tourism and sustainable tourism, in particular, can be used as a prominent vehicle for local development. By hiring its staff locally, procuring day-to-day materials from neighboring barangays, and being one of the highest taxpayers in the region, ENR has been able to uplift the people and the community around them side-by-side as they grow. This was quite inspirational to witness in practice. 

What is your favorite memory from your fellowship?  

Visiting the four ENR resorts of course, staying in one of them. Long walks on the beach after work with the team were equally fun.