Governance at VIS
VIS Board of Trustees School Year 2025 - 2026
The Vientiane International School Board of Trustees is a volunteer group of dedicated community members committed to the school's mission: to challenge, inspire, and empower students to reach their unique potential.
The Board's main goal is to ensure the school fulfills its mission and vision while also securing the long-term resources needed to be sustainable. In doing so, the Board helps provide a safe, respectful, and collaborative environment for students and the entire VIS community.
Meet The Board of Trustees
Barbara Meincke
Board Chair
Barbara Meincke works for GIZ in Lao PDR on the topics of sustainable economic development and good governance. A trained lawyer, she previously also worked on human rights and in HR. Before joining the sector of development cooperation she was an advisor to the German national parliament, worked for an international NGO and briefly for the United Nations. She studied in Germany, Italy and South Africa. Together with her husband Carsten and her son Theo, who attends VIS, she enjoys living in Vientiane.
Yasuo Philaphandeth
Board Member
Yasuo (Ya) Philaphandeth, a Lao national, brings a wealth of board experience with him. He is currently a board member in 4 other companies. He holds an MBA with a major in Finance from Meijo University and has been back to Laos for the past 12 years. Yasuo is the parent of 2 students at VIS.
Nounchanh (Chloe) Savanvaly
Board Member
Nounchanh (Chloe) Savanvaly has returned to her home country Laos 16 years ago, she had lived in Macau, Thailand and the United States. She graduated with a duo degree in Finance and Supply Chain Management in the United State. Currently she is working in the finance industry and has joined the VIS community since 2014, her two children are attending grade 10 and grade 6. She is passionate about holistic education and keen to support all aspects of school development and future plans.
Cecilia (Yan) Xu
Board Vice-Chair
Cecilia joined the board in 2024. She brings her cross-cultural and bilingual experience, as well as a professional background in public health and a commitment to improving student well-being. She has supported health committees with evidence-based guidelines and public health planning, and worked with the World Health Organisation. Cecilia is the parent of two VIS students and is honoured to be part of the VIS governance team.
Tuba Durrani
Board Member
Tuba holds an MBA in Finance and a double Master’s degree in Women and Gender Studies from European institutions, having won the EU’s Erasmus Mundus scholarship. She has worked with UN agencies and international NGOs on programme design, policy analysis, financial oversight, and stakeholder coordination across education, gender, and development sectors, contributing to UNICEF, UN Women, and the Erasmus Mundus Association. At VIS, she serves on the Board of Trustees and previously as Treasurer of the Parents and Friends. She has also led parent and UN spouse associations in South Korea, Timor-Leste, and New York, while piloting small businesses and raising two children.
Jovan Ilic
Board Member
Jovan works for World Vision in Lao PDR on education, health and livelihoods. An educator by training, he brings over 20 years of expertise in education systems strengthening, TVET, and skills building, across South and South East Asia. He has a PhD in Environmental Philosophy and various Cambridge University UK teaching and training and assessment qualifications. Jovan is living in Laos with his partner, and their two VIS children.
Eric Wong
Board Member
Eric brings many years of international leadership experience to the School Board of Trustee, with a career spanning executive roles in business management, transformation, and services sectors.
Eric is well recognized in both Laos and internationally for his ability to combine strong governance, people leadership, and technical expertise to deliver sustainable results.
As a parent of two children at the school, Eric is deeply committed to education. He believes schools should be more than academic institutions — they should be communities of values, inclusiveness, and well-being.
In his role as VIS School Board of Trustee, Eric aims to contribute his governance expertise, cross-cultural leadership to strengthen the school’s long-term success and engagement with the wider community.
Bernadette Shaw
Board Member
Bernadette is the Country Head, ANZ Laos where she is responsible for
overseeing ANZ’s banking business in Laos, supporting international business
customers with trade solutions, lending, foreign exchange, and cash & payments
management.
She has more than 20 years’ experience in the financial services sector across
Australia, New Zealand, UK, the Pacific and Asia. Prior taking the role in Laos, she
was the Country Head, ANZ Timor-Leste.
Ms Shaw grew up in New Zealand and has a daughter (Anna) in Grade 7 at VIS.
She has an interest in financial resilience, good governance and modern learning
practices.
Martha Farnsworth
US Embassy Representative
Martha works for the U.S. Embassy Vientiane in Lao PDR as the Management Officer. In this role, she supervises all administrative aspects of the Embassy. Previous tours include Dublin, Ireland; Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Tel Aviv, Israel; and Mumbai, India. She has also worked at headquarters in Washington, D.C., supporting global operations and the European Bureau. She joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 2011 following a year studying Hindi in India. Raised in Connecticut, she attended a boarding school and received an undergraduate degree in psychology from Rice University in Houston, Texas. Martha recently arrived in Vientiane and is joined by her husband and two daughters, who are not yet school aged.
School Representatives
Andrew Ferguson
Head of School
Steven Smith
Deputy Head of School
