MEET OUR TEAM
Three women, friends and mothers committed to see businesses and education in support of opportunities and justice for all.
ABOUT PADI
Kristin Lee Soeryadjaya
Co-founder & Program Director
Originally from Honolulu, Hawaii, Kristin moved to Indonesia in 2007 after she married her husband who is Indonesian.
Kristin earned her bachelor degree in Foreign Service at Georgetown University in 2001 and went on to work in Hong Kong, San Francisco, New York City and Singapore for various global advertising agencies focusing on the digital space.
Aside from her work with Padi, Kristin organizes annual charity bazaars through her organization Project Encore, which resells new and preloved designer goods and donates all the proceeds to foundations focused on education initiatives and women empowerment.
She has three young children and resides in Jakarta.
Sara Dhewanto
Co-founder & Executive Director
Sara’s background is in Finance, but her passion is to take part in endeavors that make a difference. In addition to her position in Padi, Sara is currently the Managing Director and founder of PT Virtual Online Exchange (VOX), a financial technology start-up that aims to make financial services available to the bottom of the pyramid.
She is also a Strategic Execution Consultant at Palladium where she is working on creating social and economic impact through the collaboration of government, business, and civil society.
Previously Sara was Finance Director/ CFO of MCA - Indonesia, responsible for managing a USD 600 million grant from the US Government to reduce poverty in Indonesia. Prior to that, she spent 12 years of her career at ExxonMobil and Booz-Allen and Hamilton.
Sara completed her MBA at the State University of New York at Buffalo, obtained her Bachelors from the Faculty of Economics, University of Indonesia and recently completed a Fellowship with MIT in 2015. Sara is a proud mother of three boys and wife to Hario Dhewanto.
Sofia Tcherckellova Blake
Co-founder & Director, USA
Sofia lives in Washington, DC, grew up in Bulgaria and has lived in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India.
Sofia’s work in Indonesia has centered on education and women empowerment. She's served as senior advisor at EducationUSA Mentorship Program and initiated a women program, 6x6 Women in Action. She is the author of “Journeys to the Heart” about women and change-makers in Indonesia.
Previously, she has worked as an energy consultant in Washington DC.
She has a Master’s in Political Science from L’Institut des Sciences Politiques, a Master’s from Georgetown University and a BA in International Relations from Brown University.
Sofia works as a college application coach at Studio SB in Washington DC.
