Management Team
Troy McGrath
Dr. Troy McGrath, born and raised in the U.S. state of New Jersey, is an international scholar, educator, academic administrator, political commentator, professional editor, and international curriculum professional based both in the US and abroad. His post-graduate work was undertaken at Columbia University, where he earned an MA and an M.Phil in Political Science, and a PhD in International Relations. Subsequently, he completed a Certificate in Education Management at Harvard University, as well as Certificates from the World Bank Institute in “Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations & Fiscal Decentralization” and on “Public Expenditure, Institutional Reforms & Service Delivery.” “Parliaments in Fragile States, Student Assessment for Policymakers & Practitioners, and Gender Equality & Development. He also received a number of fellowships, including a National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council Grant (taken in Latvia), a Strategic Studies Institute Fellowship (split between the Institute and Oxford University) and a Foreign & Commonwealth Research Fellowship (taken at the LSE). He has served on both Fulbright and Muskie Selection Committees as well as an Evaluator for the SSRC’s “Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa Fellowship”.
Dr. McGrath has held academic and administrative appointments ranging from Director to Dean to Provost to President, and has worked in faculty and administrator roles at universities in the US, Albania, Czech Republic, Hungary, Bahrain, the UAE, Iraq, the Marshall Islands, Nigeria, China, and Russia. In addition, he has worked with Native Americans (Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas), helped run a training program for Burmese refugees in Thailand, as well as a Training Program for North Korean Political Economists (co-sponsored by UNESCO and the Central European University), and was both a teacher and administrator in high school/early college programs in Russia, China, and the US. Moreover, he helped run a program on climate change and environmental engagement for the Future Generations Graduate School in the coal-producing areas in Appalachia in the US. Currently his teaching and research is focused upon the political and social ramifications of contemporary trends in Mass Media and Social Media, as they pertain to information manipulation and propaganda strategies, national security, political processes, and individual liberties.
Dr. McGrath will be accompanied by his wife Tatyana Muradova (PhD in History), his 3 daughters (Nicole, Kyra, and Stefannia), as well as the family beagle (named Thor). The entire McGrath/Muradova family looks forward to life and work and fun in Cambodia.
Raymond Leos
A native of the U.S. state of California, Raymond Leos has lived and worked in Cambodia for nearly two decades, serving as a university professor, faculty dean, government advisor and development consultant.
Professor Leos completed his Bachelor of Arts (B.A) with honors in history from Claremont McKenna College, and received his Juris Doctorate (J.D.) from the University of California, Davis King Hall School of Law. He also did his post graduate study in the Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) program in film and television production at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Theater, Film and Television.
Before joining AUPP, Professor Leos was the Dean of the Faculty of Communications and Media Arts at Pannasastra University of Cambodia for over nineteen years, and for nearly nine years, a senior adjunct lecturer at the Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE) in Phnom Penh, where he taught courses in the bachelor and masters programs in international relations and international law.
He has also served as a Senior Parliamentary Advisor to the National Assembly of Cambodia and as an advisor to the Access to Information Technical Working Group (TWG), which worked with the UN agency UNESCO and the Ministry of Information of the Royal Government of Cambodia in the drafting of Cambodia’s first access to information law.
Professor Leos has been a consultant for numerous development projects in Cambodia, including those funded by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Union, and The Asia Foundation. He has also served as a technical advisor to several local non-governmental organizations, and has forged ties with the business sector in Cambodia, through his association with the American Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia (AMCHAM), and as a member of the AMCHAM Board of Governors from 2014 to 2016.
His professional and research interests include developing effective legal frameworks for transparency, the role of access to information in promoting human rights, good governance and economic growth, and the social, political and economic impacts of new digital media platforms. He is currently at work on two book projects—one examining the history and the social, political and economic underpinnings of propaganda, and another focusing on Cambodian-U.S. relations during the Indochina War of the 1960s and 70s.
Prior to coming to Cambodia in 2002, Professor Leos worked in the United States as a free-lance writer, filmmaker, and as a lawyer specializing in criminal law, media law, intellectual property, labor law and civil rights issues.
Swee Ping Loh
Ms. Swee Ping Loh is the Associate Vice President of Administration and Finance at AUPP. A native of Malaysia, Ms. Loh has lived and worked in Cambodia for three decades. She first came to Cambodia as a young journalist in 1993 during the period of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), covering the nation’s first democratic elections.
During her many years in Cambodia since then, Ms. Loh has developed extensive administrative and operation experience in a wide array of sectors, including major hotel management, the food and beverage industry, the education sector, and the media /publishing sector.
For over ten years, Ms. Loh was the CEO and Director of the Malaysia-owned Cambodia Sin Chew Daily, a subsidiary of Media C International, a dual publicly listed media group in Malaysia and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Her duties at the Sin Chew Daily involved heading daily operations both in the editorial and business departments and heading overall administration and finance for the company.
Ms. Loh received a “Silver Society Contribution Award” from the Royal Government of Cambodia in 2011 for sponsoring more than 6,000 students to study Mandarin Chinese across twenty provinces of Cambodia, under the “ Adopt A Cambodian Child to Study” educational support program by the Cambodia Sin Chew Daily. She has also received a bi-lateral Contribution Award by MATRADE Malaysia for promoting the Malaysia-Cambodia bi-lateral relationship through Sin Chew Daily media over the years.
She has also served as an advisor to the Ministry of Information of the Royal Government of Cambodia and in 2021 was appointed Deputy Director of a working committee providing scholarships and educational support for poor children in the rural areas of Cambodia.
Ms. Loh holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern Queensland in Australia, with a degree emphasis in Business Administration, Strategic Management and Commercial law.
Sokunthea Hang
Sokunthea brings with her ten years of professional experience in media and communications from the diverse sectors of journalism, investment, international organizations and higher education. Prior to joining AUPP, she was the Dean of Faculty of Communication and Media Arts for Pannasastra University of Cambodia and had taught media and communication studies there since 2016. Sokunthea holds a joint-master’s degree in Journalism, Media, and Globalization with a specialization in Financial Journalism from Aarhus University in Denmark and City University London in the United Kingdom under the Erasmus Mundus Journalism program.
Warren Zwick
Trained in South Africa , Warren has over two decades in Information Technology Systems and has worked at various companies around the world.
He has a vast range of experience in data center management, payment switching and banking technologies, medical networks and infrastructure, and education infrastructure.
Warren places a large focus on service delivery and ensuring things are done correctly, he has brought these international best pratices with him and applied them at AUPP.
He has a keen interest in IoT, Al and using IT to improve and simplify everyday life. Outside of work Warren enjoys socializing, watching movies, running, and of course all IT gadgets.
Sidonie Pors
Dr. Sidonie Pors is the Learning Center Director at the American University of Phnom Penh. She holds a PhD in Education from the University of Melbourne, a MA in Instructional Technology and Media from Teachers College Columbia University, and Bachelor Degrees in Computer Science and English from the Royal University of Phnom Penh. Prior to joining AUPP, Sidonie has worked in the fields of Educational Technology, ICT, and Education in social enterprise, universities, and international organizations in Cambodia. She is interested in exploring the potential of educational technology to help students gain access to quality education in different educational and social contexts.
Sirikanyah Lane Dasom
Sirikanyah Lane Dasom also known as Veronica is from Thailand with a dual nationality of Thai/Irish. She has a bachelor’s degree in International Tourism Management and master’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communications from Dhurakij Pundit University in Bangkok, Thailand.
Before joining the American University of Phnom Penh, Veronica was a lecturer in Thailand with experience in higher education, academic research, and student organization. She worked closely with students both inside and outside of the classroom environment, helped organizing events with various universities and planned fieldtrips in corporate social responsibility and educational on-site learning visits to various international organizations.
Veronica brings her commitment to providing students with transformational opportunities in student engagement, health and well-being and student advocacy towards reaching one’s highest potential.
Vuochnear Ly
Ms. Vuochnear Ly is the Academic Program Manager at the American University of Phnom Penh. From Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Ms. Ly received her B.A. in International Affairs and Political Science from Gettysburg College, USA. She also holds a B.Ed. in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) from Royal University of Phnom Penh. Prior to joining AUPP, Ms. Ly was professionally involved with international NGOs and public institutions, including Halifax International Security Forum, Vital Voices, and Ministry of Women’s Affairs of Cambodia. With her experiences, Ms. Ly is committed to strengthening academic programs and bringing academic quality of excellence to AUPP students. Ms. Ly enjoys reading non-fiction books, travelling, baking, and practicing yoga.
Kaknika Lin
Dr. Kaknika Lin is an Adjunct Professor of Law at AUPP. As a proud AUPP alum, she is excited to return to AUPP after having received her license as a lawyer in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Dr. Lin’s main interests are in business law and commercial transactions. She has broad experience working in law firms of all sizes, focusing on local and international commercial deals and labor and employment matters. Aside from law firms, she has also worked in-house in the legal teams of various companies, such as a global fitness and obstacle course racing corporation (Spartan Race) and companies in the education and healthcare industries. Currently, she manages her law firm in Phnom Penh, specializing in corporate law matters and commercial transactions.
Dr. Lin enjoys volunteering and getting involved in community work wherever she is. At AUPP, she has previously led teams of AUPP students to tutor high school students in Takeo province. In Boston, she was a student attorney assisting with family law/guardianship, consumer law matters, and volunteered as a tax preparer in her community. In her spare time, she enjoys practicing yoga and hiking.
