The Team and Advisory Board at Raintree International School

Mai has a Master’s degree from the University of Cambridge (recipient of a Cambridge Thai Foundation scholarship) and a Bachelor’s degree with First Class honors in engineering from Thammasat-University of Nottingham. After starting her career in investment banking in Hong Kong and London, Mai then spent seven years at a leading strategic advisory firm specialising in cross-border investment between Thailand and China.

With extensive international experience spanning the UK, Hong Kong, China and Thailand, Mai and her husband, Casey work dedicatedly to support the Raintree project to ensure they provide the very best educational facility for Bangkok’s children. Casey is British-born of Hong Kong decent, and is also a fellow graduate of the University of Cambridge (Master’s and Bachelor degrees in Economics).

Mai is passionate about the importance of multiculturalism and is committed to providing a quality early years’ multi-lingual educational facility for children in Thailand.

Currently, Mai is Alumni Coordinator of the Cambridge Society in Thailand. and board member of NIST International School Alumni Association (NISTAA). She speaks English, Thai and Chinese after spending 4 years working in Beijing. In her spare time, Mai loves to travel, cook and pamper her French bulldog.

Siobhan has over 15 years experience of working within Early Years and Primary education both in the United Kingdom and Thailand. She graduated from the University of Leeds with a BA in Early Childhood Education before qualifying as a primary teacher through Manchester University. During her time working in the United Kingdom, she worked with children across the Early Years and Primary phase. She has a huge passion in Early Reading and spent some time working as a consultant supporting a range of schools in their teaching.

While working in England, Siobhan also supported a number of educational charities with their work. This has ranged from supporting teaching in a local pre school in Uganda to providing training for local primary school teachers in Sierra Leone.

After moving to Thailand, and before joining Raintree, Siobhan worked as an Assistant Principal (Pre Prep) and Acting Vice Principal (Head of Junior) at Shrewsbury International School, Riverside.

Siobhan believes all children are strong and intelligent individuals who are capable learners and that working in partnership with the teacher, child and parents ensures each child reaches their full potential. She also has a strong passion for learning outdoors and sees this as an integral part of any early years philosophy.

Outside of work and education, Siobhan enjoys spending quality time with her two children as well as running, reading and visiting new places.

Tip has been a longtime advocate for early years learning and is committed to providing the best start in life for Thai children. In 2011, she founded Tiny Tree, a publishing house pioneering in the provision of children’s educational books in Thailand.

She is also the co-founder of Raintree International School, Bangkok’s leading early years centre. Tip and her sister, Phannaroj Chalitaporn (Mai), decided to build their school after doing an in-depth study of how early education plays a vital role in a child’s long-term well-being.

Raintree has a strong reputation for academic excellence, providing a welcoming community, and offering world-class learning spaces. The school has won many awards, including Green Living architecture from The Association of Siamese Architects.

Tip is married to Dr. Ton “Boat” Chirathivat, and they have two daughters, Ririn and Reina. She has a Master’s degree with distinction in Integrated Marketing Communication from Northwestern University and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Sydney.

An artist at heart, Tip enjoys her spare time by painting with her daughters.

An influential and visionary figure, Korn’s role on the Advisory Board at Raintree draws upon his rich variety of experiences as a respected politician, bestselling author, top investment banker, internationally recognised Finance Minister of Thailand (2008-2011) and caring father.

Married with four children, Korn is firmly committed to raising the education standard in Thailand. With a particular passion for early years education, he initiated “English for All”, a programme which provides English speaking instructors to teach English to preschool students at less privileged areas. The aim of the programme is to equip the students with the opportunity to compete alongside students from bigger cities. The programme found language learning to be particularly effective and engaging among preschool age learners.

Born in the UK, Korn attended Winchester College Boarding School in England. He later went on to read Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) at St. John's College, University of Oxford, graduating with honours. Korn is currently on the Board of Governors of Brighton College International School Bangkok.

The founder and CEO of Strategy613, Joe is renowned for his unparalleled knowledge of China. Joe holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Oxford University and a Master’s degree in Pure Mathematics from Cambridge University. The relationship between Joe and the leaders of China and Thailand spans across generations.  As a token of good intention, Joe’s mother, Sirin Phathanothai, was sent to China to be brought up by the Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai.  Ever since then, the family has acted as a bridge between the leaders of China and Thailand.

Joe is dedicated to empowering children through education. He is the founder of the ChangAi Children’s Project, which funded the construction of the Mangya ChangAi Hope School in Yunnan. Joe is also a strong advocate of language acquisition in the early years. Fluent in English, Chinese, Thai and French, Joe is currently teaching his two young sons all four languages. Joe is also President of the Cambridge Society and Secretary-General of the Oxford Thai Foundation.

With more than 30 years of experience in early years’ education spanning Australia, Singapore, China, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, the UAE, the UK and Sri Lanka, Dr. Harcourt holds a number of professorships in early childhood education at various institutions, including the Australian Catholic University. Beginning her career as a preschool teacher, she then moved on to teach at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels in teacher education, health sciences and within a school of medicine. Dr. Harcourt specialises in early childhood curriculum design and has published/presented numerous articles and books on the subject. Previously, Deborah also oversaw curriculum design for one of Asia’s largest international preschool groups where many schools adopted the bi-lingual approach.

Deborah believes in children’s rights as active citizens and is a well-regarded expert of the Reggio Emilia approach.