Meet Our Directors

Tom Coyner is a retired international business professional in high tech sales and marketing after a career in international human resources.  He has worked in California, Japan and Korea as well as conducted sales workshops in Thailand and Malaysia.  Tom is a Rotarian and a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).  He now offers commercial photographic services on a donation basis to Burmese Refugee Relief Fund.  He has visited Myanmar three times and has spent two winters in Maesot, Thailand.  He has known Dave Nelson since their shared days in Seoul at The Chase Manhattan Bank, following his service with US Peace Corps /Korea.  He is married to Yeri Choi. He has a BA in Japanese Literature from University of Colorado, Boulder, following two years' study at Waseda in Tokyo.  He earned his MBA with a concentration in international business from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. He resides in Seoul.

David Nelson is a co-founder and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Burmese Refugee Relief Fund (BRRF). During his forty-year career in Banking and Finance, he has held senior leadership positions in Corporate Finance and Investment Banking at Chase Manhattan Bank and HSBC. He was also the Chief Financial Officer for two Bermuda-based Reinsurance Companies. Prior to joining Chase, he spent five years in the US Army, achieving the rank of Captain. He has lived in Asia for five years and traveled extensively in the region, including to Myanmar and Thailand. He has a bachelor’s degree in History from Georgetown University and a master’s degree in American History and a master’s in Business Administration in Finance from New York University. He has served on the Boards of Trustees and worked as a volunteer for several educational, charitable, and philanthropic organizations and is excited to join Tom and Yeri in this very worthwhile endeavor.

Yeri Choi serves as a board member on Korea-based NGOs advocating human rights for the mentally handicapped people.  Prior, she was a retired corporate trainer and consultant. Currently, she acts as a trainer and coach for mentally handicapped people to develop positive self-images to lead lives with mindfulness and positive mental attitudes. Prior, she was the Japan country manager of a European data services corporation.  She later was a multilingual sales and human resources trainer for western companies' operations in East Asia.  She is trilingual in Korean, Japanese and English.  Besides visiting Myanmar, Yeri spent two winters in Maesot working with refugee schools.  She has a BA in foreign language education from Kyongbook University, Daegu, and has studied business at UCLA.